All Forum Posts by: Abel Curiel

Hello @Justin Garber,

Good luck on the 1031!

I'd also recommend looking into Bushwick and Ridgewood. Higher cap rates and slightly more inventory.

Are you mainly focusing on Brooklyn or are you open to other boroughs?

All the best!

Abel

Quote from @Kyle Haff:

Hey everyone! My name is Kyle, and I’m new to BiggerPockets. I’m excited to kick off my journey with my first House Hack in Long Island, NY! I’m partnering up for this first project and am thrilled to get started. I truly believe this experience will be life-changing, and I’m eager to learn all I can along the way.

I’m looking to expand my network with like-minded individuals, so if you're an investor in the Long Island area—whether you’re just starting out like me or you’re an experienced pro with guidance to offer—I’d love to connect. I’m also interested in joining meetups to network and share insights while learning from others’ experiences and wisdom.

Thank you all for welcoming me here, and I’m excited to share my journey with you! Wishing you all a great rest of the week!

 Welcome to BiggerPockets, Kyle!

These forums are filled great insights about house hacking. I'd recommend using the search feature to look up relevant posts related to house hacking and other strategies for early investors.

That said, you and your partner are on a nice path. House hacking is a popular strategy for first-time investors because they learn:
- how to find and analyze deals
- how to negotiate a deal
- project management
- property management
- and more!!

If you are looking to house hack a multifamily on Long Island, I'd recommend sticking to the areas with the most 2-4 family inventory:
- Huntington
- Glen Cove
- Valley Stream
- Lynbrook
- Lindenhurst
- Long Beach
- Babylon
- Patchogue
- Elmont
* To name a few

If you're looking to house hack a single-famiy on Long Island, you'll have plenty of options and you can also aim to target Hi-Ranch homes and/or properties with full basement or other potential ADU spaces.

All the best!

Abel

Quote from @Oscar Barbecho:

Hello friends from Bigger Pockets, Please I would like some advise from your Experience guys, I have little or no experience in multi family investing. I have to sell my house in Queens New York ( I really have to ). I will have like $ 200 k in gains, but would like to purchase a 6 family building in Queens area just to protect the Capital, I am 47 years old and I don't want to loose more money.

Would that be a good option, or another option would be to just to invest  in a cheaper town in New Jersey or other area.

I been looking information about how to build new construction houses, It's a dream for me but  there is no cheaper land in Queens New York or around, So I was thinking to move down to Jacksonville ville FL because of the weather and cheaper land.

Pleae any advice will be really, really appreciated, I have to sell my house in the next 3 months, so it's frustrating.

Thanks and have a blessed weekend. Thanks.

Oscar B

 Hello Oscar,

With $200K in sale profits, you can put that towards a property in NY up to $1,000,000. 

Returns for NY properties in this price range can go anywhere from 3-8% depending on property type and location. If you go to Northern or Central Florida, you can enjoy higher returns, better weather and a more landlord-friendly environment. 

When you say you don't want to lose more money, are you referring to having to pay taxes on your home sale earnings? Have you spoken to a tax consultant or 1031 exchange specialist about your plans?

In sum, look into a 1031 exchange and other ways to limit how much taxes you'll have to pay on your Queens home sale proceeds. Also, I would strongly consider investing out of state in a state, like Florida, that will be easier for you to continue reinvesting. By your 50th birthday, you may find yourself having 10+ units under your belt!

All the best!

Abel

Quote from @Joe Barclay:

Quote from @Joe Barclay:

hey @Christian Ekeogu

my story goes as follows... and let me preface saying that i have no success yet. I became interested in property in Bedstuy, BK around 2010 however I was extremely picky. My first property had to be on certain blocks, 20x100 lot (wouldn't even consider an 18x100 lot). I saw properties for around $550K with some work needed but I was convinced I could get something cheaper and better. Eventually went to contract (fully executed) for $375K on a smaller (16x100) property in my target area. Got screwed out the deal by an all cash buyer (I'm not liquid.. looking to do a 203K). House now on the market for $1.2M (http://www.primehomesny.com/property/decatur-st-brooklyn-ny-11233/). Fast forward to now I'm priced out of bedstuy. So now i'm looking in cypress hills and ENY. Again I have a fully executed contract. We'll see how this goes.

To sum it all up... don't be too picky, but do due diligence and if your target areas are not working out expand. If this deal works out i'm looking to purchase some property in Buffalo and Rochester and my next investments.

Joe

 replying to myself 10 years later.... several brownstones in brooklyn successfully fix and fliped and/or buy and hold. couple successful flips in jersey. several partnerships in Philly. 100% or partnered on 6 properties acquired in the past 30 days. maybe doing okay

 Congrats on this, Joe!

