All Forum Posts by: Duane Ward

Quote from @Ben Wagner:

For a BRRRR to work in high-priced Long-Island/NYC you are going to need to make significant improvements to boost the value by $100k+ more than your investment to get your cash back out. I think the best opportunity to do this will be to buy a distressed property at a good discount and then perform a full rehab.

Have you found many out there in this area that are worth putting the $100k+ needed into them? We've been seeing many that the amount that seems to be needed to get equity in them would essentially put them at market standard given the higher prices of those types of houses currently. I'm told off markets are the better way to go right now vs the MLS. Is that what you've witnessed as well?

Aside from calling the city and HOA, are there any online resources to look into, when considering if expanding the doors on a potential unit is allowed in that area?

ie turning a duplex into a triplex, etc. I know the city would be the ones to confirm if you can get more meters already.

To my limited research knowledge, it seems that basements can't be considered in the consideration for square foot livable space equity in appraisal in NY. However, in listening to BP 598, David was talking about various ways to rehab for the BRRRR method. Would finishing a basement be enough of an equity opportunity to consider a property a good BRRRR. If not, what would you consider the smallest improvement that would be a great opportunity? Updating?

LIiving in a high cost market area, we've been told tons of people were leaving higher cost areas for lower cost ones. That includes suburbs, out of state to smaller communities in other states, etc, especially from New York. How has this effected the rent potential on average in the larger metro areas? Are the rates easier to grab property since there's more supply than the lower cost areas? Have they somewhat balanced since there's higher demand in the lower cost areas? Have the lower cost areas truly ballooned that much or are the residents in those areas just seeming upset cause the numbers are creeping up more than usual inflation rates like the larger metro areas typically experience?

So my wife are close to closing on our first investment property. Originally we were closing end of june when the property would be vacant. However, our lender just contacted us stating he thinks we should close earlier cause the rates are anticipated being much higher by then due to the rate lock being 60 days right now. Problem is, if we close earlier, we would be inheriting a tenant who is currently paying MUCH less than market on the other half of the duplex. They are currently due out end of June, however, with the interest rates in mind, is it worth the risk to close early? If we did close early, what safe guards should we put in place to ensure he exits when he agreed to? Is $5k and 3 months still the standard time frame to remove a tenant? Should we just wait until May to lock in the rate at whatever it is since it's so close?

What are the risks of inheriting tenants and what steps should you take to safe guard your investment if they won't sell the property vacant? 

Ok, that makes sense. So raising the house up to the 7 or 8ft off the ground standard, doesn't guarantee that you won't have to get flood insurance even with new 2.0 pinpointed specifics correct?

Definitely depends on the zoning. We faced that with our first property. We too thought we could just change it to a legal 2 family or accessory apt. Certain towns and in some cases neighborhoods/HOA's don't allow or encourage multi's or accessories for various reasons.

The other issue we ran into was the fact that the inspector can check whatever they want once they're on the premises. We spoke to a really great city official who explained that to us. So you have to be TRULY sure that if you get an inspector that decides to look further than what you requested, it doesn't come back to haunt you.

I would talk to your local county buildings people to inquire before you commit to the purchase. They'll let you know what your options are.

Lastly, if you dont want to go through the hassle of trying to calculate usage, many mother daughters dont have separate meters. You also need to look into the cost of installing and if theyll allow you to install separate meters in general.

Hope this helps!

We found a property that on paper and in person appears to be a good deal. The problem is, it's in a high flood zone that was previously heavily effected by Sandy. The properties foundation since that time has been raised to the FEMA 2.0 flood standards as well as renovated.

However, I'm attempting to find out what hazards we still may need to look out for in consideration of purchasing this multi door unit. It's a duplex that we're looking into converting into a 3 plex based on the layout and number of rooms. The property has a shed that's ground level. The raised foundation does have an elevator access as well as outside access. The only other thing open to the weather would be vehicles and the stairs to the main floors.

Are higher winds typically associated with these types of properties?

Is high tide season typically concerning?

Are insurance claims harder to file due to risk?

Are repairs on raised foundations typically more due to the weight associated And being so exposed to the elements?

Would renters need their own insurance on their things or would that be coupled with the home owners insurance in this case?

We have interest in a property that renovated and raised after Sandy hit. I read that the FEMA standards have been updated. Since the property has been raised to the new fema flood standards, somebody mentioned no flood insurance is needed. Does anybody know if this is true? Also if it's not, being a 9/10 factor without the raised foundation, would it be recommended to get flood insurance on the property anyway to at least cover those things that aren't raised like the shed, fencing, stairs, etc?