All Forum Posts by: Lelith Walker

thanks @Andriy Boychuk

Do you know if they did anything to improve the levys or land over there?  Staten Island was hit bad during the hurricane.

Buy and hold can be done anywhere but best in growth or up and coming markets IMO. You want to look at the number of industries, employment rate, average income, and population.  I like areas that have hospitals, university, financial institutions and technology because I know these people can afford to pay me.  Transportation is an added bonus.  Some will also consider taxes and eviction process.    The lowest I will go is in a class C neighborhood because I am not ducking bullets.  However, some people make good money in D class areas, its just not my preference. 

Make sure they are licensed and bonded. If dealing with mold, asbestos, radon they better be certified. 

You definitely want a local attorney.  Not just the laws but their licenses are limited to certain states. 

If you stay in the city then you will notice that a lot of money is now being thrown in Queens.  The Bronx is not too far behind.  I think Staten Island will be last.  However, before hurricanes hit a few years ago an outlet mall was considering opening up there.  I forgot the exact neighborhood but it was a few bus stops from where the ferry lands.  Outside of NYC, Connecticut is getting some new stations on metro north and Philadelphia is coming up as well.  The people in Scranton are still arguing if the train is going to go there.  A lot of the homes that were hit by hurricane Sandy in Long Island are up for auction.  My caution is that they I have not heard about anything being done to the land to fortify future floods from happening.  Insurance is going to be a killer there.

No

I have homes and I know people who have notes and tax liens there who also do not have licenses for those.

I did have support from mom, but everyone else put me down and said that I should be getting a man and not a house.  Anyway what you do is expand your circle.  Join real estate groups via meetup, reia, and investment clubs.  Get involved in community work if you can especially with the police dept.  Talk to other people like the taxi drivers, they tell you what areas in your city they notice a change.  Plus some of them love to talk to people and you never know what politician or lawyer or executive they picked up before you.  Don't be too trusting right away like I did though, you will have to feel people out because some people in these groups are scam artists too.  Keep on networking and follow up with people to develop rapport.   Soon you will find that you will have friends that will support you on all your endeavors, not just real estate.

Check with lawyer because I do not have a porch on my multifamilies.  These are excerpts from my lease that may assist.  I tried to modify for your situation.

"Tenant and or guests shall not access porch for loitering, relaxing, or storage.

"Tenant shall not do or keep anything in or about the premises that will obstruct the public spaces available to other residents.This includes but is not limited to, using the porch for parties, storage of goods, objects, or furniture, lounging or unnecessary loitering on the front steps, hallway, or porch.

"Tenant shall not permit any person in or about the premises to deface damage or remove any part of the structure of the premises or the facilities, equipment or appurtenances thereto, nor personally do such things.Tenant shall be responsible for all expenses in connection with any repairs caused by tenant’s failure to comply with the foregoing conditions.

Before purchasing the property I did revisit Atlanta and took a neighborhoods tour. This 3 hour tour is to assist those who are going to move down there get to know what each area has to offer. It does not cover everything because Atlanta is so big.I did speak with family to get a feel of what areas they thought was good.  Outside of that I did not get much support from them after purchasing because one died, another got sick, and I fell out with the other who was trying to cheat me.

I also went to the GAREIA to try to network with others. Unfortunately, I hooked up with one of the wrong people who as I understand it is no longer associated with them. 

 An associate of mine who I had known for 3 years helped in the beginning.  I paid him to take pictures of the property inside and out.  He did so and even video taped it. He went in with a contractor to give me an estimate too. Then when Wendy LoveJoy who I met at GAREIA ripped me off, he stepped in and assisted.   We departed because his business started booming and he became overwhelmed. I had to scramble and found a realtor on here named Tracy Ellison who has helped me out.  We are doing a lease option on those properties to make profit. He does property management also but I do not need that for these because in lease option or rent to own the tenant takes care of the property.

Florida with family because they liked the weather and the attractions.  One started as a vacation home but turned into a rental.

Under my own LLC Atlanta GA. I chose Atlanta because

• it is the international transportation hub of the south east having the busiest airport in US
• It has a diverse economy with many Fortune 500 companies setting up offices there
• friends and family that moved down there
• met some investors that were from NY that invested down there
• good size population
• average salary is high enough to pay me rent and rent is decent enough for me to make a profit
• price it is way cheaper than NYC