All Forum Posts by: Brian DiMarco

Congrats! Looks fantastic! 

I'm new to this whole thing and I'm navigating as well. Don't worry, you're not alone. 

So since I have no idea what I'm doing still, I'm planning on using this thread to keep track of my progress and questions as I go along.

I've only been investing since the end of last year, and I've mostly splitting the money I have between a self directed Roth IRA, which I won't touch, and as high of a savings account as I cant (Marcus, 1.05%). I'm thinking about putting all my money towards my savings so I can manage a larger down payment in a few months. I'm also not sure what the markets are doing, and I think my assets might be better off in real estate.

I've recently starting looking around at properties, but it seems like a real sellers market in the area. I was on a webinar the past week with a local REA, where I heard that housing prices are up ~7% this year versus the normal 2%. I'm seeing that as well, since a house I was interested in, (Nice 2 bed 1 bath with a separate 1 bed 1 bath apartment for ~$350k) was only on the market for a few days before someone made a cash offer. I'm wondering now if I'd be better off waiting a few months before even looking around, though part of me thinks looking wouldn't hurt. 

Hey Ray,

Curious if you're using a lawyer or an accountant or anything at the moment, or if you're just doing everything yourself. Are you also doing all the rehab yourself? 

Fantastic thread! I will probably be bothering you shortly. 

Hey Scott. Great tip! I actually live in Rocky Point so those places are local. Thanks for the website advice!

Hey all,

New to the forum, wanted to give 

I'm currently living in Suffolk County on Long Island in New York. I'm working as a research chemist at a local lab. I'm currently looking to purchase my first property in the area. 

Me

So I'm a research chemist working at Brookhaven National Lab. I've essentially been in school since 2006, having gone the graduate school route. The job I'm currently at is the first to pay me a good salary (grad student/postdoc salaries are normally <$25k) and I've built up a decent savings over the past year a half. Looking to good investment opportunities. I'm a big numbers guy and I love learning as much as possible. 

Plan

My plan at the moment is to try to find a multifamily home for ~$350k and apply for an FHA loan while putting down ~5%. I'm planning to live in one half of the apartment for a full year while renting the second half and afterwords moving on to another location. With my current income, I should be able to easily support the entirety of the month mortgage payments, taxes, etc ( est $2,200 - 2,500), so vacancy, although not great, wouldn't kill me. As far as tenets go, I'm planning to target graduate students and postdoc from the local university (Stony Brook) and the national lab where I work. From talking to landlords in the area (including my landlord), people from the lab are particularly good renters since they generally have good incomes and are responsible. I also have the insiders connection there. As far as the property itself, I'm willing to buy a run down place and living in it while making the needed repairs. Plan would be to live in one area, fix the other and rent it, then fix where I'm living next.

Although I haven't spoken to them yet, I have a lot of family (a lot) living on long island, so I'm hopeful I'd be able to find good plumbers, electricians, etc in the area. 

Concerns

The only worry is what happens at the end of my contract. I'm confident I will be able to find work; I've not had problems with the job market in the past and unemployment rates among chemist are low. However, it's obviously a risk, but no risk no reward. 

Questions

Anyone know any good places to look up properties? I'm on the classics of zillow, etc, and I'm also keeping my eyes open while driving. Any info on locations would be appreciated. 

Any additional information about the area, or