New York City or South Florida?

[Mendel Spalter]

Hey everyone,

I've been working for flippers/developers in NYC since September. I talk to homeowners and bring them deals. Kind of like a Wholesaler, but no putting anything under contract and I have one buyer. I haven't closed even one deal since. Granted, I could've worked harder, but many times I came home at 8-8:30 PM from knocking on doors. I almost never started at 10 AM though I generally started between 11:30-1:30. But still, even seven hours a day of calling/knocking on doors is pretty good. I also never worked Sundays or Fridays. Anyway, I haven't been successful. 

I had a few deals where a price was agreed upon, but it fell through for different reasons. One deal we had an agreed-upon price, but then someone put up a higher offer. On another deal, I became really good friends with the guy, but he had a much higher offer. If we could match it he would've gone with us because he likes us more. A different one, there was a deed restriction which most probably would've been taken off (we spoke to a lawyer who worked on this specific property and he said that), but my bosses didn't want to risk it. I had another deal which was a JV deal (a developer had a lot in Central/West Harlem and we were going to build a house on it which would cost $1,200,000 to build and we would sell the house for 3.2-3.5 Million dollars, but he didn't want to add my boss to the deed and my boss wasn't going to invest all that money with no guarantee on the property whatsoever. Another deal I became friends with the lady who owned the property. We were going to do a JV with her; she would give the lot and we were going to build around 13-14 condos on the property which we would then sell at $700 per SQFT. My boss told her that she would come out with 1.85 Million dollars for her share. I think this was a low offer and she actually got mad at me and told me to stop texting her.

I have one deal that will hopefully happen, but at this point, I'm not banking on anything. Another JV deal. If this happens, we are going to build 10 condos and sell them for $700 per SQFT.

I met this guy my first week on the job. He was supposed to come in for a meeting two weeks later, but he didn't show. It was hard to get in touch with him; he wasn't answering my calls, and I had no idea where he lived. So I called his mother-in-law's house. He got very upset at me and he said we're not doing a deal. I calmed him down until he said call me in two days. I did and he didn't answer. I couldn't get in touch with him for a while after that until the beginning of December. He randomly answered the phone, so I told him how about a JV. He started talking about how I shouldn't have called his family etc. So I said, "let's start fresh." He said, "ok, call me in January." I called him in January and it was like it never happened. We spoke on the phone for almost an hour about everything from Dogecoin to the federal reserve. He agreed to meet on Zoom the following week. From there we became friends. We spoke on the phone, he wants me to list a rental for him, he wants me to find him a contractor and he'll give me a third of the property. He's renovating one of his houses and he wants me to list it for him for sale when he's done, which should be in about three weeks. Anyway, he's a great guy. After he sells this house, or after he finishes renovating it, I'm not sure which he wants to do this JV with us. G-d willing, it'll go through. I'm going to get for this if it happens 15K now, and 10K when the condos are sold in 1.5-2 years from now. I also stand to make money from the other things that he wants me to do for him. I made some developer contacts in NY, which I can hopefully bring them some deals (probably won't happen).

Anyway, suffice to say, that in the last seven months, besides for the last guy, I haven't been successful. And who knows if I'll even make any money from the last guy, and If I do, when. My father in Florida wants me to move to Florida. He'll introduce me to some flippers that he knows that he invested money with and whom he trusts. He doesn't like my bosses, he thinks that it's ridiculous that nothing came out of my seven months in NY and he thinks that they're suspicious. If I go to Florida, I won't have any expenses, besides gas and random things that I'll buy. In NY, I pay rent, $400 a month because I share a basement with friends, and food, which at the least is $200 a month and most probably more, like $400 a month on food. I also pay for gas, car insurance, and random things. In Florida, I'll save at least $800 a month, probably $1,000 a month, and I'll also work part-time in my Dad's synagogue. SO, I'll have money coming in always, no expenses, and a much better market in Florida. Also, I plan on living in Florida in the future, so I would start my future now. I would start building up in Florida.

My boss offered me my own team of two-three guys to work under me and he's raising my commission. 3% off every deal that I bring, and a minimum of 20K. Any deal that the guys under me bring in, I can take what I want from it. So, if I want to give them a flat rate of 10K for every deal they bring and take the rest for myself, that's fine. Also, he claims that NY is coming back and it already started. The worst thing about NY until now was the eviction moratorium. Foreclosures didn't mean much here the entire time that I was working. That's almost over. He thinks that NY could be big, and big for me. 

What should I do? Go to Florida with no expenses and a booming market, or stay here with expenses and maybe a big market coming, but with a nice commission on every deal (and every deal in NY is big)? 

P.S. My work ethic is going to have to change wherever I am, but in NY I live with four friends, so It's hard to get to sleep on time. No guarantee that that will change in Florida, but it'll be easier to change if I want. I can also change here, of course, and I will, but it'll be a little harder.