All Forum Posts by: Greg Pasquale

Hi Brian.  Divorced (amicably). 2 teenage kids.  Hence the reason for staying where I am for 4 more years. I'd like my youngest to turn18 and be more independent and mobile.  4 more years.  In addition they both need their own rooms for now.  I'm in a tough spot. No complaints at all however.  Just trying to continue to improve myself more and more each day and real estate investing fits my sound money belief systems.

@Don Konipol

Thanks!  You are not the first and certainly won't be the last to tell me house hacking on the east coast most likely won't work.  You are the FIRST however to suggest North Dakota - I got a chuckle out of that (no offense to any North Dakotans?).

I guess my next question would be, if you (or anyone else) were in my shoes, what would you do?  Take the cash and invest in other investment vehicles, scrapping Real Estate?

Remote investing? Turnkey remotely? Attempt to start flipping with hard money lenders and try, as best as possible to offset my living expenses with the profit? Flipping may allow me to hang on to my cash for emergencies or buffer or if things don't work out.

I am hell bent on breaking into real estate investing, just entertaining all options and still trying to make connections and learn.

My circumstances (by choice) have me staying where I currently live another 4 years or so.  Multi-family homes (if any are even available) are through the roof, as are taxes, and it's very competitive.

My goal at this point is to live rent/mortgage free while breaking into real estate investing.

When I run numbers for a house hack whether it needs rehab, doesn't need rehab, I put 20% down or consider an FHA...my income from rent doesn't come close to covering my expenses to at least break even.

I've seen some creative things on this forum using all sorts of strategies and creative financing options (hard money to eventually refinance etc) but they all seem to work with flips or buy and holds or when the buyer doesn't need to live in his purchase.

Any creative financial angles or over all strategies that I can make work?  I'm new and unfamiliar with the myriad ways to borrow so I'm probably not seeing lots of more complex or robust options.

As an example...a 2 family home that needs work still goes for upwards of 400k to 450k.  A steal would be 300 to 350k and would need major and structural rehab.

If I put 20% down my disposable cash would be tapped out and still not cover my monthly. If I use FHA and rehab, still won't cover monthly. My equity might be better in a few years but it doesn't solve my current goal of living mortgage free.

Help!

I am still new. Still exploring and absorbing my options. Still analyzing all sorts of investments (house hacking, BRRRR, Turnkey, etc). For a goof, I looked at the "student housing" at a SUNY school I went to three centuries ago. Found one that is fully renovated and priced just where it should be. Searched for similar houses and got the approx rental income as well as reached out to old friends who ended up opening businesses in the area to get their feedback. Rents seem on point as well.

Running it through the rental calc with worst case scenarios (and a property manager) - it still is an insane deal. (Even with rehab, if needed, it would still be a solid buy).

For the folks who dabble in student housing - what am I missing?  Assuming COVID does not shut down the campus in the fall and assuming there will be constant renovations (I lived in these same houses, there is always renovations when one group of kids move out semester after semester) how do you ensure students will move in?

I know this particular house.  It is definitely a student house.  It always has been. And the listing states it as well.  But is the risk buying and not filling it?  Leaving it vacant?  I feel as though I have to be missing something.

What pieces of the puzzle am I missing here?

@Account Closed  Thanks.  Forgot to add. I am willing to do distance turnkey.  I don't mind making the trip a few times a year (wherever that may be).  I am having enough of a struggle making a house hack work locally, I am in Long Island. So it's competitive here and tough to break in.

I will definitely search "best".  Thanks!

@Account Closed Thank you. Tax planning, emergency response, etc. didn't think of those things and haven't come across much mentioning the nuances.

Also, aside from asking around, reading reviews, and asking people here...how would I vet turnkey firms when I have nothing to compare it to?  Obviously, lots of bad press is obvious, but when it comes down to one or two and assuming they perform all the services I need, is it just a vibe or feel when I meet them? Interact with them?  Is it experience on my part?  Vet alot of them, ask alot of questions, etc?  Being unfamiliar with the process, I suppose it would be a challenge to vet them effectively.  As streamlined as it sounds, it may not be the best route for a first time investor unless they have a moderate to high risk tolerance.  

