All Forum Posts by: Lelith Walker

A few people in REIA NYC have invested in Philly successfully and I have family there. It is one of the best markets closest to NYC that is affordable and yet you can make a nice income. The key to any market is getting the right team first before buying property. Next is to consider the neighborhood that you want. West Philly is the Obama promise zone area. Its definitely starting to change already in certain sections. You will have to check it out for yourself because a few blocks will be nice and others will be drug houses. University of Penn is also trying to expand in the area but there are a lot of issues with that. Try to stay close to SEPTA because women coming home alone at night may not want to walk too far to home when they are alone. In a few years it probably will be too expensive. I would not do south Philly for safety issues.

When I look at jobs, population, income, avg rent and what I see when I travel

DC (Fairfax and Arlington), Boston (Worcester, Woburn and Westwood), Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio, Columbus, Indianapolis, El Paso, Jacksonville, Charlotte, and New Haven. TX and FL best in taxes. OH, VA, and PA might be best for insurance.

Places were I see growth:

Nashville, Miami, Detroit (Royal Oak and Dearborn), Baltimore, Bridgeport, Raleigh, Buffalo, Montgomery, Charleston

I prefer laminate flooring in NY because it lasts longer and less maintenance.  Plus I had to replace the carpet after 7 years while the laminate I had for 9 years and it is still going strong.  However, in GA the contractor said the vinyl is better due to the weather down there wrecks havoc on laminate and carpet.  My cousin who lives in GA told me that most of the new houses down there were using the vinyl too.  In FL we have tile and you will notice that in a lot of homes down there.

I do not do too much.  I am registered online with several colleges and hospitals that are in walking distance to my NY property.  I also list it on the military website and craigslist.  I get a lot of people off the street though.  I am registered with http://www.myrental.com which is part of http://www.saferent.com.  These sites screen the background of tenants- housing court, credit, criminal history, id theft.  I do call their jobs and previous landlords. 

(Last year I did use a realtor because I was under a lot of stress with the GA properties. )

All of my forms are saved in a separate folder on the cloud.  I scan all important documents and save them there.

I use excel spreadsheets for call tracking and expenses.  I am looking for a good expense system where you scan your receipt and it automatically logs it in for you.

Couple of options

1. Use a turnkey company. I know people who invested with Strongbrook, Jason Hartmann(sp) and Memphis Invest that are quite happy. I like what Ann Arbor REIA has too. There are others that I have run across but do not know too good.

2. Get a mentor that invests in the cities you want and speak to them.  If you volunteer some time with them that would be good too.  Some of them may be in your local real estate groups.

3. Find a local investor to partner with.   You can check it out right here on biggerpockets or http://www.anysizedeals.com has a list of people who want to partner in various areas.  You could also go on a business trip visiting the real estate meetups or local reia and meet people there.  You will have to check these people out on your own.  I would definitely get a lawyer to validate whatever agreement that you form.  You can trust everybody including those with a title.

4. Crowdfunding and sourcing websites are another way.

Build your team first.  Get 3 of everybody so that you do not have to scramble at the last minute to look for people when one person gets sick, walks out, or dies.  I have had all of these things happen to me and more.  Its safer to use licensed people.  As far as markets look for multi industrial areas like Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Clearwater, Daytona Beach.  If you can not afford these places then go to the closest suburb or city to it.  People like to live near jobs and schools plus tourists and business travelers tend to be in these areas.  Now one property we have is in Kissimmee which is just outside of Orlando. When one person moves out the property manager finds someone within a week and that has been in the family since the 80s. The Fort Lauderdale property took a week to find and the tenant is still there since 2006. 

I have not bought from bank auction.  You can contact auction.com or go to the tax lien bus tours that they offer down there. 

http://www.sba.com/florida/ for starting LLC in FL

For PM look over these sites below.

(IREM), (NAA), (NARPM) and the (CAI).

The DP3 sounds better because you can not rely on the market value. The market value of the home in Florida that was bought in 2006 went below what we paid for it. If anything were to happen between 2008-2013 and we had the DPI insurance, the insurance might have paid us about half of what we purchased the house for.  Luckily, the value has been rising. 

The other thing with the weather changing everywhere you want to protect yourself against everything.  My friend had an apartment building in Oklahoma and no flood insurance because it was not a flood zone when he bought it.  Last year it flooded for the first time and he is still trying to recoup.  I may be a little paranoid but it seems like we need everything now.

Federico Gutierrez--An Obama Promise Zone is a series of neighborhoods  in certain cities that are being targeted to be built up.  You normally get a tax exemption or abatement and may get grant funding of some sort if you invest in those areas.  Eventhough Obama is leaving office I believe that three of the candidates will continue it. (I know I am being hopeful)

https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/promise-zones/promise-zones-overview/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/0....

Yes, all cities offer investment opportunities but all of them do not offer incentives for businesses and individuals to own property and some offer better incentives. For example, take CA cities and TX cities.  The average cost of homes, insurance, property and income taxes in CA is higher than TX. I say if you can invest where your money goes the furthest and you have a good trustworthy team why not do it. 

http://taxfoundation.org/

http://www.naic.org/svo.htm

Is this your first property? Where is your network the strongest?  How much time do you have to devote to looking and maintaining the property? Whats your travel preference?  Whats your lifestyle preference?

If its your first then try to stay as close to home as possible.  Look into first time buyer programs, Obama promise zones, property incentives, artist relocation programs-these are the areas tha will turn around.  If your area is too expensive then consider states where you know a lot of people in one state that are willing to assist you.

Otherwise you can consider Atlanta, San Antonio TX, El Paso, Dallas, Indianapolis, Charlotte, SC, Cleveland, Raleigh, Fayetteville, St. Louis, Fairfax, Woburn, Jacksonville, Arlington, VA, Philadelphia, PA, Detroit and surrounding suburbs. There are plenty others that I have not mentioned that I like as well. I like to choose multi industrial-particularly healthcare, engineering, technology sectors and military presence cause I know the people can pay the rent. I consider population size, unemployment rate, transportation, good income or credit, property tax, income tax, tax incentives. potential growth. Lastly eviction process because NYC process is ridiculous it can take 3yrs but Atlanta, San Antonio, and Fayetteville are 1-3weeks.

The characteristics vary by neighborhood, city and state.  You have some poor neighborhoods that are well maintained on the outside and the people are hardworking and the streets are quiet. Due to size and location the home prices are going to be low.  Then you have other poor neighborhoods where there is always people hanging out, it can be overcrowded, lawns not manicured, garbage all over the place and crime.  Rich neighborhoods normally have huge homes /mansions, well manicured lawns, clean, and sometimes security. 

There is also a taste or lifestyle factor.  Living in NYC what is cheap to us is expensive to people in other parts of the country.  There are neighborhoods that we like in other states that the people in those states would never live.