All Forum Posts by: Jason Lee

Unfortunately, Zillow and Trulia listings in NYC are uploaded through Streeteasy (which is the largest public facing RE portal in NYC). Get a realtor to help you and they will pay for all the advertising, take professional photography (hopefully), list it more widely, vet the tenants, and collect the fee from the tenant. Ask them for references from past landlord clients.

I have many many investor clients that only own condo units in NYC from $500K to $5MM. They get A class tenants, nearly zero property management, increasing rents, great appreciation, and nearly zero vacancy. It's working great for them and they have no interest in owning any other type of real estate. It sounds like you're happy with the way things are going and it's working well for you. I would stick with it.

You're going to need at least 300-400K liquid to get a 2 family in prime Brooklyn.

Median sales price for condos and townhouses is down -3.4% YOY in October in JC. New listings are down -34.1%. Average of 40 days on market. Discount off asking is -0.3%. So while prices look flat/down a little, other metrics show a market skewed towards sellers. If you're going to owner occupy and and want to benefit from some rental income then I'd go for it, but if you're looking for some combination of appreciation and cash flow there are better places to put your cash.

Do you know if the co-op will recognize you as the unit owner? It's one thing to inherit shares out of probate, it's another for the co-op board to recognize you as the shareholder. I know many cases where the beneficiary can renovate and/or sell, but cannot occupy or rent out.

I don't know of any lenders that will do a Heloc on an investment co-op. Maybe you can do a cash out refi, but you can't get any type of financing on the property without the board's approval. If they do allow it then they'll still probably review your debt-to-income to make sure you qualify.

$300 positive cash flow without taking into account vacancy, property management, or cap ex and so conservatively it's closer to just breaking even. Rents are already up quite a bit so I wouldn't count on big increases anytime soon. If you sell you'll want to take into account the transaction costs. No cap gains tax but there are transfer taxes which will come out to around $20K, the broker fee, etc. Even taking that into account south Brooklyn 1-3 family median is at it's peak and so not a bad time to cash out.

This depends on what kind of property you have. If it's A or B class then you'll most likely have no problems and it will probably be very easy. If you have C or D properties, then yes, you could have nightmares.

Are you planning to house hack? If so, then yes, it would be wise to go spend a good amount of time checking out the different neighborhoods.

Good areas tend to be close to good transportation and amenities.

The rental market is strong there. Not all the way back to pre-covid but getting there.

Transient home owners? Maybe for studio or 1 bed condos but not 2-family houses.

Yes, median and average prices for 1-3 family houses in Queens are at their peak and looking like it will continue to go up.

5 years is a pretty short timeframe to be looking at how the different neighborhoods are going to perform. The data I see breaks down Brooklyn into quadrants but not specific neighborhoods... I don't know that there's enough volume to do it by hood. My guess is the 5 year difference will be pretty nominal. If you look at 10-15 yrs then there might be a more noticeable spread.

I wouldn't necessarily rule out PLG. Being close to the park is a big plus for many. I toured 77 Clarkson on Sunday and liked it quite a bit. They're not marketing to families... neither is 111 Montgomery. I personally like the northwest corner of Crown Heights between Washington and Franklin. Lots of great restaurants and night life. Not much condo inventory. My listings there tend to bring in a lot more artists, designers and architects. I do a lot of deals on 4th ave in Gowanus. There's good transportation and close to lots of amenities on 5th. All that industrial space isn't highest and best use and so long term I could see more zoning changes and possible growth.

In the end though, this going to be your primary residence and so I would pull the trigger in a neighborhood and building where you really want to live.

What's your base and is your bonus in writing?