I live in Suffolk County.  I need to live on Long Island for about another 4 years (once my teens are old enough I am more than likely outta here).  I currently rent a townhouse type unit.  Absurd rent.  I have disposable income I'd rather not see squandered or put towards another year of rent.  I have a side gig as well as a 6 figure W-2 job.  Unfortunately my options are limited on location as well.  Trying to house hack in A or B areas is next to impossible for various reasons.  Duplexes or triplexes (mulit-family) are rarely if ever available.  The numbers do not add up.  Even if I didn't want to "live for free" the rent from the other unit(s) would never cover the mortgage even with a traditional 20% down.  My goal is to at least have my monthly mortgage covered (I know, who wouldn't?).

Anyone have experience successfully house hacking or getting started in Real Estate on Long Island over the last year or two?  Any suggestions?  Am I missing a finance option?  Are there creative ways to pull it off I am not seeing? How did you succeed? I am new so I am still absorbing info at a rapid rate.  Thanks in advance.

I searched and read lots of turnkey posts in these forums before I wrote this post.  Lots of great info from very knowledgeable folks.  It has helped immensely.

I am going to be making lots of assumptions here...

Assuming the turnkey company is top notch, has boots on the ground, knowledgeable with that respective area, has integrity, good tenants, and the area chosen has a healthy or growing market...is the only downside lower ROI and Monthly income than if I did most of the tasks myself or parts of it myself? In other words, if most or all of my assumptions were accurate (I know that's a HUGE assumption) wouldn't the buyer be in the positive, even if it was by a small margin?

I am new so I am still trying to wrap my head around all my options.  And I admit what I propose is theoretical, just trying to understand conceptually how turnkey should work.

For the record, I am not being lazy wanting to turnkey.  In my situation it may make some sense to turnkey for the next few years.  Just trying to understand.  Admittedly, being brand new to real estate I am still all over the place and have questions I am sure I will be laughing at a year from now.

@Matthew Irish-Jones thanks for your feedback.  Yes, there is lots of risk and huge downside. I suppose I figured with a property management company handling all the headaches I'd only expose myself to the financial risk (or reward).  It makes sense why these types of investments can be nice payoffs if a majority of things go in the owner's favor.  Risk tolerance and meticulous planning is needed.  

Assistance agencies are definitely something I haven't even began to dive into or consider yet either.

I am brand new.  This is more of a hypothetical question.  I know better than to shoot from the hip and actually take action on this but I like to see where my thinking is wrong. I want to absorb as much as possible.

I live on Long Island.  Brutal place to invest as we all know. I will probably need to stay on Long Island for at least 2 more years (max 4).  Have disposable income. 30K now in hand - by the fall potentially 100K (worst case 60K).  6 figure W-2 job as well.  I rent right now a townhouse (2 teen kids) which is again we all know the rent is insane.

A few avenues I am looking into is house hacking to start (almost the only way to do it if you are on Long Island and even then it can be tough), remote investing (after I make solid connections), and entertaining other options like the following:

I notice as I search more and more locally, there are lots of multi-family fixer-uppers in C areas half the price of the surrounding properties that could provide decent income (if rent is paid and not vacant).

For example, property is 150K - all homes around it are 300K.  Clearly it will need work.  Rental income is estimated at $2250/mo.

Wouldn't this make sense to put 20% down.  Put 20k to 30k into it.  And in 2 to 4 years flip it?

I ran it through the rental calc on this site.  Entering all expenses, etc at worst case scenarios and even included a 12% property manager.   I still showed a few hundred dollars positive cash flow.

Now, I might be thinking a little to recklessly but wouldn't I have decent equity in 2 to 4 years?  Even with a down real estate market in the coming months, I don't see that lasting more than a few quarters.

I am also assuming solid property management and a good team of people.

I also figure this gets my feet wet and with my other disposable income coming in I either hold it just in case this fails or continue to explore other investments.

Anyway - let my learning begin - where am I going wrong?  Am I assuming the houses around it are actually worth double?  I am seeing houses in C neighborhoods (unsteady employment, moderate crime, drug problems, but still families occupying these homes) upwards of 300k to 400k.

And anyone who lives on Long Island and has some experience starting out from here feel free to connect.