Buying In a hot market (Syracuse, NY)

[Elijah Berg]

Hello everyone I am turning to the BP community again for help!

I am currently on the journey to purchase my first property at 19 and have hit a roadblock. I am going for a house hack with Fannie & Freddie conventional , After my 4th offer was rejected going over listing I asked the listing agent for some additional info and they stated that for this property there were 42 showings within 4 days. 1 cash offer, 1 commercial, 15 conventional and one FHA with 9 waived inspections, 11 escalation clauses and 5 appraisal gaps. for the previous 3 offers it was Identical.

I don't want to be stuck waiting on the sidelines so with the market being this hot I am a little confused about where to go from here, should I start seeking out wholesalers, doing direct mail campaigns, targeting older listings, hunt more in off market or just keep submitting offers?

One of my mentors put me in connection with a colleague of his who is selling a quarter of his portfolio due to retirement. After viewing one of the properties I thought was a good pick. I decided to walk away due to it not being in good condition with bed bugs. But will definitely keep the list in my back pocket

Any and all Insight would be greatly apricated, thank you all so much!!! 

[Stephanie Jacobson]

Hey Elijah! Do you have a buyer’s agent? It seems like it would be easier to go straight to the listing agent, but some residential agents won’t do dual agency and it complicates things. Also, a buyer’s agent can assure a busy listing agent that you’re qualified and explain some of your situation. Not to mention all the advising and navigating your own agent would do. 

As for Syracuse itself, depending on where you’re looking it’s wild out there. In a market where I would expect to see 8-10% cap rates, I’m seeing things go at 3-4%. I would *strongly* discourage a buyer, especially a new investor, engage in that kind of nonsense. There’s so much hype about Micron that folks are willing to pay for potential- don’t do that!! Once you have a few under your belt and are confident on renovation costs, have your team in place, etc., you might roll those dice. But not on your first house hack. 

As frustrating as it is, you’re going to have to be patient and keep trying. Do NOT waive inspections, no matter what an agent tells you. (You have other options, like bringing an inspector to your walkthrough and getting it done ahead of time.) But with the Syracuse market, I think you’ll just have to be persistent and patient. 

Please let me know if there’s any way I can help!