All Forum Posts by: Jacob Geller

@Andy D. I did this for my tenants in a multi-family house. They were more than happy to give me copies of their utility bills if I was going to put more insulation that would save them money.  I am not aware of any easier way to do it, since you have to prove that the property is eligible, meaning someone pays a utility in the building; I took the easy way out, so I didn't even have to check whether there was an alternative.

Haverhill is not a bad choice.  I agree the prices are decent for the rents, but it's not an area that I have much familiarity with.

@Andrew D., while using a good real estate agent with investment property experience is good, due diligence is absolutely necessary, no matter who you go with.  Do a lot of research about your properties, ask a lot of questions, and do not trust that the seller is telling the truth.  Paper, paper, paper.  Do the numbers.  If you're looking for cash on cash returns, make sure you calculate on the conservative side.

Yes, @Stephen Beaudoin has a good point. If you live in the property, you can get FHA lending and put down very little. That might help you into one of the better towns even with lower cash.

Andrew,

Regarding the rents in those areas you mentioned, yes and no.  Obviously Malden in particular has some seedier areas.  Medford, Somerville and Melrose, you're almost certainly priced out of at your price point unless you get a place that's falling apart.  The rest of the place you mentioned will get you higher rents, to some extent, but they won't offset the property price differentials.  These are the areas my wife and I originally were looking (we live in Melrose), but we shifted because of the cap rates.

However, again, it depends on what you're looking for.  If you're trying to raise cash from the property, you'll probably need to find a place that has predominantly renters and therefore has higher cap rates.  Salem and Peabody have what you would probably consider higher caliber tenants than, say, Chelsea.  That being said, my property in Chelsea brings in huge amounts of cash with lower caliber tenants.  And you can screen tenants and find perfectly good tenants just about anywhere on the north shore.

My advice is do your calculations.  BiggerPockets has good investment calculators.  If you're not looking for cash out of the property, but rather a long term wealth creator, you may be able to find a slightly better location.  You'll just be much more sensitive to vacancies.

@Andrew D.,

It depends somewhat on what you're looking for.  There are some multifamilies for under 400k in Salem and Peabody (less in Peabody, but there were some this spring when I was looking).  What makes you uncomfortable about investing in those lower cost areas?  Crime?  Tough tenants who don't pay?

@Flavio Zanetti, I would love the name of your GC as well.  I'm in the same position as Alex (and @Alex T., I'd like to hear who you ended up going with for that repair and whether you liked them).  We are closing on a triple decker in Chelsea, as well, that has exactly the same problem.

Thanks!

-Jacob

Yeah, I am a lawyer, and I have done some probate work in the past, and there is more to this than what people are suggesting here, particularly considering the new laws that were passed.

It sounds like in 2007 when your father passed away, someone made the ill choice of not probating the estate (your mother most likely got the house by operation of law, not the children).  Don't make the same poor choice now.  Call a probate attorney (if you PM me, I can give you a couple of names).

@David Bellmont,

I have begun looking yes. We've been looking for about 3 months now. I've used all the resources you noted as well as the MLS (I have a real estate broker license). Depending on what your budget is, it's rather slim pickings that are swooped upon instantly. I have not been able to make it to an REIA meeting, but I believe finding a wholesaler and buying pre-market could be a better way to do it.

We are looking mostly north of Boston, all the way up to Salem.  Melrose has very few for sale, and the ones that are for sale seem to be overpriced if you're thinking investment only.

Hey Davids,

Yet another Melrose resident here also looking for a multifamily in the surrounding areas.  It's not easy these days, as there don't seem to be many properties on the market, they're expensive for the rents that they can bring in, and they are still scooped up almost instantly.

But also feel free to reach out to me as well.  I always enjoy talking about this stuff, seeing where people are at in their search.

@Mike Hurney, Yes, we were out this weekend looking.  Not a great deal of inventory at the moment, at least in the areas we've been looking (Medford, Malden, Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Woburn).