All Forum Posts by: Frank Artusa

It has some termite damage and generally a bit dated. It would require 40-50k in rehab expenses. I scoped out the property a few days ago and it could attract tenants as is, but a cosmetic overhaul could make this a lucrative investment. 

 I'm still in the midst of obtaining all relevant information. The owner is an elderly fellow and doesn't seem to have a full picture on annual expenses, though I have some idea after spending an hour with him this past weekend. He has to talk to his wife who apparently pays all the bills.

I'm considering a commercial/residential mixed property in Eastern Suffolk with .09 cap rate. It's in a upper middle class area and the price has dropped by a cool 200k since 2015. It's been on the market forever. I spoke to the owner today who seems pretty motivated, albeit unsophisticated in matters of valuation. 25% of the units are unoccupied. The cap rate seems good for the area, however I'm not quite familiar with evaluating competitive cap rates for Long Island. A quick perusal of loopnet doesn't turn up much of anything over a .07. Basically, is this a good cap? What other criteria should I be considering besides the cap? Also, I may need a partner or two for this deal.

Wouldn't the low cap rate be a clear red flag in this case?

Great point. An absentee owner may indeed be oblivious to the state of the property. I'll have to check county records and make sure that the owner address is different from the target address and go from there. Do you use other methods for identifying owner information?

 That's great information. Thank you for your reply.

 Yes, I was considering doing a direct mailing of my identified targets once I grow my list to 50 or so. Again, no experience in this area, but I'm skeptical of this strategy's effectiveness. I suppose it depends on the quality and nature of the direct mailing.

What sort of "hit" percentage can one expect from this method? >5%?

Greetings, I spent a few hours this morning driving for dollars taking the less direct approach and leaving notes of interest in mail boxes. I plan to follow up intermittently (monthly?) with the homes I have already identified. I've never done this before, but my father-in-law swares by this method, though he operated out of the bay area. I'm on Long Island and was curious to know if this has worked for anyone in identifying lucrative deals. If not, what has worked for you? Thanks.

Greetings, I'm considering entering the market in Fire Island, specifically through the purchase of a single family home and exploiting the summer rental market. Does anyone have experience in this realm? Or any deals worth scrutinizing? How about pit falls, lessons learned, or general hazards with this particular area? 

My experience is traditional multi family rentals as wells as flipping so this is new territory. My ultimate objective is to produce an additional stream of income, but to also have a place for occasional personal use. Thanks.

Thanks Mike and David for your replies.