New Investor in Binghamton, NY

[Matthew Manzi]

Hello BiggerPockets Community!

I am new to real estate investing and new to BiggerPockets and have to say how thankful I am to have found this community.

Im a CPA by trade with a primary background in financial statements / tax but real estate has always been a dream of mine. Over the past few months I have been taking the time, educating myself via books and forums, developing financial analysis tools and I feel ready to finally jump into the game.

Given my location (Central Jersey) and goals, I feel like Binghamton, NY will be my first location focus and I wanted to start building my team. If anyone has any recommendations on 1) Real Estate Agents, 2) Property Managers, 3) Lenders (that would lend to a new LLC), 4) Contractors in the area - I wanted to start interviewing, so I would definitely appreciate any feedback.

Any insights / perspectives that can be shared are truly appreciated! Thanks again everyone and I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Thanks,

Matt

[Stephanie Jacobson]

Hey Matthew!

I definitely recommend @Gary Kline for your attorney. He's an investor himself and considers all aspects of a rental property during the transaction. I have quite a lot of clients who use him!

Binghamton is a great market for both new and experienced investors. Barrier to entry is low, and returns are atypically high. The city experiences very little natural appreciation, but many see this as an acceptable trade for reliable cashflow. I also work in the Ithaca market (where Cornell University is), and there it's the opposite: appreciation is unreal, but they see 5-7% as an acceptable cap rate.

There's a REI club here run by @Christopher Stanis, but he's moving and I'm not sure who he's handing the club off to. Either way, Chris is a great contact.

My favorite lender here is Tioga State Bank; Rick Annunziata for commercial (5 units and up), and Jessica Boynton for residential (4 units and under).

@Brock Orion owns and operates Komanage Binghamton, who I absolutely love for management. They're young and hungry, and they provide a wide range of service for property owners. They're killin' it.

Scott Mulrooney is my favorite contractor, Rick Kie with Accredited is my favorite home inspector. Overall, Binghamton has an incredibly tight and supportive investment community! Your team is half the battle, and we've got some great folks here.

Feel free to PM if there's any way I can help, too! I'm an agent, and I work most often with student housing (for Binghamton University, Cornell, Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland), and with affordable housing. My BP folks are my favorite; I always learn something new from first-time investors, and they're so exciting to work with!