All Forum Posts by: Alek Liskov

Welcome @Mark Peteritas !! Great to have experienced folks join the site. If you don't mind me asking, are your properties in PA? Which county? I have 1 property in Monroe County and looking for more. 

hi @Ebony Dickerson welcome to BP! That commute sounds terrible. On the bright side - use that time to read and listen to any and all of the resources you can find under the "Educate" tab. It will help you tremendously. Continuous learning is one of the key ingredients to success!

@Dylan Wang

Sorry for the late response. I think the rest have already done a good job. If I had to pick, I would side with @Account Closed's rent numbers are accurate, so $1500/month no utilities is the high end.

Again, feel free to post more details about specific deals and others will chime in with their advice. 

Good luck. Always feel free to reach out!

Hi @Dylan Wang, welcome to BP! 

The plan you have put together sound great. Start with house hacking and then move out. I personally plan to do the same in the very near future for my personal residence. 

That being said, I have lived in the area (Clifton/Passaic/Garfield) for about two years now and what you're describing (15k taxes for triplex) could not be a great deal. It really depends on many other things such as the purchase price and I would say primarily - location! 

Passaic has nice and not so nice communities. The statistics on average are low, but there are areas where it could be a great investment. I would share all of the numbers here (purchase price, rehab estimate, rent estimate, other expenses) and we'll be able to give you a more accurate picture. 

If you're just getting started, then I would recommend to start with the Ultimate Guide to REI and Episode 200 from the podcast. That will give you some direction. I mention the podcast because it will teach you that you need to decide what kind of properties do you want to own.

If the property is in the not so nice parts of Passaic, it may not just be a bad financial deal, but you could also end up with tenants that may not be the most pleasant to deal with, let alone live alongside for 2 years. 

There are a lot of important questions you need to answer, but don't fear - BP is a great community so you're in good hands.

Regards,

Alek

Hi @Tatiana Duarte and welcome to BP! You'll find all the resources and help you need here to get started on your journey. Since you've been listening to the podcast for about 2 months - you may have missed Episode 200. Go back and listen to it. It's great for beginners. I would recommend listening to all of them, twice. But start with 200. 

Good luck. I have a similar strategy so I am looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

Best,

Alek

@David Benedikt Welcome to BP. You need to give more details. What kind of investment are you looking for? I am a buy and hold investor and while I am not the most familiar with the market, I know the area is not the highest end. That being said, it is NJ so rents are still good. If you have any specific examples, you're welcome to post and people will respond with their thoughts on the property. Otherwise, I would suggest you do some research on how to do analysis, which will lead you to being able to answer the question yourself. Lastly, set up an alert with Elizabeth and NJ and anytime someone posts, you'll get an email.

Alek

@Brandon Turner thanks for the webinar last night! I have to say, the idea behind me attending my daughter's plays and whatever else her creativity drives her to really resonated with me. I work for a company where the general rule of thumb is - the higher you get, the more you have to work. And while I like the company, I can see that becoming an issue in terms of work-life balance one day. Btw, Amelia was born June 10th, so it sounds like they're almost the same age.

I agree with the rest. This is a solid idea. As long as you can learn to manage the out of state properties well, financially speaking you will probably find better propositions than those in the bay area. My personal area isn't terribly expensive, but I choose to rent because I know the moment I buy is the moment I get slowed down. Same goes with other big expenses. 

Best of luck!