All Forum Posts by: Andrew C.

@Kevin Drouillard I'm also from NYC and decided to invest out-of-state.  I decided on a provider in Kansas City, MO.  The market is a lot more competitive now compared to when I bought 2 years ago though but there should still be some decent deals to be found.  Feel free to PM me.

I also agree with @Crystal Smith that you should check out the website: 

http://turnkey-reviews.com/

@Mercedes Falber I live in NY too so I know exactly how you feel.  I just assumed that I'd never be able to invest in real estate, but decided to invest out-of-state.  I have a management company take care of everything and I am an "off site landlord."  So no, you are not crazy!  It can be done.  Just make sure you do your research and due diligence. 

@Jonathan Twombly It just might be a sign of an impending RE apocalypse!  The provider I worked with in Kansas City, MO said the market there is also very competitive...so it seems markets in the rust belt and Midwest are hot...maybe too hot.

@Shawn Pappas Some properties still seem to make sense in North Buffalo as in they cash flow.  Amherst not as much mainly due to taxes.  But I wouldn't want to buy at the peak even if there's okay cash flow if the prices completely drop or if vacancies become an issue.  I will check out east side.  How is the neighborhood?  As in would you live there or only rent to tenants there?

@Kyle A. It seems like everyone is looking for multifamily houses in Buffalo...do you think SFR could make sense since the demand for multis are so high. Also, how is the demand for rentals outside of UB students? I see you have a property in South Buffalo so I'm assuming your tenants are generally not students.

@George T. Good luck with your search.  It is crazy hot in the Buffalo market.  There was an open house for a duplex in Amherst.  It was jam packed and a cash offer of over the listing price of $198k was accepted days later.

@Justin K. I've also been looking in the area for a duplex and have encountered something similar.  Properties are brought under contract within days...sometimes with buyers paying all cash and way over listing price (And this was over $200k).  The part about waiving the inspection contingency is pretty crazy since some of the properties are pretty old, and I'd be weary waiving that anyway. 

@Kyle A. Thanks for the tips.  I've been looking more into it and I think the up and coming neighborhoods probably provide good appreciation potential and awesome cash flow and might be a better investment than the ones I mentioned earlier.  So are there safe/good neighborhoods that are up and coming that you would want to live personally?  What areas are they?   

@Thomas Stackpole Curious to know if you and your friend ended up investing in those areas and how it's going?  I'm looking for pretty much the same thing.  I live in NYC but my brother-in-law lives in the Buffalo area (Amherst) and we're thinking about partnering on a deal.  Since he'll probably be living in the property (and renting the remaining rooms or units), I don't think a rough part of town which may or may not be up and coming is what we'd look for.  Like you, Amherst, Williamsville, and Clarence are great neighborhoods, but prices and prop taxes are high.  Have you found other areas that you'd consider investing in?

@Jay Hinrichs Actually I e-mailed you a few days ago regarding the e-book and you sent it to me.  Thanks, it has a lot of useful information!

@Account Closed I think it's a great idea to hire a BP member to be present at the inspection and to give me feedback on condition/area.  Maybe a more seasoned real estate investor like you would benefit more from visiting the area.  But I'm not sure I would know what to look for.  Driving around the area probably won't tell me as much as contacting a PM, a BP member or another expert in the area.  I'll have to leave that to the experts.  And thank you and Jay for creating turnkey reviews.  I think that site will help me as well as many others looking at going the Turnkey route.

@Account Closed  Sorry, I think the @ thingy didn't work above but I had a few questions about your experience.  Thanks!

@Martin Scherer Thank you for your comment, you explained my thought process much better than I ever could.  It's probably because you're a more seasoned investor.  I'll invest if the numbers make sense, and of course, I will do due diligence when it comes to the area, the turnkey company, as well as the other things you mentioned.  A missing tile is not gonna be a deal breaker.  Ultimately, I think networking with experts in the area, vetting them to make sure they are reputable and trustworthy, and running the numbers in addition to researching the area/rental rates etc, is more important than my eyes seeing the property.

@Betty T.  Thanks, I'll have to check that podcast out.  And thanks for sharing your story.  I probably can't relate to the natural childbirth analogy =), though my wife did have a natural childbirth as well as unintended home delivery since the doctors sent us home twice (that's probably a story for a different forum).  Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience...was it through a turnkey company?  I'm not sure seeing the property would have prevented a bad tenant though, that may be more on the PM or just bad luck.  As for the shoddy rehab job, you're right that pictures can be deceiving, but I'm hoping an independent third party can help me see through a broker's fraudulent photos.  Since you said the numbers and the neighborhood worked, do you mind expanding on why it turned out so bad?  Was it solely a bad tenant plus bad renovation?  

I don't really have family located in an area where rental properties will cash flow...expect for Buffalo,  but I didn't find any turnkey companies out there.  I definitely will vet the turnkey companies and get references, plus there is a turnkey review site recently created by some BP members.

@Ali Boone  Yes, I'm looking at using a turnkey company and I do agree that it reduces the risk.  I understand that it is in the turnkey company's self interest to provide a property in a decent location since they will likely manage as well, plus they need to maintain a good reputation to sell more.  But, I'm sure people have had bad experiences with turnkey companies as well.  Can you expand on why you say that the condition is "known fully" and "more easily managed with trust?"  Why does turnkey automatically mean that there is trust?

@Engelo Rumora  Thanks for the links, I did read some of them already.  I absolutely agree that having a team that you trust is integral.  Building that trust is the hard part.