All Forum Posts by: Brett Pirie

@Shawn Ackerman Right now I've feel like I've walked into the holy grail of REI! There is way more info and helpful people that I could've imagined. I've heard the property taxes are high in NY and built that into my cash flow spreadsheet. The problem is that I don't know where to get accurate numbers. Zillow is all over the board, varying by several thousand over the years on the same property; I just picked the highest one as a starting point. Where do you guys go for property tax info?

@Alan Brown My mom owns two rental properties in CO both managed by a PM and she's had better success than when she was self managing.  Now that I'm learning more I'll ask her some more detailed questions about how it's working out for her.  

You bring up an interesting point that I hadn't considered, the incentives are inherently different for the PM and property owner.  If the leasing fees are that high, I can see why the PM would want to get new tenants each year.  

My long term plan was to hire a PM after we move on.  I'm fine taking on that responsibility when I'm living in the building or close by, but it seems like it would be such a hassle long distance.  

@Alan Brown thanks for the BP podcast recommendation, I didn't about that yet and will definitely check it out.  

We can do a couple more years of close quarter living, after that we'll probably look for SFH with a descent amount of land. Although, if we get hooked in the cash flow we might live in these types of places for a while like you suggest! Based on my numbers for a few places in Troy we could see positive cash flow while living in one of the units. That would be awesome! Although, I might have to rerun the numbers with flood insurance which will eat heavily into our cash flow. It still could be worth it to live there for a year and then rent out all the units. Or look for places out of the flood plain.

I think I understand you're saying that a reason to hang on to our Cap Hill condo would be to hope it appreciates over the next couple years even if the rental doesn't have much cash flow.  I hadn't thought if it that way; something to think about.  Based on my cash flow numbers we'd be lucky to get a couple hundred/month from this place, making selling it look much more appealing.  That, and we need the equity in this place to buy the next one.  

Do we need to live in a property for 2 out of 5 years in order to sell it tax free as a primary residence?  I'll also get myself up to speed on cash on cash return on the down payment.  I have a vague idea and will do some research.  

Thanks for all your help and info!  I'll definitely let you know when we get out there!  

@Ben Clemence Did you see the BP thread about Troy being the new Brooklyn?  It's a month old with some informative discussions about Troy.  My wife graduated from RPI in I think '07.  There were some areas that they would avoid that have since improved.  I'll ask her what those areas are and get your take on how they've changed.   What was your major at RPI?  My father-in-law is a professor of Electrical Engineering there.  What parts of Troy did you live in while going school?  

@Alan Brown I just read about what house hacking really means!  My first newbie error.  Anyway, that's our plan, and now I know what it's called.  

Thanks everyone for the welcome and advice!

@James Carlson Hello neighbor!  We're at 11th and Pearl.  We love the neighborhood.  

@Alan Brown I agree that the equity can be put to better use.  I really like the idea of house hacking as well.  I've done projects on our place and do some handyman work on the side.  Fixing up a single family in Troy while we live there for a year and then renting is definitely worth considering.  

@Daniel O. Thanks for the great insight to the flood zones in Troy!  I knew the downtown area is on the Hudson while RPI is up the hill, but didn't know about the flood insurance requirement.  I will add that to my cash flow spreadsheet and use that in negotiation.  Good tip about checking out the neighborhood on a warm spring evening.  We have some trips out there planned this spring.  What areas would you recommend for the multi-family units?  I'm willing to take a little lower cash flow for a more stable and quality property.  

My wife and I have owned our primary residence, a small condo in Denver's Cap Hill neighborhood, for four years.  It was our first real estate purchase with the plan to hold on to it as a rental when we decide to move on.  Due to the increase in value (according to zillow), selling it sounds like a much better idea.  

Our long term goal has been to own several rental properties generating a reasonable cash flow.  

I am currently enjoying being a stay-at-home-dad for our 8 month old daughter while working on business projects such as developing an app and a couple of small products. Now I'm adding in REI for the reasons you'll see below.

My wife has been accepted to a graduate program at RPI in Troy, NY.  She is grew up about 20 min away, received her undergrad from RPI and has family in the area.  Chances are that we move back east this summer.  

The plan was to sell our Denver condo and rent for 1-1.5 years in Troy.  For the heck of it I started looking at properties in Troy and realized that maybe we could buy a multifamily building, live in one unit while renting out the rest. 

I've found several interesting properties and have started running cash flow numbers on them. I know some of my assumptions will be way off, but right now I'm excited because I can see some positive cash flow. I've followed Chad Carson's post on cash flow to build my spreadsheet, so I think I have a good start on including everything, such as taxes, maintenance and CapEx.

I've been to RPI several times, but have spent very little time in Troy off campus.  Does anyone know much about Troy?  I understand the downtown area is coming back, but that some of the neighborhoods are not doing so well.  A family member in the area says between Canal St and Federal St is becoming a desirable area.  I've been reading neighborhood websites and the local paper, how else can I research the area?  What info am I looking for?  

I see my two big next tasks as develop my cash flow spreadsheet and learn as much as I can about Troy. I'm looking for help to poke holes in my ideas. Is my spreadsheet accurate? How do I analyze multifamily deals? Is Troy even worth considering for REI? Thanks for any help pointing me in direction of finding this info!

Looking forward to contributing to this community!  

-Brett