All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Andrew C. 

Whoa on the accidental in-home birth! That's a brave wife you've got, sir. Hope both Mom and baby are doing fantastic and congrats!

To answer your questions:

1. Yep, it was a turn-key company.

2. If I had seen/walked the property/area, I would not have bought it. No matter how pretty the property itself was. I am now a huge believer of investing in the market first, then the property. The area is C, I'd say. I would not feel comfortable walking there at night by myself. 

3. Shoddy Rehab - the pictures and videos looked good. But you know what, you only see what they want you to see in pictures and videos, right? Yes, you can have an independent 3rd party to go inspect. But I believe at the end of the day, nothing compares to your own eyes and judgement. 

4. The numbers and information they gave me worked. I did not know any better and I made the huge mistake of trusting the nice & engaging owner with whom we were working with. I did not vet. I did not verify. Classic errors. If I could go back in time and shake myself out of the fog, I would. The #s on the pro-forma did not include much in terms of maintenance and PM fees. Shoddy rehab means a lot of ongoing maintenance means a lot of cash out. We have not made 1 cent in the 6 years we've had this one. By my husband's calculations, we lose 2-3k every year. Oh, we need a new roof this year. 

Bad initial PM (from the turn-key company) told 1st tenant no pets. She then "rescued" 3 dogs. Kept them outside and in lower level. The fleas. Oh, the fleas. After they moved out (which was over 1 year later, which included non-payment of rent), the pest guy went in and came back out. Called us and said he was afraid to go back in because he had never had so many fleas before. We might have cried a little right then and there. PM fired. That is just one story.

Definitely vet, don't trust and always verify many times over. Use conservative numbers. Reach out to BP members whom you think post insightful and helpful info. Worst they can say is they don't know your target area, but they might be able to refer you to someone who does and also offer nuggets of investing wisdom. That is what BP is about. Check out @Jay Hinrichs & Brie's turn-key review site.

Good luck!

@Andrew C. 

Hi neighbor!

I understand the desire to invest out-of-state because the cost of entry where we live can be quite prohibitive. It can be done - maybe not in Forest Hills where we are, but listen to Podcast #107 with Jonathan Makovsky (who has an enviable amount of energy!) - he made it work with a partner (from BP!) in Riverdale, Bronx. We had very close friends up there, some of them have since to moved to Austin.

That said - I would NOT recommend investing out-of-state sight unseen. I've done it. It was my 1st and it was unforgettable, like all firsts should be. However, this is the kind of unforgettable that is much like natural child birth, but with no baby to show for it. I was a total newbie (still am years down the road) who made a bad and ill-informed judgement on an investment that raises my heart rate and blood pressure every time I think about it. 

Yes, the pictures were so, so nice. All the comps, all the demographics and neighborhood info, all the pro-formas, all the promises of support after closing (just a phone call or email away!). A while after closing, reality hit home and what was a well-qualified tenant became a nightmare, the rehab that looked so pretty in pictures and videos were shabby, etc. 

We still have it. We are underwater. So underwater, we know the ocean floor like the back of our hands. There is really nothing to do (we are not willing to ding our credit - both of our FICOs being above 800). 

Now...having somewhat told that story...we still invest out-of-state. But we now do it where we have family, we go visit a lot so we've gotten to know the neighborhoods and communities, we will retire there and we have a wonderful broker/pm who is also an investor. Even though we are a flight away (short 1 hr flight), we have people that we trust/are experienced look at the properties, vet the community, walk the neighborhood. If they say yes/maybe, then we fly down and see. And when we go down, we look at 6 properties/day - that's about all I can do in one day. That has been working out well, so far. 

I don't want to discourage you to take the leap. I think you should,but vet any company that you are thinking about working with and keep your eyes wide open. I think there are some really reputable turn-key companies on BP. Ask around and at the end of the day, I still say you would need to make an initial trip out to your target market and just browse/drive/walk around. 

