All Forum Posts by: Heath Bressette

Currently working on getting a storage facility under contract. The first pass has an addendum to the owners daughter for a portion of the sale to go to her as a second check. This is for “services” to the owner and buyer given she will provide a business plan.

My understanding of the sellers situation is that he wants to take a loss on the property to offset his other gains. My lawyer is cautious and wants it all go directly to seller then can pay her for the “services “.

Has anyone heard of anything like this? Any advice?

Can you use a standard NYS real estate purchase and sale agreement on a commercial property? Commercial sales tend to be heavily negotiated so a custom contract is usually needed. In my situation is fairly simple I think. I have a small, 6,400 sqft storage facility that the current owner is using for his personal goods. I’d like to buy and convert back to self storage.

@Charlie MacPherson Thank you for clearing that up for me. When you say the assessment is usually 60-80% off market value, is this higher or lower than market value? Given my understanding of market conditions this would be higher but could also be lower if the property is in really bad shape vs comparable properties in the area. Being in Mass. I'm sure you've seen your fair share of properties built in the 1800s. How has your experience been dealing with these older homes? In particular rental properties.

I'm currently looking at my first house hack. Looked at a property recently but unsure if it's a good deal.

Asking price $215,000

USDA financing available

Duplex: 1 unit $1200/mo, 2 unit $750/mo

Built in 1883 and very well maintained

Total mortgage cost is about $1600/mo. This only includes 1% down, $2,150. I am currently renting an apartment for $1300/mo so this would put my new rent/mortgage at $300/mo. Plus vacancies, cap ex, maintenance etc. we are looking at a new rent of approximately 6-700/month. Which saves me $600/month. I would live in the 2nd unit to do some minor updating. The first unit has already been updated. Taxes are $4,800/year and the home was assessed last year at $150,500. This raises a major concern from my viewpoint. Why is the assessment so low?

Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

@Matt McConkey great advice! I have never really thought of it in this way. The value in what you said about leverage who you are is key. If I don't use this method on my first property it will pay dividends in the future with REI being a people business. For that I cannot thank you enough!

@Ray Lai I would be using FHA financing at this point. Can you recommend some of those services you had stated? A rough estimate would be around 500 mailers to get the ball rolling.

Ray Lai I would say time is more of a bottleneck at this point. Money could be as well because the more I spend on direct mail then the less I have for down payment and closing.

Thank you for the reply. Some thoughts on the criteria are desired locations, 1950 or newer, ownership of 15+ years/high equity. I have never done a direct mail campaign before but have been eager to try it out. Any pointers on how to target specifically a house hack would be very appreciated.

Hi everyone. I'm ready to house hack! I've built up enough for down payment on a multi family and want to house hack. Issues are my local market is red hot like the rest of the country. I was wondering if anyone has done a direct mail campaign to find their first house hack? If so any tips would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

@Steve B.

Wow thanks for the detailed description of the area! I see a lot of potential for student rentals in the area. How long have you been looking for a duplex? I noticed the supply is very thin which in turn has driven up the prices for marginally nice properties. Schenectady seems like a great area to invest in if the casino gets passed. From what I've seen the prices are very modest in that area.

I moved to Albany for both personal and professional opportunities. I'm involved with a startup in Hudson and the Adirondacks are a much shorter drive than from Syracuse.

@Steve B.

The economy has a lot of exciting things going on and it is very visible as well. The lower taxes were a shock to me. Any suggestions on the good areas of southern Albany? I know it's similar to Syracuse in regards to being very "neighborhoody".

Thanks!