All Forum Posts by: Charles Preuss

I am in the same boat as you Marc. I have been doing so research and I totally agree with finding a CPA that has experience in RE. I also noticed something called series LLC. Think of a bucket of water as being your investments in terms of liability if you put all your investments under one LLC if the water is bad all the water is bad in the bucket. Series LLC from what I understand is suppose to make each entity its own like carrying a bucket full of water balloons. That way when one goes bad the others are protected. I believe they are considered as partnerships in some states. Each state differs. I by no means am a CPA so I'd suggest the prior on seeking out a CPA. But I also suggest making yourself familiar with your options and I believe series LLC is a newer option. I also noticed you were military... As far as running your business there is a non profit called Institute of Veterans and Military Families. They offer free industry certificate training (VCTP) and they also train veterans with at least a 30% disability rating the program is called Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for veterans. One of the top programs for starting your own business not to mention your pro bono follow on services. I don't get paid to state this I was a student in their program and honestly we take care of our own :). Hope some of this info helps.

Hello Everyone!

I just put up my first townhouse in the suburbs of Syracuse NY for rent and am moving my family to our new home. I have been running numbers on hundreds of properties and think I have a clear grasp on my next move but am not sure how to get financing. I just purchased our new home via a VA Loan and have very little equity in the house nor do I have the bank to purchase a house in cash. I heard hard money lenders expect you to have substantial equity along with the numbers making sense for them in order to lend.

I have a great BAIL team (banker, accountant, insurance, lawyer) along with a well known PM and crew for renovations, inspector, and assessor. It seems that financing is the only thing holding me back.

I want to stick with single family homes for now (possibly foreclosures) in the suburb areas unless I can get a steal on student housing. 

Anyone have any suggestions on attaining funding for my next purchase?

Anytime feel free to contact me after you do you analyze those areas and properties. I can go and see the property and let you know the details and considerations moving forward.

A few things I know about this area: Good school district areas either flip or hold. 3 bedrooms 2 bath with at least 1500 sq. ft. Depending on the neighborhood. Within the city personally I'd look into buying in and around Syracuse University. Student housing there is a gold mine a few of my colleagues have properties there and do very well. It's just very important you have a great property manager that carefully selects the students (usually graduate students or international students with unlimited pockets). Best thing is to get rental agreements signed by their parents. Depending on the house and your budget the average rent there is 1600-2500 a floor or 400-600 a room. Everything depends on the property and how you want to write the contract. Hope this helps a little ;).

I would say the best school districts are baldwinsville, Clay, Manlius, in those surrounding areas.

Hello @John Kaftan!

I am also new to BP and to RE and if its one thing I know how to do is research and run numbers. I am also looking towards my first flip which is exciting! I am not so sure about condos as the best approach especially in good school districts. It's my understanding that townhomes and condos can have a lot of turnover (which can be a hassle). Good school districts is a step in the right direction but usually the best school districts in this area (Baldwinsville, Fayettvile-Manlius, Liverpool) are congruent with single family homes. Not to mention the most important thing is the numbers need to make sense not only for you but for the renter as well. Avg. costs of condo/townhouse here is anywhere from 75k -120k depending on location and square footage. The thing is you can also get single family homes for 100k up in those same price ranges. As far as the 75k-99k now your flirting with the same prices for renting an apartment (hopefully the place is turn key updated and an end unit). I know this area pretty well and have done the research but again I am a novice in investing for the mere fact that I have not pulled the trigger just yet. 

As per the partnership topic I would say choosing the "right" partner is very important. Everything seemed fine as I was reading but then I saw that you said to many personalities and levels of comfort with risk. This "to me" was a red flag because I feel RE is already risky enough specially for us novice. If you don't have complete trust in your partner to me I feel its just like having none at all. Helping each other out here and there is fine but I wouldn't necessarily call it a partnership. If I couldn't trust somebody with my money I wouldn't be able to trust them with my property (that is my money). Even with property managers its difficult to ensure they are upholding your standard of tenant and grounds care and maintenance. 

I hope at least something I said sticks :). 

Good luck with the hunt!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Charles Preuss and I am planning on becoming a real estate investor. I am researching on best practices with whom should get a real estate license my wife or myself. I also and looking into REIT's, rental properties, flipping houses, renovating foreclosures etc. Any insight or advice would help! Thanks for having me.