Best of luck!

Betty

A few weeks ago, we put in an offer for a property that had been on the market for 3 months. 3 months...sounds promising, right? We offered, then they asked for highest and best because they magically had another offer on the table (timely, right?). We then gave them our highest and best, to which they countered (seemed they didn't like the other buyer's offer that much neither). We stood firm because we literally gave them our highest and best. They then went into contract with the the other offer (there really was another buyer). Oh well. Timing is weird sometimes. All you can do is offer what works for you. There will always be other properties.

Best of luck!

Beautiful job! The ammonia smell in there must have been horrendous.

@Anson Young 

What happened to the lady and her surviving cats? We have two cats that came from a cat hoarder with 70 cats in Brooklyn. They were the last 2 out of the 70 caught :)

I say paint it white...makes huge difference.

Also, you might not like what's under the paneling.

I believe their books are more motivational, inspirational and geared toward setting up a frame of mind. No details or numbers, more conceptual and theoretical. No matter, people usually still get something from reading the books, even if it's nothing more than nudging you toward taking additional steps to learn more and be excited. Books are one of the cheapest ways of education!

Anyone listen to the Real Estate Guys? They align heavily with Kiyosaki. I really dislike the commercials and they don't go into detailed transactions much. However, I find that I learn good bits of info from them & they expand my mindset.

Still like the BP podcast best, thought! Keep up the fantastic work!

One last comment, I swear! 

A lot of people are moving up to Hudson Valley. Think Beacon, Saugerties, Wappingers Falls, Rhinebeck, Kingston, etc. Newburgh has this underground group of people that are trying to revive it by buying the needy homes and restoring them. There is desperate need for space and green and people are willing to go about 2 hours up to get it.

Bronx should be interesting too. You have a mix up there. South Bronx is changing and easy train ride. Areas like Riverside are already nice, but still accessible and affordable.

I own my primary in Forest Hills, Queens. Grew up in Brooklyn & LES. Then moved to the city for 10+ years after college, then Astoria. Now Forest Hills.

In terms of what's next in Queens - You can't go wrong with already established neighborhoods like Douglaston. My sister bought a two-family house there 10 years ago - it was already rented with nice long term tenants. Have since appreciated +600k. They are thinking about selling to exchange into something else. 

Flushing, LIC & Astoria are way too hot. But my other sister is invested in a condo-hotel in LIC. She will get 6 condos upon completion. 

Forest Hills (where I am) is already established with families and great schools, but I can tell you I am seeing more hipsters everyday. A lot of new restaurants, bars, organic cafes, etc. Plus, the tennis stadium is doing concerts again. New condo building a few blocks from me pre-sold more than half already in a few weeks. $1.4m for a 3bed. If you can get into a SFR here, do it.

Elmhurst & Rego Park - more new builds and coop conversions. The Continental Park in Elmhurst is a coop converting to condo and selling out fast. 

Ridgewood, I feel, has been the Queens brother to Brooklyn's Bushwick. It has a nice mix of younger transplants and still the old-school folks hanging outside of the coffee shops or pork shops that have been there for decades. Mix that kind of old school with beer gardens, whiskey bars and microbreweries popping up here and there. 

I hear Corona is coming up. Sunnyside is already up because it's literally across the bridge. Far Rockaway is also already discovered - has a lot of new restaurants for surfers and hipsters. I hear of people investing in the small bungalows there just for that crowd. 

In Brooklyn...Crown Heights, Bay Ridge. Crown Heights is up & coming...hipsters are arriving. Bay Ridge is old school family neighborhood. They are so trying with East NY, but I would stay away. 

I vote for a large frameless walk-in shower - modern and seemingly weightless to the eyes. Unless the tub is one of those re-finished fancy clawfoot tubs, then that's different.

Something I've been seeing a lot of lately is literally a walk-in shower with no door - like in a lot of places in Europe. Water gets everywhere, though - that's why they it the wet room.