Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Friday Afternoon,

The news this week wasn't great.  Foreclosures and Pre-foreclosure filings are at an all time high.  More and more people are either finding that their lenders are uncooperative with Loan Modifications or they are just giving up trying to do anything because it is just too hard to do.  Selling for conventional sellers is still difficult and most people are so far upside down on their properties that they just can't get out from under them at any price.  The good news is however that this is a great time for Investors to get back in the market. 

All these people who are losing their homes are going to need a place to live.  What better time than to jump in and buy up a few of these foreclosure properties at low prices and lease them out to people who have lost their own homes!  In today's market you can buy low and keep rents low and those looking for a place to live will flock to them.

I am not talking huge profit margins here, I am talking an opportunity to diversify your portfolio by helping out people who have fallen on hard times.  This kind of investment isn't going to be a cash cow, but it would make you some small amount of profit while helping to rebuild our communities.   There is a desperate need for affordable rentals in the marketplace right now and if you invest wisely you could come out really well in a few years when the market recovers. 

In Arizona and the other Sand States, there is and is going to continue to be a big demand for rental properties.  A nice rental could bring a nice little profit and if you treat those tenants right, they probably will stay put for a number of years.  For people who have lost their homes it is going to be quite a few years before they can buy a home again.  In the interim they will want some stability in their lives.  They want a place to live in comfort while they recover from the downturns in their lives.

So come on out, diversify your portfolio a bit and pick up some nice rentals.  The only caution is that you need to buy smart so you can keep the rental affordable.  There are lots of rentals already in the marketplace but they are at high monthly rents because the owners are trying to keep themselves out of foreclosure by trying to rent for their monthly mortgage amount.  That just isn't going to happen.  If people have lost a home to foreclosure because they couldn't afford their payments, why would they take on someone else's inflated payment? 

Give me a call and let's start looking for those properties that would make good rentals.  I'm familiar with the market and I can help you find what you are looking for. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR  (928) 242-0300

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