All Forum Posts by: John Duclos

Hi Elizabeth,  great! I'll introduce myself there as well. 

Hi Pat, I will certainly pm you in a bit thank you!

Hi Bigger Pockets community.  In June my newlywed wife and myself will be moving to Syracuse New York to begin our real estate journey.   The reason we are choosing Syracuse is because my father has 34 successful rental units in the city and knows the market like the back of his hand. 

While the official move is not until June, I am in syracuse 2 weeks a month looking at properties and helping with my fathers property management.  I would love to connect with other investors and build a network for all of us syracuse investors as there currently does not seem to be much here on BP. 

I will also be starting a property management busisness for mainly out of area investors who need boots on the ground.  From personal family experience I know how poor the tenant selection and property upkeep is from the major companies in the area. Their goal is to fill the rentals and ask questions later.  I have direct experience working and selecting tenants from Section 8 and know just how important it is to not just rent a unit, but rent a unit to the right person. 

I look forward to connecting and growing Syracuse together.

John Duclos

Checked that out, yes! pretty much what I'm looking for.

Thank you

Hi all, 

Can you all recommend good websites for learning about the market in different states?  I live in NYC, but the fiance and myself are thinking of making a big move and finally getting into real estate in the process. 

Are there a few websites that helps streamline the research or is it state by state specific?

Thanks all,

Jack

Yes, 6% is pretty standard, though once you build a relationship, or if you use one of my strats above, you should be able to get it down to 5%. Anything less and it becomes tough. 

Hi Steven, 

I'm an Agent in NYC and the agents fee is typically 5-6% depending on if they are a former acquaintance or not. There are a couple of things you can do to lower the commission however.

1. In the contract state that if your listing broker brings in the buyer then the commission is lower.  Since a standard commission is 6% divided by 2, many brokers will take 4% or 5% if they can also bring in the buyer. This is because they don't have to split it. 

2. If you are buying and selling or buying and renting, promise the broker the listing on both sides.  If a buyers brokers knows they will get the listing on the sellers end, they are much more likely to work harder, and accept a lower commission when it is time to sell. This is because you promising the agent a double commission.  One of my mentors as a standard practice takes 4% on the sellers side if she was the buying broker previously. 

Also based on your post it looks like you are buying not selling right now.  At least in New York (be i believe in most places), the buyer DOES NOT PAY ANY Commission. If the listing agent you are dealing with is doing this, just make sure your lawyer does not agree to this in any way. 

Hope this helps.

Jack

Interesting, will have to see what this new law is, thank you for the heads up!

Jack 

Thank's Eric!

I'm actually a Marist Grad (Economics & History)  and I spent one semester at the residence in hotel on rt-9.  Have not been in the area for 3-4 years though, will have to up soon!

Jack 

Thanks Tom, 

I really know very little about Cleveland except for the Rock In Roll  Hall of Fame and the Fact the Lebron is from neighboring Akron.     Somebody else recommended Cleveland to me  so I used it to point out my worry of having my first property so far from where I live. 

If it does become a viable location I will definitely reach out. Thank you!

Jack 

Thanks All for the input,   Northern Jersey is definitely an area I'm looking into as I have a buddy who bought his first investment in Morristown 2 years back and it is going great for him. Other areas like Newark I am less comfortable with.  Hudson County I will also definitely research, maybe in Poughkeepsie near Marist or further north towards Vasser College?

Main concern with these areas though (and definitely something like Cleveland), is that I want to be able to travel to my property with ease should the need arise. Northern Jersey is doable (though I have to take a train), Hudson Valley requires a car and Cleveland is not possible. 

This might just be the price I have to pay for living in NYC and wanting to invest without millions in initial capital.