"Maybe doing okay" is hilarious! or humble... but keep doing your thing brother!

Quote from @Allen Johnson:

@Abel Curiel

What in your insight regarding properties that may be auctioned off due to tax lien?

I know in the 5 borough an individual can't purchase at auction, most if not all of those properties go to banks since they buy in bulk. 

My intent is to get in and work with the property owner and see if they are interested in selling instead of losing the property as well as their credit being wrecked.

I'd recommend establishing good relationships with prospective sellers. Their motivations fluctuate and they can be swayed on any given day by an investor, attorney, or any other contact. If there is no motivation to keep their credit in line or salvage their financial future, they might just be OK with waiting things out and roll the dice.

This is a numbers game so you'll want to have several potential sellers in your follow-up at any given time.

You should also connect with attorneys experienced in short sales and pre-foreclosures to leverage their experience and knowledge.

Welcome to the BP forums, @Dana Grant!

With your combined skillset and experience, you and your husband are great additions to this community.

I'd highly recommend setting up keyword alerts for topics and areas of interest. It is one of the best ways to stay engaged with the BiggerPockets members and make new valuable connections.

All the best to you both moving forward!

Abel

Hello @Allen Johnson and welcome to the BP forums!

Great to hear that you have a deep purpose/drive for what you're doing. Your boys will indeed be proud and benefit from your hard work. That is a great value to instill in NY's future young men!

Regarding what buyers are looking for, it is thankfully very simple. 

They want the numbers to work. Investors in NY ideally want to purchase properties at 50-70% discount. If you know what a property is worth when fully renovated, you'll have a good idea of whether the deal will make sense for an investor. 

For example, for your target property, if similar renovated properties are selling for $800,000, then you know investors will be looking to pay $400,000-560,000 depending on the condition & location. If the property has a clean title, can be delivered vacant, and is in decent condition, you may find that investors will pay on the higher end of that 400-560K range... possible more if its in a desirable neighborhood.

All the best to you on your journey!

Abel

@Tiffany Alfaro your license can help you if you use it to consistently and systematically generate leads. 

If you find good potential deals, you can aim to buy them yourself and/or with partners.

The deals that aren't a good fit, you can list them on the market for other investors/end buyers and earn a commission. You can also earn additional commission by helping the sellers purchaser their next property.

I agree with @Obed Calixte and @Ke Nan Wang. With a RE license, you only get what you put in. 

That said, if you don't get your license, you can still:
- purchase lead data
- subscribe to dialer systems for cold calling (i.e. RedX, Mojo)
- send mailers
- use SEO marketing 
- and more

If you cannot convert the lead or don't like the deal, not having a license can limit your ability to monetize the relationship with the seller. It becomes more difficult to refer the deal or collect a commission, although wholesaling the deal could be an alternative.

Welcome to the forums @Shan Dey!

Your experience as an investor AND with realtor.com will be super valuable to the community. Its great to see how your journey has led you to helping friends get involved as well, great stuff!

Welcome to the BP forum, @Marvell Martin!

Its good to know that you have the flexibility to move elsewhere. NY is definitely expensive. We are also based in Queens (Astoria), and in this area, the average sale price for 2-4 unit properties is nearly $400K more than the rest of Queens.

If you did decide to target the local market, I would aim for properties at or below $1,200,000 which is the median pricepoint for Queens and Brooklyn. 

The best opportunities for cash flow, lowering your current living expenses, AND staying below the median/average price points will be in the Bronx and Westchester. There are options in BK, Queens, and Long Island, but fewer options are available compared to BX and Westchester. If you're looking to lower living expenses, try to prioritize properties with ADUs or other potential income sources.

Whether or not you decide to focus on NY vs. OOS will depend on your short- and long-term goals. You will find more positive monthly cashflow properties in other states (or Upstate NY), BUT the annual appreciation here in NY is much stronger.

Landlording in NY is not for the faint of heart. Evictions here can take longer than in neighboring states (i.e. NJ and CT). 
That said, successful NY landlords usually do the following:
- Implement a process for pre-screening and thorough screening of tenants
- Use tenant applications and collect as much vital information as possible i.e. credit reports, past landlord references, professional/personal references, financial documents, etc.
- Set expectations and share unit rules prior to the application process to weed out disinterested tenants
- Deliver notices (notice to comply, late payment, 30-90 day notices, etc.) expeditiously. In other words: Don't give anyone time to give you a sob story, instead, get your attorney or property management company involved in delivering notices immediately.

All the best!

Abel