Interested in investing in a property in Arden Park area (Sacramento: low income, real estate)

[DougStark]

Hi,

I don't live in CA, but used to live in Arden Park when I was young (1960s.) I've always liked Sac in general, and in particular the older neighborhoods like Arden Pk.

What do you locals think about the area? Would a small home make a good rental property? I live in Phoenix. Who knows- maybe I'd move in someday. Thanks in advance.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Hi,
I don't live in CA, but used to live in Arden Park when I was young (1960s.)

Would a small home make a good rental property? I live in Phoenix. Who knows- maybe I'd move in someday.

I think that landlords should be local.

[NinaN]

I agree it's better to be local. Also,unless you have cash, it's very difficult to make the cash flow positive in this market.

[splescia2014]

I have lived in Sacramento for about 18 years and prefer the country to this. I worked in code enforcement for a time but presently live a few streets from the Arden area. There are some decent parts to this area but considering you have the Arden Mall, freeway and CAl Expo nearby, it may be a good rental property but I would not want to live in that area. Too much homelessness and low income apartment complexes.

[DougStark]

Thanks, everyone. It's probably a pipe-dream for me b/c I don't have a lot to put down on a house. I should have bought in Sac during the depths of the recession, not now.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Hi,

I don't live in CA, but used to live in Arden Park when I was young (1960s.) I've always liked Sac in general, and in particular the older neighborhoods like Arden Pk.

What do you locals think about the area? Would a small home make a good rental property? I live in Phoenix. Who knows- maybe I'd move in someday. Thanks in advance.

How well do you trust your property manager? Know a good trusted friend here who will do it for a fee? You will need a local property manager to deal with local problems that will inevitably emerge.

And all too often property managers for absentee landowners will not take care of things as well as they should, certainly not as much as a property manager who knows the owner lives within a reasonable driving distance and will drive by and take a look at things from time to time.

Nothing more frustrating than paying money to solve rental problems (tenant fixtures, city codes, etc.), only to discover sleazy remote property manager is pocketing the money and not doing his job promptly, if at all.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I worked in the Arden area back in 1995-1997. Back then, anyway, it was sketchy. I had a co-worker who could walk to work, and I visited her house. I never felt safe in that area.

Don't know if it's changed significantly.

There are other areas with less expensive real estate and healthy rental markets, though, in CA. Redding, for one. The summers are really hot here, but other than that I really like it here.

I was a property manager until last year - managed an apt building in Santa Clara. My daughter had a rental a couple hours away, and she hired a PMC. They ripped her off mercilessly, using their own maintenance guys and doing lots of expensive, unnecessary maintenance.

If I was in your shoes, and wanted to have a rental out of state, I'd screen the tenants myself. I'd find local handymen, plumbers, etc. that the tenant could call. I'd tell the tenant they have to call me first, and if they can't reach me then they have the numbers to MY plumber, handyman, etc. Then I'd tell the handyman, plumber, etc., that they need to call me for approval before they can do the work the tenant calls them to do lol! So, neither one can get around me.

And if you can hire the handyman or a local realtor to do drive-bys and take a pic for you of what the place looks like, or to do an inspection every 6 months (when they go in to do the battery changes, and check for leaks, etc.). Or fly back to do them yourself.

I know another CD poster who is a long-distance landlord, and he has a realtor in AZ who does his initial interviewing of applicants, and shows the properties for him. Then, she presents the info to him, and he makes all the decisions, has local people he can call for maintenance, including a cousin who in a pinch can do a drive-by to check on things.

It can be done, but you will need to set up something like this.

And, I'd suggest you buy something in a nice neighborhood of another town with a decent rental market, if you can't afford to buy in a nice neighborhood in Sacramento.

Good luck to you!

[DougStark]

thanks, again. I've decided Sac is out of my price range. I should have bought 3 or so years ago.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I was a property manager until last year - managed an apt building in Santa Clara. My daughter had a rental a couple hours away, and she hired a PMC. They ripped her off mercilessly, using their own maintenance guys and doing lots of expensive, unnecessary maintenance.

This is the "flip side" of PMC's that *don't* take care of real problems--PMC's that "take care" of imaginary problems.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by NickB1967

This is the "flip side" of PMC's that *don't* take care of real problems--PMC's that "take care" of imaginary problems.

Just scandalous! The short story is that they had the right to do any maintenance if they decided it was an "emergency" without her knowledge or permission. Well, everything was an emergency until she ran out of funds, and so they had to finally contact her to tell her they need more funds for more emergencies. This is when she questioned what they were doing, and quickly fired them. But, it cost her thousands of dollars. They went through her cushion in just a few months on ridiculous stuff. Both sides agreed to let everything go, with no further charges to either party.

Their contract even said that if she fired them, she'd have to pay a riduculous sum. They let that go, in exchange for her not suing them for their obvious fraud. Total nightmare.