All Forum Posts by: Greg Potter

Welcome to BP Denzer and good luck on your property search. If you have trouble finding something that matches your criteria directly within the University area I would suggest looking into the near Northside. I've had success renting to SU graduate students previously in my property.

Hello Cerwin, from my experience you are going to have a tough time finding a 2-4 unit property in Syracuse in that price range that doesn't need some serious TLC, and the taxes are going to be in the $3-$4k per year neighborhood regardless of what area of town you are in. 

You might try making your purchase offer on a place contingent on having the roof be properly repaired prior to purchase. That would satisfy your mortgage guy, unfortunately the type of owner who would let their property get so run down is the same type of owner who you probably wouldn't want in charge of a roof repair. 

You could try talking to the Landbank folks directly, they might have ideas on how to navigate their property lists. They might even be convinced to go through with a foreclosure if they had a buyer lined up. Again I fear you will have a hard time finding a place from the land bank that needs less than $15k in work. 

If you plan to actually screen your tenants and manage your property well you are welcome to buy in my neighborhood. 

Welcome to BP Nicole! I love the fact that you are proud to be from Orwell, there aren't too many folks who can say that. One of the snowiest places in the world. My father's family grew up in that town, grandfather used to run a gas station next to town hall where the diner is now, and my grandmother was the postmaster at the post office for years. My brother actually still owns the post office property and rents it to the post office. 

As far as markets to choose from, I'm not very familiar with Watertown, although I'm assuming there is opportunity there with the military base. Oswego can be good if you are willing to deal with the college student market. I don't think the job base is strong enough there to invest with the average Joe tenant in mind. Syracuse can be quite profitable in the small multifamily market, but this market definitely requires close oversight from the owner.

Best of luck to you in your endeavors.

Welcome to BP @Philip Mitsiell from a fellow Syracuse investor. Have you given thought to which neighborhoods you are interested in or have you not begun to narrow your search yet? Are you thinking single family or 2-4s or something else? I've got a duplex in the city as well as some single family homes out of state, both investing styles have their advantages. Let me know if you want to get together to chat some time.

Hello @Peter Whitaker and welcome to BP! You mention having a relatively low income and living in an expensive area, but compared to most people your age who are in the middle of racking up college bills you are in a pretty decent situation by actually having an income. Being military you should be able to take advantage of housing and grocery options and keeping your cost of living very low, even in San Diego. I'd say that the best thing you could do at this point is make sure that you and your wife are on the same page with finances and your goals and that over the next four years you keep your expenses low and sock away a pool of funds for investing. As you eventually intend to return to upstate NY and plan to invest here you could find someone to partner with in Syracuse while you are out west, you bring the down payment and financing ($25k and conventional financing can get you an $80k duplex in a decent area of Syracuse that should yield $1300-$1400 a month in gross rent) while the local person finds the deal and manages it as one possibility. 

Best of luck to you and thank you for your service.

Welcome to BP @Alicia Maloney ! As far as finding financing I don't think the response you got about not already owning a property is going to be the same at every institution. The mortgage company I got my loan through on my two family here in Syracuse no longer exists so they won't be much help. Have you tried some of the smaller or regional banks in the area? I know of an investor who does almost all of his banking through M&T, I would also suggest trying Solvay Bank, Empower FCU, SEFCU, or First Niagara. The big banks like BofA typically stink. If you've got 20% down you should be able to find someone willing to write the loan. I would also think someone from the local REIA would be able to point you towards a bank financing investments in the Syracuse area. Keep at it and you'll find someone.

@Patrick Reilley you can absolutely find fantastic deals in Syracuse on 2-4 family homes, but you can find some real stinkers with lots of maintenance issues as well. Some of the better areas to look in would be Eastwood (13206), parts of the Northside (13203, 13208) and the Tip Hill area (13204). Before looking for deals I would recommend locating a property manager who operates here that will provide your investment with the appropriate amount of attention it will require. I self manage my property in Syracuse so I unfortunately do not have anyone I can recommend. I have seen a number of managers operate in my neighborhood and from what I've seen the majority leave something to be desired as far as tenant screening goes. A good manager would also be able to provide input on which areas are worth investing in and which are not worth your time or dollars as neighborhoods vary from street to street here.

Hello @Markeilsha R. , I don't have a recommendation for a title company but I do have a recommendation for a real estate/closing attorney. Schuh Scott and Wallace on South Salina handle a lot of closings for out of town investors. I would guess that they could suggest a good title company considering how many transactions they are involved in.

Welcome to BP @Tia Rubadeau from a fellow central New Yorker. You said you were working on your first rental, is that located in Central Square or maybe somewhere closer to Syracuse?

Welcome to BP @Peter Lavetsky from a fellow Syracuse member. What areas of Syracuse are you looking in? I think there are some good opportunities here in rehabing and holding small multifamilies.