New member looking to get started in NY Capital Region

[Paul D.]

What's up, BP community?

My wife and I have set a goal to buy our first Buy and Hold rental property this year.  We live in Brooklyn but we have been researching the NY Capital Region (Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and the surrounding suburbs).   As we crunch the numbers it looks like there are some great opportunities in the area.  I also spent a good portion of my childhood in Guilderland and Waterford so I am somewhat familiar with the Capital District.

For the past month we have been in touch with a few realtors and have spent a number of hours on the MLS analyzing properties, however, the realtors we have spoke with do not have much experience working with investors. Instead of continuing to scan the MLS for hours each day, we felt it would be better use of our time to focus our energy on meeting the right people. So, if there are any realtors in the Capital District who work with investors it would be great to connect. We are targeting a small cash flowing multi-family home (2-4 units) with a 10%+ cash-on-cash return (PM and vacancy fees included in OpEx). Cosmetic upgrades are ok but no major rehabs.

One big hurdle we foresee in the Capital District is finding a property manager.  Living out of town, we will need a property manager in order to succeed, however, after reviewing the local forums it appears that many investors are struggling to find a reliable PM.  Any advice on this would be great.

While most of our time has been spent researching the Capital District I would be interested if there are any suggestions for cash-flowing markets closer to NYC.

Hope you all have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.  

Paul