All Forum Posts by: Adam Sankowski

Hey only way you truly learn is by jumping! Some people spend thousands and thousands on REI courses, you just learned WAY more than a course could ever teach and have a much better war story from it too!

Man, its hard to watch a good deal go by.  When that happens I just remind myself that "there is always another, always another"  and there will be plenty more when this passes.  And I hear yeah, I'm 41 with 2 kids so I feel you on the risk tolerance.  After this I wanna some how only buy in cash ha.  I run an Airbnb too and things have been TOUGH! 

Hey @Jimmy Epolito sorry to hear that man! I'm not writing here to say "I told you so" just that sucks. Hey sucks that you're out that money but better that it happened now vs. when your halfway into a rehab. Also, Indy has been about 2 weeks behind Boston in closing things down and if we are any sign of things construction will be shut down soon... when that happens you don't want to be stuck with a HML so this might be a blessing in disguise! Also if you liked the inspector at least you have a good one now to use later. I'd sit on as much cash as you can and just be ready to jump on something when the settles. There are people out there that didn't get this opportunity to not jump in and are in the middle of something right now, and when the dust settles you might end up with a much better deal than this one.

That sucks but honestly I'd view this as a blessing and you have a great sense of humor about it too ha I LOL'd on that last sentence!  Keep up the positive attitude and just keep on saving for when things settle.  This isn't going to be a month long thing and it could come back in the fall too so hang in there for the long term and be ready to hit the ground running once they have that vaccine :) 

I invest in Indy as well and Irvington is great.  I would be more fearful than you're being though and here are two issues I have with the deal: If you were funding this through a HELCO I would feel much better about this.  But this is Hard money right?  Mortgage rates are moving up right now even though the fed cut rates to zero!  Why?  Because no one will actually buy mortgage debt right now because banks are planning for a huge amount of defaults or that if people do default the government won't let them foreclose because of the crisis. I worry about you being able to refinance out regardless of what your lender is telling you. 

When is the last time you talked to the hard money lender?  What happens if you can't get anyone to move in or if you can't refinance out?  California and NY state are on complete lockdown right now.  They won't let people move, and moving companies wont't be operating so getting a tenant in will be really tough for a while.  How long can you hold a hard money loan for without getting into trouble? 

Also city of Boston, where I live, just closed down all construction projects of all sizes.  So although you might be able to go around this and have guys work inside if you need any permits of any kind there aren't any inspectors to come out.  Basically if this was funded through your own cash or a HELCO I'd say go for it. But using Hard Money right now feels silly risky to me!  This situation is getting more serious by the day and there are rumors of a national lockdown coming next week.  Good chance you'll have a property that is sitting vacant, with no one allowed to work on it, and you'll be paying hard money costs.  If that's still not a concern then go for it.  Also, I don't know how much EDM you put down but I feel like there will be a buying opportunity big time in a few months if you just hold out a bit... Just my two cents, good luck!

Hey @Rocky DeFalco I don't know if this is helpful at all but I invest in Indy (non section 8) and in KCMO (section 8).  I only invest non-section 8 in Indy because I love my PM and they don't really work with section 8.  I was nervous as well with my KCMO house (I know, totally different market but still) and I've had some hiccups but I really like section 8.  You feel like you're helping someone and they do stay a long time.  I was nervous at first too but I'm glad that I did it.  Of course you could get a nightmare... but you can always get that regardless...  Also you can look at it as diversification with one side of the duplex section 8 and the other not. 

Only thing that popped up for me and it might not ever again is that when Trump shut down the government a while ago it included HUD and I was getting nervous that payments would be delayed. It all passed by but for a moment it just made me realize that you are really reliant on the government for your $. I love section 8 but I don't know if I would want a full portfolio of those rentals too having experienced that and sweating it out for a bit.

Hey @C-Dell J. no I had no luck but also I've just decided to go the old fashioned route.  The truth is that finding a decent contractor is next to impossible anyways so trying to get them to be ok with some highly structured draw schedule... and then having a seller accept an offer with a weird rehab loan... seemed good in theory but I realized it is so easier to just go traditional. 

Hey looking for an architect who works in Somerville. Preferably someone who knows their way through the Somerville zoning department. Lots of big changes to Somerville zoning but would love to talk to someone who has had success with projects there and knows the people.  Anyone has success with anyone who's info they are willing to share?  :) 

Bonus points for a creative architect or who has experience with designing for sound proofing or doing some "creative" layouts. Thanks!

@Lien Vuong thanks as always for the awesome insight! 

Hi! I'm an investor from Boston who's interested in purchasing both a vacation home and something that will Airbnb well. I'm looking to connect with a realtor or other investor or company (or whatever!) that specializes in this. Is there anyone out there that knows some good regions or is in a good area for this. Ideally looking for something 1-2 hours (traffic not included) outside of Boston. 

I'm looking for someone who assists with the scouting of the property, the sale, and then the furnishing and turning it into an Airbnb. Cool if you manage as well but I have an STR in Boston already and can handle the managing if needed.

If you listen to the podcast I'm looking for a realtor like the short term rental expert that was just on expect someone doing this north of Boston and not down south. Thanks so much to any guidance or direction that anyone can provide!

@Lior Rozhansky whoa this is great info! I had no idea this program existed. Good job city of Boston! I wish Somerville had something this easy... @Philip Vidal this might be your best option! JP is very Somerville-ish and awesome and Dorchester is blowing up. People are worried about the schools but I work for BPS and there are great schools and ways to work around bad ones. Boston might be the best option here if you can really increase unit count that easily!