All Forum Posts by: Ahmed Saad

Some banks specialize in lending in renovation properties and work with investors. If you're in a position to refinance, you could refinance them into the LLC ownership structure thus avoiding several of the pitfalls mentioned earlier.

I know it’s busy season but maybe @Basit Siddiqi can assist? He’s very knowledgeable.

@Costin I. these are great! I'm in the midst of organizing / reorganizing my structures and this will be very helpful.

@Alex Furini Thanks for the shout out! Funny story about the oil vs gas thing. I had a gas boiler completely break down in one of my properties during a deep chill about 5 years ago. I called my trusted plumber to install a new one and they said the earliest they could get there was in 3-4days. I have an oil burner in my home. One night it went down around 8pm. I had the service people there by 11pm. 

TL;DR Oil companies ALWAYS want you burning oil and will do whatever they can to get you up and running again! (this obviously excludes any environmental /personal concerns).

Definitely not NY. There are way too many people doing it, and doing it at a professional level. Find a place you're familiar with that has less competition. More importantly, find people you can work with and learn from.

In my limited experience, I found that if you go through a "local" construction supply store you can negotiate bulk pricing with them. They tend to sell limited quantities in one-offs, but if you're going to help them move some product, then they can assist with the pricing. Also, it all significantly depends on your level of finishes. Some products like Viking stoves never get discounted (not that you're putting them in rentals). Paying cash usually helps save you sales tax cost plus whatever you can negotiate.

Thank you for your replies gentlemen! I'm familiar with friends of mine renting out their own apartment for some extra cash (which as a landlord I cringe at). An agent I know of mentioned that a landlord he knows has had a nice run with STRing some of his units. 

@Doug Pintarch Good luck and congratulations! I just don't have the bandwidth currently to manage them myself. 

@Scott Wolf Thank you for the verification re: recent rent laws. 

@Luke Carl I certainly don't want any trouble with the law... however I will take you up on your offer! I will send over some specific questions. Thank you!

I'm interested in discussing short term rental (STR) opportunities in NYC; specifically Brooklyn and Queens. Do you operate a STR or have knowledge of the subject? I would love to learn more about your experiences. Anyone who is an experienced operator but may not have the properties or capital to start doing it themselves.

In regards to the cost; your range is going to be wide regardless of what you do until you determine your scope of work. First, do you have gas or oil.  If oil, will you replace with like-kind or convert to gas? If gas will you keep one heater for the building or separate into 3 different units? If you want to separate, you need to choose between 3 separate gas boilers (and think of water heaters) or 3 split unit HVAC systems.

Sorry if this response isn't what you had in mind. I guess I just wanted to let you know there are a lot of options. Cheapest option hands-down would be to replace your current boiler with a new one of the same fuel-type and doing it without filing DOB permits/inspections (which of course I am not saying you should do, just that it affects the price significantly). Bear in mind that replacing the old boiler and getting it inspected will likely mean upgrading your boiler room and possibly other parts of your basement; gas lines (if gas boiler), oil tank (if oil boiler), fireproof sheetrock, self-closing doors, ventilation access, and drainage line.

Hi @Robyn Henderson,

What your tenant does is a regular part of maintaining the boiler system in old buildings that have steam heat. Although it's recommended to do it weekly, skipping a week or 2 shouldn't cause a major issue UNLESS you have another issue going on. I agree that 60 years is a very long time for a boiler, however as the saying goes, "they don't build 'em like they used to." Here are a few thoughts in no particular order.

1. Do not do ANYTHING to the boiler if it's working now. Start pricing your options around March/April after heating season is over. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

2. As a 3 family you have a lot of flexibility in what you can do with the heating system. Gas vs oil. Steam vs hot water. If you have equity in the property and want to upgrade the property to increase rents you could install separate heating unit for each apartment. That will reduce your operating expenses too. It's extremely popular now to forgo boilers altogether and install dual-purpose HVAC units that both provide cool and hot air. Just make sure the units are properly insulated.

3. Check your PM for an addition concern.

-Ahmed