All Forum Posts by: Andrew Freed

@Corby Goade - Great insight. 

I've considered this model and the airbnb model and I've just settled on traditional rentals. Everyone's situation is different, but personally I work a W2 job, have family and friend commitments, and self manage 6 rental units. Passive is the key word, I'll take lower returns for less effort given all of the competing commitments. And at the end of the day, I am trying to create passive revenue streams, not active. If you're young and ready to hustle, this could work but definitely think about your situation first. 

On a side note, there are property managers out there that manage these types of rentals. They are a rarity but they do exist. They usually request a higher percentage though, similar to Airbnb property managers. 

@Michael Plaks - Great insight, I appreciate the knowledge. I was considering a cost seg on a few properties but I am not a real estate professional hence I was questioning the usefulness. Your walk through of the report made it a lot more clear. Thank you. 

@Zhang Ping - Does the property have gutters? Are there systems in place to bring water away from the house? That is the ultimate goal or you will have water get into the basement. At the very least, you should definitely get an inspection on the property. As a newbie in real estate, you always want an inspection clause in case something arises during the due diligence process that makes the deal not make sense anymore. 

If you did get an inspection, the inspector should be addressing a lot of these concerns. But just to put this question in perspective, I own 3 properties and all of them have had water in the basement at one time or another. Not a lot of course but puddles here or there due to moisture in the ground. I hope that helps. 

@Zhang Ping - As long as the numbers make sense with the added insurance then it's not a huge deal. However, requiring flood insurance on a property does involve inherent risk. Flood insurance is subsidized by the government hence if that support stopped in the future, your premiums would increase greatly. 

Is this property near the water or a nice park? That might add appeal to renters if it is near a beautiful part of Worcester, close to the water. 

Lastly, I would ensure you have a sub pump in the basement and check to see if there is indications of water. If it is in a flood zone, you have a higher likelihood of getting water in the basement. A little water is fine as long as you have sub pump and it is proactively managed. 

@Mike Rodriguez - This seems like an easy task to subcontract out to a friend or family member. Do you have any friends in sales or marketing? Those skills are super transferrable to real estate and a showing or open house essentially is all about marketing. As @Patrick Britton alluded to, a flat fee for a certain amount of hours of work should suffice. 

@Zhang Ping - I own a few multi's in Worcester as well. If you ever have any questions about screening tenants or managing your new multi-family, please feel free to reach out.

In addition, we do have an active investor community out here. We even have a monthly meetup in the Worcester area. If you want to learn from other investors and network, this is a great opportunity. We had about 40 investors last meet up. I hope to see you there: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

@Jonathan Bombaci - Awesome, thanks for organizing this cool even Jon! 

@Joshua Ruvalcaba - Congrats on getting started. Since you are a veteran, definitely look into housing hacking with a VA loan. If that is not doable, house hack with a FHA loan. Since you are in an expensive market, you might have to think outside the box.

Personally, I think San Diego is a great market and a lot more affordable than San Francisco. If you ever have any real estate related questions, please feel free to reach out. Happy to help.

@Mindy Jensen Registered and can't wait. Thank you for putting this together! 

I'm a grant officer for a research organization. I was hoping to leverage my abilities in grants to provide value to other investors looking to develop affordable subsidized housing units. Anyone know of any federal, non-federal or government grant opportunities available to provide affordable housing? Possibly through HUD or small municipalities. I appreciate the insight.