A NYC attorney looking to start in real estate

[Efraim L.]

Hi all,

I am a New York State licensed attorney, working at a general practice but mostly in civil litigation. I do have some attorney experience in real estate but I cannot call myself a real estate attorney as of yet. I was born and bred in Brooklyn, but I now live in Manhattan.

Recently, after countless youtube videos, I found BiggerPockets and I decided that it is time to take life into my own hands. I have seen people being able to attain financial freedom through real estate, so I decided that I should look into it as well. Thus, here I am, at BiggerPockets, taking the initiative to learn this wonderful field.

By living in New York, I know that I live in a tough real estate market, especially with the new laws that are coming through the pipeline. My initial thought was to invest in properties where I become the landlord and keep them as rental income. Learning a bit about the NYC real estate market, I do not know how to approach it. I was thinking to start looking in the outer boroughs like the Bronx, Queens or Staten Island. Or I should start outside of New York like maybe Philadelphia.

Thank you BiggerPockets for creating a space where people like me, who want to start investing in real estate can turn to for ideas and learning materials. I am here to learn and would love to eventually be able to give back to this community.

Efraim

[Alex Furini]

@Efraim L. I agree with @Allan Szlafrok. As a landlord you will be dipping your feet into new waters in all kinds of ways. Many people on here do lots of out of state rental investments, however most would probably recommend to invest in your own backyard for at least your first couple. Personally If time is on your side, I recommend doing everything yourself in the beginning. Not only will this save some money(not time), but it will familiarize you with the ins and outs of running an investment property. Once you have a grasp on the process, you will have educated yourself to better manage a Property Manager should you decide to hire one down the road. 

Do yourself a favor and start looking at properties online and analyze their cash flows. If there is an open house, stop by and do some on site analyzing. Basically you want to get comfortable with the process. This will make acting on a prospective property much easier in the future. Just remember practice makes perfect. 

Best of Luck and welcome to the community.

Alex Furini, RA