New to Real Estate - Rochester, NY

[Mark Fischer]

Hi BP,

First time poster. I've been lurking on the site, reading the beginner's manual, and listening to some podcasts for a while. I'm interested in buy-and-hold MF and SF properties. In my 9-5 I'm a family therapist and I work at a local clinic here in Rochester. My wife and I are currently saving for our first purchase, so we can get our feet wet and get this investment ball rolling! The site has been super helpful so far with lots of great information.

[Mark Updegraff]

Welcome Mark!

It is great to see some new local folk getting into RE investing. We're lucky in that Rochester is an amazing place to invest when compared to the rest of the nation. The next FFREIA group meeting is tomorrow at the Brighton Town Hall (downstairs) at 7PM and walk ins are welcome. I've got it on my calendar to attend and hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Mark Updegraff

[Barry Cohen]

Welcome Mark, I;m a out of towner investing in Rochester because it offers such great opportunity. I'm making a special trip to Rochester tomorrow to go to the FFREIA group meeting. Looking forward to meeting other local investors and make new connections.

[Mark Fischer]

See you there, Barry. Looking forward to meeting you.

[Mark Fischer]

PS. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who has experience with managing their own buy and hold rental properties. I'm wondering especially about the legal structure that should be set up when acting as a landlord. LLC is what I'm guessing, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has gone through that process.

[Mark Updegraff]

Yes LLC is the preferred entity due to lower cost and same corporate protection. You'll need to transfer title after acquisition if you're using traditional financing. It could trigger the 'due on sale' clause, but you should be OK if you're current on your loan. There are so associated costs, but it is worth the protection if you have assets you want to keep separated.

@Barry Cohen @Mark Fischer any interest in meeting up after the meeting? Beers perhaps?

Cheers,

Mark

[Ali Boone]

Welcome! Not sure which aspects you are particularly wanting to know about, but definitely shoot out any specific questions you have and plenty of people on here can help in answering.

For the LLC thing, it depends on whether you are setting it up to protect your properties or if you are setting it up to act as a 'property management' company for you to landlord your own properties under. Entity-wise, you need to differentiate between those because taxes happen differently on passive versus active holdings (the properties would be passive, the business would be active).

For general help on LLCs for rentals, I wrote an article that may or may not help, but the comments are helpful too-

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/08/17/rental-properties-llc/

Good luck!

[Mark Fischer]

Thanks for the article, Ali. I'll take a look at it.

@Mark Updegraff I'm all for meeting new folks. Let's chat at the meeting and see if some beers might hit the spot. Looking forward to it!

[James Wise]

@Mark Fischer welcome to the site.

[Scott Demots]

Hi @ welcome to BP!

The community here can definitely help you navigate the REI waters. Search around and ask questions as needed.

The information I've got from fellow members has been invaluable.

Don't forget to set up your !

See you around the site!

[Mark Scarola]

Hey Mark,

You're intro sounds a bit familiar. Not only do we share the same first name, but I'm also trained as a therapist. When it comes to RE investing part of me feels like I'm missing out not having a background in construction, inspections, banking, accounting, or something of that sort. But there are still situations where your counseling skills may be a benefit in this area, such as talking to homeowners of distressed properties. If they've been hit up with tons of "we'll buy your house" ads and lowball offers, having someone that reaches out and appreciates the benefits of establishing rapport first can go a long way. Making a decision about your home is a big deal and not usually done without emotions.

Good luck Mark.

[Mark Fischer]

@Mark Scarola Strange coincidence! Thanks so much for the well-wishes. I was thinking the same thing about our skills as therapists transferring well to working with people in this type of business environment.

[Timothy Riley]

Welcome...

[Barry Cohen]

@Mark Fischer , sure, always looking to talk shop. If you will be at the meeting I will look for you. I will be the one that looks out of place, lol

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

Welcome to BP community @Mark Fischer It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more.

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet

Wishing you the best!

[Dave Savage]

Welcome @Mark Fischer from a fellow Rochester, NY investor. You'll find a lot of other Rochester investors here who are willing to help out. Coming to the FFREIA meeting is a good first start to meet other investors in the area and start to get some informaiton.

Feel free to post any questions on here as you start your journey and we would be glad to help you locate target areas to buy your first rental.

LLC is a good way to protect your investment, but there are some things to consider with regards to loans, etc. For the first one you might consider getting umbrella insurance to cover you - but I would talk to a lawyer about it.

Depending on your current living situation, consider buying a Multi and living in one of the units. Getting in at 3.5% down with a low interest rate will be a great investment for years after you move out.

[Christopher Hunter]

Welcome @Mark Fischer

[Ramon Jenkins]

Welcome to biggerpockets @Mark Fischer

[Frank Oudheusden]

Welcome to the forums @Mark Fischer ! glad to see you and you're wife getting on the RE train!

Talk Soon.

[Brandon Turner]

Hey @Mark Fischer - thanks for jumping in! Glad to have you here!

[Mark Fischer]

@Frank Oudheusden Thanks, Frank. I'm sure we'll be talking soon.

@Brandon Turner Thanks for the welcome. The site is great!

@Dave Savage I checked out the FFREIA meeting tonight. Good stuff. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Rebecca Lebowitz]

Welcome to BP and REI, @Mark Fischer

I also live and invest in Rochester, NY (and belong to FFREIA of course) and love meeting other people who are involved in real estate-if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask!