All Forum Posts by: Eric A.

I've considered something similar. Does anyone know how Uncle Sam treats rental income and tax write offs/ depreciation expense from foreign real estate? I'm trying to figure out if I'd lose tax benefits by investing abroad instead of in the Midwest, for example.

Andrey Norin thanks for the response. I'm more of an urban guy having grown up in NYC. I can't see myself raising my kids in a yuppie suburb. Diversity is very important to me.

Anthony G great question. The place I currently rent for $3,900 would cost $1.2mm to buy with a monthly common charge of $800. In addition, I'd own the liability of paying for stuff when it breaks, and my insurance would cost more. On a purely pre-tax basis my monthly payments to own would be about $5,000 (putting down 20%). Writing off the interest expense brings it down to roughly a wash vs renting. However I'd obviously be building equity in the second scenario, but I'd have no liquidity left to invest for a couple of years.

Ciprian L. Thanks for the response. My motivation to buy my primary residence would include these reasons: 1) stop renting / making my landlord rich 2) find a bigger place, that I could see my family in for 10 years 3) benefit from rising home prices rather than missing out, or worse being a victim of it (in the form of increased rents) 4) build equity, get tax write off That's not to say renting is without its benefits. For example I currently don't have to pay for repairs when stuff breaks, I don't pay water/gas/sewer/taxes which will inevitably make owning a bigger monthly cash outlay. Further I'm extremely liquid right now and able to take advantage of any good investment opportunities that come up.

Ruben Guerrero I'd love to learn more about Yonkers. I know where it is, but I can't say I know much about its demographic or economic trends. If it's true I can cash flow there WITH a property manager in place, and it's at least a B neighborhood in terms of safety and tenant quality, then I will run, not walk, to invest there (I won't live there most likely). Didn't think cash flowing multi fam was possible within an hour of the city.

Question for my seasoned investors and mentors. I'd like to get a healthy debate going here. I live in the very expensive Brooklyn/NYC market. I have about 250k in liquid assets and I earn a high W-2 income. I have a family and I currently rent in Park Slope. My goal is to diversify my income away from my W-2 career and eventually become financially independent one day. The question is, what should I do first? Buy a home for myself (this will definitely cost at least $1mm for the type of place I'd want) or keep renting my residence and use my money to invest in flips/buy and holds with partners? Buying a primary residence will wipe away my liquidity but at least put me in the game of building equity and benefiting from appreciation and get me out of renting. It will also get me a much needed tax break from Uncle Sam. It will take me at least 2 years to build up a similar liquidity again. If I see appreciation, taking home equity out is always an option but this is far from a given, especially how late in the cycle we are. Partnering up and investing in flips or buy and holds gets me into the game of being an investor right away and helps me build a track record for lenders, which opens the door for better financing eventually. However, I'd continue renting and getting no tax write offs against my high W-2 salary. Before anybody suggests "house hacking" in a multi-family, I've been searching for that elusive unicorn in Brooklyn and Queens for the better part of a year, but I've concluded that multi families are way too expensive in neighborhoods I'd want to live in (I have a stay at home wife and two young children). The rent you make from the rental unit barely makes a dent in the huge mortgage payment and then I become a landlord when I barely have enough free time between my family and job as it is. So, what do the mentors and philosophers out there say?

Please add me to your list. Thanks.

Hey Vladimir Hernandez please reach out to me or add me to your investor list. Interested in off market properties in NYC. Thanks.

I think what the agent means is that sellers will not even entertain your offer because it's such a competitive market right now with multiple offers going for each property. He/she is probably right, although I'm sure there are areas within Astoria where it's a little bit less of a bidding war (long walk to the subway, etc) and I'd think you have a punchers chance with an FHA loan in those situations. Granted in general the FHA loan limits are going to be too low for anything relatively decent in Astoria.

Shmuel Harris the higher down payment certainly allows me to consider more desireable neighborhoods. With only 100k I'm limited to FHA which would only work in Less desirable neighborhoods.