All Forum Posts by: Bob Derwin

The markets for SFHs in both Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties are hot right now.  There isn't much inventory.  If it remains after a week, it is probably priced above retail.  You can forget about finding anything below retail right now.  I spoke to a realtor last week, who has advised clients to put an offer in before even seeing the home, otherwise it's entirely possible, you don't even get the opportunity to make an offer.

You probably have 2 choices. (1) Pick an area, and start a marketing campaign to try to get a property before it gets into a realtors hands. (2)Look at the MLS a couple of times per day, when something pops on that might interest you, have your realtor make an offer, then go see the property.

My rule of thumb is that any bill that can result in a lien on my property, I pay.  For 99% of my properties, that means sewer only.  I have one property where the city handles trash removal, and they have the ability to place a lien on the property, so I pay for trash removal and sewer at that property.

Christopher. There are 2 REIA that meet monthly. The NEPA Real Estate Investors Network meets monthly at the Iron Skillet Restaurant, located at the Petro Truck Stop in Pittston. The next meeting is tomorrow night at 7pm. This group meets monthly on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. This group is currently free to join.

There is also the Wyoming Valley Real Estate Investors Association.  This group meets monthly (except for July, August, and December) on the last Tuesday of every month at Wyoming Valley Church, located in the Dolphin Plaza on Route 315 between the Woodlands and the Casino.  There is nominal yearly fee for this group (it is 55 or 60 dollars).

Lots of experienced investors frequent both of these meetings, so both offer GREAT opportunities for networking among like minded, Real-Estate oriented people.

Bob

Brian,

There are 2 active groups that I belong to in Luzerne County. The NEPA Real Estate Investors Network meets monthly at the Perkins restaurant in Pittston. There is no charge for this group. This group is more investor oriented. We have folks that come from as far away as Williamsport and New Jersey, but a majority of the members are from the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Meetings run from 7 to 9 or so. There is usually a guest speaker, or a member of the group will speak about a real estate investing topic. After the speaker, we have networking time, to get to know what each other is doing, and discuss deals, etc. The next investors network meeting is set for Wednesday October 9, 2019.

There is also the WVREIA (Wyoming Valley Real Estate Investors Association). This group meets on the last Tuesday of most months (there are no meetings in July, August, or December). This group was more landlord oriented, but we are in the process of recreating ourselves to become more balanced between landlording and real estate investing in general. There is a nominal yearly fee for this group (I believe it's 55 dollars), which is used to cover soft drinks, a sandwich tray, and renting of meeting space. This group meets in the Dolphin Plaza on Rt 315 in Wilkes Barre (between the casino and the Woodlands). Again, this group tries to have guest speakers. In the past we have had an insurance agent, a magistrate, insurance adjuster, flooring store owner, and many others guest speakers. The next WVREIA meeting is set for Tuesday September 24, meeting starts at 7.  The speaker will be a local investor, Joshua Ax, who is killing it in the local real estate investing market.  He is speaking at each of the next 3  meetings about getting started in the industry.  There is no charge for this month's meeting as we are hopeful that any/all new attendees find Josh's insights into our market interesting and may want to consider joining our group to hear the 2nd and 3rd parts of Josh's presentation at the October and November meetings.

Bob

There are 2 active groups that I belong to in Luzerne County. The NEPA Real Estate Investors Network meets monthly at the Perkins restaurant in Pittston. There is no charge for this group. This group is more investor oriented. We have folks that come from as far away as Williamsport and New Jersey, but a majority of the members are from the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Meetings run from 7 to 9 or so. There is usually a guest speaker, or a member of the group will speak about a real estate investing topic. After the speaker, we have networking time, to get to know what each other is doing, and discuss deals, etc. The next investors network meeting is set for Wednesday August 14.

There is also the WVREIA (Wyoming Valley Real Estate Investors Association). This group meets on the last Tuesday of most months (there are no meetings in July, August, or December). This group was more landlord oriented, but we are in the process of recreating ourselves to become more balanced between landlording and real estate investing in general. There is a nominal yearly fee for this group (I believe it's 55 dollars), which is used to cover soft drinks, a sandwich tray, and renting of meeting space. This group meets in the Dolphin Plaza on Rt 315 in Wilkes Barre (between the casino and the Woodlands). Again, this group tries to have guest speakers. In the past we have had an insurance agent, a magistrate, insurance adjuster, flooring store owner, and many others guest speakers. The next WVREIA meeting is set for Tuesday September 24, meeting starts at 7.