All Forum Posts by: Cary P.

 Thanks! Do you have contact info? You can PM me, if preferred.

There are no pot holes, he was recommending a company that tears up streets to lay cable might be able to help me.  I'm dealing with drainage issues in a cement slab with a drain at my garden level apartments.

What is the DEC, sorry, not a construction person. I'll also check with the city about tying in, I'm just concerned about elevation because it's below street level.

So an excavation company or a pot hole filling company?

I have some garden level apartments that have a cement slab at the bottom of the exterior stairs with a drain hole in them. The drains are not tied into a pipe system from what we can tell.  It appears to be one of those drains that has a gravel bed instead.  The building is 50+ years old and some of these drains are not working.  Who do I call for repairing this type of problem?  A landscaper? A sewer guy? Is there a type of contractor that specializes in these types of drains?  It's not a french drain that channels out to somewhere else, it's just supposed to drain into the ground through this clogged up gravel bed.  Everyone I have talked to says they don't do this kind of work, but cannot recommend someone who does.

Thanks!
Cary

 I bought one property for about half price where the rents reflected the neglect. Because of the city it is in, I did not have the luxury of 12-18 months, but I did not know this during purchase - I blame that on a number of factors: wrong REA, not having done enough research on the city I was buying in, and thinking I could be hands off.  I've learned a lot in the past 15 months and I wouldn't change any of it because of the long term pay offs.  That being said, if you have the construction people available, I totally think buying a more neglected property that you know you need to put money into.  Just make sure you quadruple check your numbers and the expected maintenance.  When we bought the place, average rents were $650, now average is $963 and rising. So, a 50% in rents almost out of the gate, but an average of a 30% in cost per door for maintenance.  But the price of the building is up almost 100%.  So, bought for $2m, put $1m into it, now with $4m - in about 15 months.  My cash flow is almost where I need it to be, but money spent was well worth it.  Just TONS of blood, sweat, and tears.

You have to do your own research to find which books will work for you

Another thing to consider with your realtor is current rent roles vs pro forma.  If you aren't on solid ground with current rents, then it isn't a good investment.  If you aren't breaking even until pro forma rents are captured, then you're sunk.  Your REA should also have a great inspector and point out obvious maintenance issues - not just deferred items, but items that might be coming up soon - how old are the central systems? Roof, boiler, furnaces, windows, plumbing, electrical, etc.  

Also, how are you planning on managing the property?  By yourselves or with a PM company? Accounting/bookkeeping, collections, evictions, maintenance, etc.

Quad 1 in a heart beat. A little elbow grease to learn a few phrases and the language barrier goes away. Your attempt at Spanish will introduce you to a lot of people that live there that will translate for you when you can't middle through with "Spanglish".  Hard working people that don't speak English are always a win.  My tenants do so much work for me, paid through 1099-Misc or rent concessions, because of pride of residency and they stay for years!