All Forum Posts by: Joshua Eng

Do you expect to have a positive cash flow if youre living in one of the units?

Also it seems like if you have one vacancy for any extended period of time youre screwed...

Hi all, I'm currently an engineer who is looking to start investing in real estate. I am looking at the possibility of learning the ropes of real estate by purchasing a multifamily house(ideally a 4plex) somewhere in Queens NYC. I was wondering if anyone knows areas that would be good to look at or as others have put it, "areas primed for gentrification".

Otherwise is anyone aware of any good real estate brokers working in Queens NY?

Does anyone have any comments or suggestions on entering real estate investing through a multifamily house?

Sure i'd be happy to keep in touch and try to gather a knowledge base on how to start in real estate specific to our region.

btw thanks to Joel and Johann for responding already! your knowledge and wisdom has been great!

Yeah i'm aware of the rent control issues in some areas. I understand what youre saying about cashflow vs appreciation which is helpful for me.

About how many units does it usually take for a full time property manager to be on site? Related to that is: what is a ballpark estimate of the amount of capital needed to purchase a solid apartment complex lets say in in the nj/philadelphia region?

yeah I would definitely not invest in a multifamily unless i was going to live on site for the time being...

Am i more or less likely to qualify for a commerical mortgage if i already had a multifamily home residential mortgage? In other words does it hurt or help to purchase a multifamily first before trying to acquire an apartment complex? In general to learn about real estate in a lower risk environment should i purchase a multifamily first?

Any multifamily with 4 units or less qualifies for a residential mortgage while anything above that is a commercial mortgage?

Hi all,
I'm currently an engineer looking to get into real estate investing. Currently I am part of a limited real estate partnership which is doing quite well but am not able to learn much or derive enough to be able to go ahead and do it for myself.

Currently thinking about what to do with the capital that I have right now. I am renting my parents apartment so i'm trying to decide if i should invest in a multifamily house and start that way or try to save up more money to buy a small apartment complex and continue to rent in the apartment im in.

I have some capital but unfortunately the prices here in NYC are quite high so it's not very easy to just start investing even in something small. Trying to learn more and decide what the next practical steps would be for me to start investing. Also trying to decide if i should be looking outside of NYC where the barrier to entry is lower. However it's a lot more practical to look in a place that is close to where i live. Any tips or practical suggestions about what i've said would be greatly appreciated!

-newbie eager to learn and start real estate investing