All Forum Posts by: John Bucci

FHA is a good option, and if you have income / no debt you should have no problem qualifying. Step 1 - Talk to a mortgage broker for a pre-approval.

Only challenge will be getting an accepted offer with the FHA loan in this competitive market. Certainly doable, just a bit tougher.

Where in NY / CT are you looking? 

@Glenn Brathwaite

@Eder Aldana Why not get a mortgage and ask her to seller finance just the remaining downpayment money of 15-20%? If the bank will let you...Then she gets her ~400k to invest with her rockstar advisor, and earn some monthly income for a few years or months. 

Same amount of cash out of pocket for you. 

@Giani Brussich one aspect that may (literally) be a pipe dream...is the moratorium on new gas lines being installed by Con-Ed these days. So you'd probably have to use an alternative energy source for that. 

Also, just because it is 10 Acres, does not mean you can put 3-4 homes, even if it looks like you can. You will still need to find the local code for minimum lot size, and if it is well and septic sort that out with board of health etc. 

It's a complicated process that will require spending money up front with architects, attorneys etc., as @Scott Wolf said, to draw up plans and find out if it can be subdivided, etc. If it is possible, they would probably be selling the pre-approved plans with the site. 

@Hady Farag

Did you make the offer with an agent? Attorneys will probably be taking over at this point, but any decent agent should be able to advise you on your options - Get a new appraisal, and/or renegotiate to a lower price and make up the remaining difference in cash (if you really think it's a good deal). Otherwise walk away...

Agreed. Not to mention using a buyer's agent cost you (the buyer) nothing, and a "good" agent will negotiate a better deal on your behalf. Or suggest ways to tweak your terms/ offer to increase your chances of getting accepted. 

The original example of offering full price and netting the seller more is created in a vacuum, compared to what's really going on these days. With 10+ offers on the table in many cases, your 1% commission savings offer is hardly going to be the differentiator. 

But in the hypothetical world, I get the original point. As someone else said maybe just get your license. Save yourself some real cash, instead of just 10k less on a mortgage. 

I would agree with many others that commission is often not 50/50 on buy/sell sides, and listing agent will often only give a 1% discount or so in the event a buyer comes directly. So it may not be netting the seller quite as much as most people think, or the 2.5% you mentioned. But all things being equal, if there is a 1% or so discount, it may motivate the seller to save 5-10k. Why not.

As a listing agent having another local realtor with a reputation on the line to close the deal and prove they have a qualified/vetted buyer is often valuable, and part of the conversation with a seller. Sellers may leave some money on the table to go with the offer that appears more legit, and is more likely to close. But my market is fairly small so agents know agents, and houses are 500k-1MM+. Deals are rarely double sided or unrepresented. But in a city with  higher volume of agents and transactions the relationships may be less apparent/relevant. 

If you end up in NBG let me know. I have properties and good management there. 

I would suggest hiring a property manager until you build a team, network, or get a few more properties...driving 1-2 hours to change a lock, pick up rent, check on things isn't worth it. Trust me, I learned the hard way. Lol 

A good property manager can get labor done for a fraction of the price you can...for example, unclogging a shower drain - $200 if you call a plumber / $50 for 2 hours of labor by your property manager. Not to mention gas, car miles, scheduling headaches etc. Properties in the areas you mentioned tend be pretty management intensive. Worth every penny in my opinion, the savings on small tasks, plus the savings in time to focus on finding another deal can make up the cost of a manager.

Hi Adam, @Adam Tan

If you're paying cash for a property, you can make the numbers work when it comes to cash flow. Much tougher/ tighter when you add in a mortgage payment around here, due to the high taxes. 

I own some rentals outside of Westchester which cash flow better on paper, but require more management and TLC. If you really want it to be as passive as can be, and view it as a good place to park some of your cash, then buying something in lower Westchester would make sense. More of a long term hold and appreciation play. With less tenant issues (hopefully).

Any questions let me know. I'm currently in contract to purchase a multi-family in lower Westchester as well. And sold a few multis to clients in Harrison and White Plains this year. 

Tough time to be dealing with evictions right now, may take a little while to get them out. Talk to your RE attorney, they would give the best advice.