I am located near the 101 and broadway and I love older homes as well in Mesa. I think you have a great idea. The key is not to fall in love with the properties, because it all comes down to the numbers and the equity. Also, obviously a home of that age is a big risk for things such as termites. And as far as financing - I work as a loan officer for a mortgage broker, and you are going to get the best financing if you intend to occupy the property. (i,e. 100%) But if you already own a home and are not going to sell it - then you are able to finance it as a second home if it is further than 50 miles from your primary residence.
I have an itch that I want to scratch. I really love the older holmes (60 - 80
yrs.) in my city. They aren’t looked at as prime real estate unless they are in
the historic disctricts and many have been run down by investors who
typically rent them to low-income families. What I would really like to do is to
rehab the older homes, restore them and improve the neighborhoods they
are in. Is this too lofty a dream or too ambitious, me being a relative novice? I
have no capital to invest, no cash flow to spare, some time and experience,
but I really want to see this happen. Any advice as to how I could even get it
off the ground? especially financing?
1 - Make sure you get a very low price on anything you rehab.
The most common mistake for begginer is paying too much and underestimating cost of repair/upgrades.
Seeing that inventory is up 400% in central AZ prices should start dropping soon. Make sure you buy low enough that even if the markets drop a lot you will still make $$
2 - know your exit stratagy ahead of time. I personally like to have a couple options.
I would recommed that you read a couple books on rehabing…there are a bunch out there. They can help you avoid many common pitfalls.