All Forum Posts by: Ryan Hoover

Hey @Brandon Ribeiro, sorry to hear about the unfortunate turn of events.  Luckily you were already working on a back up plan.  Starting out as a real estate agent is tough in the beginning.  Not trying to throw a wet blanket, but it's not unusual to struggle to gain momentum in your first year.  You are taking the right approach by joining a high performing team to expedite the rate you learn from those who are already doing well.

Back to your rental property question, now more than ever, banks are asking for employment history multiple times during the transaction.  Until you have a year of proven sales, it may be difficult to secure traditional financing.  You are going to have to find some alternative financing and get creative if you don't want to wait.  Seller financing, hard money, etc.  With what I said above, I would recommend saving up your money to weather any low times in your new sales career.

Checked in on the remodel today.  Significant amount of the demo is completed.  There were a lot of low hanging architectural soffets to remove.  Also got all of the tile materials picked out.

@Justin V.  No worries, part of the undertone was to help save me from myself going overboard.  I typically buy in areas that I would live, so I approach the renovation the same way.  I try to get it to a point where I would want to live there.

Totally agree with the poor stained cabinets with the dumpy old boxes.  I have seen more than my fair share of piss poor flips working as an agent.  Also have felt the exact pain you speak of with appraisers.  I completely renovated a home in Anthem a couple of years ago and the appraiser gave little value to the additions and comped it to original builds.

I attached a couple pictures of that project, as a reference to what I try to accomplish.  In this instance, the cabinets were good enough to stain.  Below is also one of my first projects, a condo that got everything new to become a vacation rental.

Nice!   Let me know if you have any questions or want to brainstorm about the Phoenix market.  I’ve used this strategy before on condos and single family with great results.  I’ll keep the updates coming on the progress.

Totally understand that perspective.  Yes I could probably mostly leave it and get close to the same amount of rent.  In this area though, my property may sit for a while based on what tenants expect.  Agreed that opening up the hallway aren't necessarily going to increase rents, but do maybe help with attracting a tenant or maybe even keep a tenant long term by removing some of the functional obsolescence.  When it comes to the cabinets, the boxes are in pretty bad shape to just stain in this instance.  Plus with replacement, I can hopefully get another 15-20 years out of them.  

Everyone has different goals and strategies, I am not solely focused on cash flow or my approach would be different.  Appreciation, value-add, and refinancing with cash out are all factors in my long term strategy.

I purchased this duplex back last year, which had both units on long term leases.  So to this point, I haven't done much to the property.  Now one of the tenants has vacated from the 1000 SqFt, 2bed, 2bath unit.  The rent was $1275 with all of the original 1980's design.  It is located in a great A area, with mostly retirees.  I think if I hit this right, I can significantly increase rents and get this property in a place where it will remain marketable for the next decade.  But I am aware that I have a tendency to want to go overboard and take the upgrades too far.  I'm in this one for the long haul, so I am sure I will be good over time.  Going to attempt to chronicle the experience on this post.

Project Scope: (Sure I'm missing something)

1. Full kitchen remodel (remove a wall, extend cabinets, new appliances)
2. Both bathrooms
3. Remove a hall closet that is blocking the walkway
4. Tile throughout and carpet bedrooms
5. Remove popcorn ceiling
6. Tile fireplace
7. Paint interior/exterior
8. Landscape facelift

It does seem to be a great mystery in the valley.  Supposedly each property is valued every year based on a computer algorithm.  Which would make me believe that the sale of the individual property does have an affect on the overall neighborhood, but not necessarily a reason to jump the value of the subject property significantly.  I should add that I typically quote people .5-.8% of purchase price.  But that’s a really rough estimate and I always check the tax histories.

From the Maricopa County Assessor’s website:  There is some really good info for research purposes.

Hey @Daniel Gerardi Nice to meet you.  I was thinking you were going to take the lead to get this kicked off, but I will try to take a stab at your discussion...

I actually got started as just an investor by purchasing a new construction condo back in 2011, but after working with a few subpar agents, I decided to get my own license and have been working as a Realtor for the last 7 years now.

Wholesaling has never been something of great interest to me, so I am very comfortable with my decision. I always starved for access to the MLS, now I have that part available.

Only thing I would have done differently, is been more aggressive with expanding my portfolio 5 years ago.  Everything that I thought was too expensive at the time, turned out to be good value in hindsight.  I try not to forget that lesson when researching properties current day.  I have the long game in mind.

My primary focus has been single family homes, but has been shifting to small multi-family over the past year.  I want to acquire more doors before I run out of lending runway and have to explore portfolio lending.

While my first investment was purchased in 2011, I ended up selling that property in 2014 and not doing much until I got back into it in 2016.  Since then I am currently up to 6 rental properties (7 doors) with one more under contract as I am writing this.

Hope I covered everything you were looking for...

Hey @Matthew Allen nice to meet you!

I am not sure if I quite meet the definition of successful yet, but I am an active investor in the Phoenix area. I have primarily SFR's but have been transitioning my focus to small multi-family projects over the last year. I also work as a valley real estate agent, helping other investors find and purchase properties.

Best of luck breaking into a new market!  Compared to Seattle, I'm sure most deals will look on sale.