All Forum Posts by: Eric DeVito

Hello all, I have been looking at Staten Island Homes, multi family to be exact at a max price of $299.999. I would feel most comfortable buying around 250,000 or less because I was thinking the less I go and still putting down anywhere from 20-30% down I will have a higher cash flow. The thing is there really is nothing out in my price range right now except for a bunch of short sales which my RE agent says not to get into. Anyway, I was thinking of increasing my max search price to 350,000 and there are more options to chose from and the homes are a bit nicer as well. If I still do the 20-30% down this will pretty minimize my cash flow greatly, but I believe maybe it will/can work out if I have 2 tenants paying there rent which would balance everything out. Also I could negotiate the price of a multi family listed at 349,000, not sure how much lower I would be able to get it for though. Not sure exactly what to do or how much I can afford. I have about 70k in savings. Any tips/advice much appreciated.

@John Matthews

Thanks for your reply John, You actually cleared up what I was trying to say with the 20% down and all that. As you mentioned I suppose that was my goal to have more cash in my pocket by putting 20-30% down because I would like to start off with 1 multi family property at first. I also understand now your point of view but putting down less % of money to gain more properties at a higher rate. I have been looking at the Staten Island area at multi family with a max price of 250,000, but there really is nothing out right now. I have 80k in savings and I was thinking of increasing my search too 350,000 for multifamily in Staten Island. That would increase my monthly payments a lot if I do a 20% down payment. If I get 2 tenants though then I think it will balance itself out even though my cash flow might be minimal due too the monthly payments I have to make on loan and other expenses. So not sure what to do. Also yes I do like Germantown area a lot, but not sure as a newbie investor if buying out of state as a first property is best for me.

Hello al, my question is since I am new to the investing business when I go to check out properties I am interested in how do I determine as a newbie what needs to be repaired and what doesn't? Will my Real Estate agent help me? Should I have a appraiser walk through with me or an inspector? If so at what point do I have these people walk through the home with me? I can't have them coming to every home I am somewhat interested in.  Any tips/advice much appreciated.

Hello does anyone have any good recommendations for a Property Manager who knows how to get the job done in PA or Philly area to be exact.

@Edward Shin

Thank you for the tips and sharing your own experience. It does make me quite nervous that I will fail and being out of state makes me even more nervous. Aside from that though I am sure there are things I will learn along the way and that I have to just roll with the punches. I know here on BP I can gain tons of knowledge which I have so far over the past couple of months. I think at some point soon I have to pull the trigger though. Only so much you can learn on the website before you have to take action. I am interested in the Philly area/ PA area in general. Multi families is what I would like to invest in. Also you said, Brooklyn and NYC in general is way above my price range.

@Steve M.@Account Closed

Thank you for the advice. The only issue with that is I live in NYC where it is very expensive. Now PA, Philly area is only about 90 mins away which is not too bad. Of course deeper you go the further it is away from me. There just is not really that much out right here in NYC. I have been looking into Staten Island Multifamily, but everything over my price range, and I do not have really any options in my price at the moment here.

@Ezra Nugroho

 Thanks, yea I would like to stay below 200k for a 3-5 unit property. I also want to put down 20-30% just so I have lower monthly payments. I will have enough cash in reserve. I will have to hire a property manager as well I assume.

@Jared Lichtin

 Thanks for the tip, I will check out there as well. PA seems to be a much more reasonable market for me to start investing in then NYC.

@Joshua Chen

 Thx for the tip, I know I wont be able to check on the property to often, but I think if I hire a PM and also drive down on my days off from work every couple of months or  something perhaps it will work out. NYC market is just to expensive for a beginner like myself.

@Ezra Nugroho

Thanks for the tip, how did you get into investing in harrisburg from cali? Harrisburg is a 3 hr drive from nyc to there. I wouldnt want to do that drive to often. Anyway i would like to hear any advice or info you have on yhe area and how you manage your out of state property. 

@Aaron Montague

Aaron my plan is to invest in multi family, i sm still living at home and my job is really close to my house so i really have no intentions of leaving and brooklyn is so expensive. I could only afford Staten island but there are not many multi family homes listed within my budget of max price 250,000, financed of course.

@Aaron Montague

 Thank you for the heads up. I am really leaning towards the PA area. Looking at Harrisburg, and other areas near Philly metro area. It is not to far of a commute for me from NYC. Albany seems to be a bit to far up North for my liking. Also yes I am talking about landlording, I would like to get a multifamily unit, looking at 3/4 unit multifamily homes. I would probably go the Property Manager route since I work full time and I am new so things might get hectic.