All Forum Posts by: Dor Sagi

Originally posted by @Andra Kay Johnson:

You’ll get one. Just keep putting in offers. Speed is key. Gotta make it a competitive offer too. Where in Hartford are you looking?

 Mostly Bristol and New Britain, but also West Hartford, Newington, and Berlin.

Any tips on how to give a competitive offer in the current market? I don't want to end up overpaying...

I can put 10-20% down, depends on the purchase price. Conventional loan.

I've been actively looking to buy a multifamily property (3-4 units) in Hartford County, CT, since October. I already put about 3 offers that got rejected. Generally speaking, I don't see much properties out there. Is it just this time of the year? Should I keep looking there? Or should I try a different market? 

I would love to join a group. Everything that I found so far has fees and tickets and sounds over the top. I just want a nice casual meetup.

I can tell you that I've lived in my previous apartment for about 5 years, until at the beginning of COVID-19 very clever squatters took over the apartment above me. They were 24/7 high, made tons of noise all night long every night, the guy was beating his girlfriend multiple times a week, they smashed the front door, they sprayed graffiti inside the hallway, and they slashed the walls with a knife. 

The landlord couldn't do anything because of the eviction moratorium. They even offered them money to move out which didn't work.

Eventually I broke the lease and fled because I couldn't handle it anymore.

They never signed a lease nor paid rent or utilities, but apparently squatters have rights in NYC. Go figure...

This was over a period of about a year. I heard from the neighbors that a couple of months after I left, the squatters left spontaneously.

Imagine how much money the landlord lost during this year. How much money they spent on legal. The money they put down to fix the unit and the hallways.

It's an 8 unit building, and 5 units including me left the building because of them.

As a real estate agent I stumble into fake paystubs, fake employment letters, fake landlord reference letters, sometimes you call the client's "landlord" and it's their friend pretending to be their landlord.

Whatever documents you require them to provide - make sure their name is on it. Make sure it's a PDF document and not a screenshot. Ask for 6 months of full pdf bank statements. 6 months of rent payment history. Look them up on Google and social media. Call their current boss and previous boss. Current landlord and previous landlord. If they have late payments or collections look deep to understand when and why. If they have evictions - steer clear!!

We require 700+ credit score even in the toughest neighborhoods we work in. 

I live in Bushwick, Brooklyn. I've never been to Astoria, however from what I heard of it, I don't think that you're comparing it to the right neighborhoods. I would probably compare it to Greenpoint, Ridgewood, Clinton Hill, and maybe some more established neighborhoods in downtown Brooklyn.

Bushwick and Bedstuy and grungy (in a good way). Bushwick is way ahead of Bedstuy in the gentrification process. Lots of hipsters. Lots of bars, restaurants, nightlife, etc. (Depends obviously which blocks). The future of the neighborhood is to be the next Williamsburg in my opinion :)

Bedstuy has some super grungy areas, and some really beautiful quiet historic tree lined streets. Very up and coming!

I'm not a Crown Heights expert, but it is more similar to Bedstuy than to Bushwick. 

My opinion is solely based on how I feel from living in Bushwick (since 2015) and from my experience with the rental market (I'm a real estate agent, but don't do sales. Only rentals).

Feel free to DM if you have more questions!

Thank you for sharing!

Originally posted by @Jonathan Greene:

This is an armchair idea, meaning in your head it probably sounds reasonable, but to seasoned investors it sounds ridiculous, especially to try in Brooklyn. If you think the prices are too high to buy an existing building in Brooklyn, you won't find the prices for knockdowns any better because they often come with environmental issues, removal snags, and then plans, permitting for new construction is very difficult. With all the investors in Brooklyn, if the plot is good, someone would have bought it and built an apartment building already or a multi. If the prices don't work that, consider a town like Philly which is driveable from NYC, but also accessible with solid renters in many areas.

Thanks Jonathan! Yes, I have been thinking of other cities as well, but then I won't house hack, as I defiantly want to stay in my neighborhood. So if I invest outside of NYC it will be a pure rental investment. 

Originally posted by @Andrea Lane:

Dor

You may want to shop for lenders first.  Most lenders will not give a newbie a loan on new construction.  There is just too much risk.

You may want to consider finding a great contractor with experience do some kind of partnering agreement with them.  Be careful, I have had great team mates and terrible team mates.  The bad ones can break a deal.   

Gotcha. Thanks for your response!

I have a dream of house hacking a multifamily in Brooklyn, NY. However, the neighborhoods that I'm interested in are more expensive than what I can afford at the moment.

I was thinking of buying a cheap uninhabitable foreclosure, doing a complete demolition, and building a brand new *modular* construction. I was hoping that it will be cheaper than making the place inhabitable with a complete rehab... Also, I heard that modular construction is a bit cheaper than regular construction.

Am I naive to think it's doable as my first-time investment?  Would love to hear your thought, tips, guidance.

Thanks!