All Forum Posts by: Algerson Andre

Hello Everyone - I own property in Buffalo,NY that sits on a big lot that has the potential to serve as ground for a New construction duplex to be built. Since I already own the land and would be interested in building on it, what’s the first step to see if this is even possible?  I imagine there may be steps to take with the city upfront to determine if in fact the ground on the lot can be built on, but some general guidance or tips on best place to start and what to expect throughout the new construction process in Buffalo. Thank you!

AAA

Appreciate all the responses! All is well @Matthew Irish-Jones, just moved out to Chicago, Illinois, so it’s been a new chapter, but I already see property management in my future haha! Hopefully all is well in your world! I figured property management would most likely be the move here, but was curious. So far, I’ve been able to have tenants coordinate with handyman for quick things, so I hear you @Khaled Morad. I hate the idea of leaving keys in a dropbox for people to be in the house and I never met them. Thanks for this!

Hello

I recently started self managing my investment property in Buffalo, NY from out of state. I am wondering how folks have dealt with needing to purchase new appliances if/when one has gone bad during a tenants lease? Since I lived in the area, I know of good discount stores and such where I could get a good deal on an appliance (they are very local and don't have websites). Outside of paying for everything associated with a new appliance (i.e., delivery, install of new appliance, haul away of old appliance), how have you approached replacing an appliance if you are not physically close to the property? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thank you!

Appreciate the feedback folks!

Hello Everyone,

With tax season right around the corner, my wife and I are looking to get the ball rolling on finding a CPA before tax season ramps up. Our property is in the Buffalo market, but I was wondering how folks approached securing a CPA, specifically in a new market where you may not have an entire "team" in place yet? Ideally, would prefer a CPA with knowledge of WNY/Buffalo market. Best starting point outside of a broad Google search? Appreciate any insight on this. Thanks!

@Alan Bailey appreciate that and couldn’t agree more. Windows and smoke detectors will be our first go to purely for safety concerns. We waived the inspection to get this deal, but will be getting one done before we spend money on anything else as to know upfront if there are any major cap exp concerns. Swinging by a Home Depot and just asking questions sounds like a good first stop. I’d like to learn some basics as we get into the landlord’s game but I think we’d defined be hiring this out, so shopping around and comparing estimates will probably be our next move.

My wife and I just closed on our first investment property, which we will be house hacking a dupelx for the next couple of months. The goal is to live in one unit (3bd/1bth) and make updates while living in, and at the same time, rent out the bottom unit (3bd/1bth). Since this is our first go around at house improvements and landlording, I thought this would be a good forum to pose the question to folks who've been doing this for a while.

My main question is... how did/do you approach creating a timeline and budget for making certain updates while you're living inside the unit. For example, here's a short list of things we'll be looking to update while living in the unit:

- Clogged upstairs bathroom drain

-Need bathroom fan

- Bathtub porcelain chipped

- Broken balcony door

- Broken kitchen window

- Missing smoke detectors

- Redo kitchen floors

- Refinish living room floors

- Paint in all rooms

- Improve kitchen cabinets

We don't have a specific $$ budget, but we're always looking to keep costs low while providing quality. Based on the list above, are there certain areas/tasks that you would tackle first before others? What's the best approach to set a budget if you've never done home improvement projects? Appreciate any responses on this!

I'd appreciate that @Timothy Smith!

@Alex Leana thanks for that! I reached out to @Eric Winstanley on this as well. 

@Timothy Smith good to hear folks are still doing it digitally at least. Is this an open or closed group? If open, could you share a link for more info? Appreciate it. 

New investor in the Buffalo market looking to network with others in the market. I just had a very successful trip visiting Buffalo and got to walk the streets and visit a few neighborhoods. Seems to be a promising location to invest in. My partner and I are trying to connect with others in Buffalo and wondered if Buffalo (and other locations) Meetups have gone digital because of COVID-19? It would be great to either join a digital Meetup or collaborate with others to create one. Interested to see what's out there. Thanks!

Be well,

AAA