All Forum Posts by: Jeff Wydra

@Krista Moreno I must say this is very sweet of you, and I appreciate the human factor in it. But at the end of the day it is a business and there must be a happy middle ground. Have you asked section 8 what they would cover if you raised the rents closer to market rate? I own a 4 unit in Syracuse NY and when I bought it I inherited a section 8 tenant, and all 4 of the rents were way below market. I called section 8 and had a very honest conversation with them about what they would pay, and I ended up raising the rents from $400 a month to $625 (56% increase), and for my section 8 tenant it only cost him $7 more.

Not sure if you've explored that Avenue yet but it could be an option. Also, you could just start raising rents slowly, but start raising them nonetheless. People usually do what they have to do to make ends meet.

Side note, I'm actually moving to Orlando in 2 weeks (from Canada) and would love to connect with some like-minded investors and start making some connections. Let me know if ever you've got some time and want to meet up one day, and/or know of any local REI meet up's.

@Travis Andres as someone who has done a few Grant Cardone events and courses, these are my thoughts.

I like the guy on a personal level, but I will NEVER give his organization another dime. In fact, those mother f@$#ers still owe me over 7k.

All of his sales reps are the pushiest SOB's I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. At an event, one of them wouldn't leave me alone while I was trying to eat and network with the others at the table. It got so bad I had to stand up, look him straight in the eyes and tell him to F off or I was going to beat his ***. He wouldn't take "no" for an answer otherwise. It was unbelievable!

As for how they screwed me out several grand, I started by doing 2 of his events, and actually got a lot of value out of them for a great price. But then one of his sales reps called me and sold me on this amazing program (Cardone university or something like that), he said it was "One on One" training and a bunch of other stuff. I'm big into learning and self development so I went for it. Turns out it was all BS. Not one on one! And a bunch other stuff he said was lies too, AND he signed the contract on my behalf which is pure fraud. I fought with them for months and finally had to call my credit card and tell them it was fraud. My card company stopped paying them, but they took over 7k by then and won't give it back. They say I've got a "credit", which I'll never use now because they burned me.

So I would proceed with extreme caution, or not do it if I were you. All the resources you'll ever need are here on BP, for free. Just got to dig a little. That's my 2 cents (which cost me 7k).

I feel like there’s a few on Facebook in some of the groups that I'm a part of, but I haven’t been able to make any of them yet (I'm from Montreal so timing would have to coincide with me already being in the area, which is about twice a month on average).

I'll go through my groups I'm a part of and report back.

Let me know how it turns out @Tim Braun. I too got jerked around by my "lender" in Syracuse (Solvay bank, do NOT recommend) for over two months, and they still hadn't finished the appraisal on my place! So now thanks to them my back is sort of up against the wall. I decided to put the place for sale, but I've also purchased a business with financial commitments that are fast approaching. So I'm thinking of getting a quick hard money or bridge loan to fill the gap for a month or two myself. If I find someone good I will let you know, and please let me know what you come up with on your end. 

Best of luck!

Amazing investment opportunity located in Syracuse NY.

4 unit multi family (1 bedroom) with stable, long term tenants.

The good:

100% Fully rented with stable and long term tenants. The "newest" tenant has been there for 15 years, the oldest has been there for 23. Tenants pay for their own electric and heating (gas). Cash cow! Gross is $2,375 a month, and net is about $1,950 ($23,500 year). Brand new roof and all new Plywood decking in October 2022. All windows were changed to PVC about 5 years ago. Frame is good and foundation is good. Big units with 9 foot ceilings. Hardwood floors throughout. One newly remodelled bathroom. 4 newly upgraded electrical panels. In the path of gentrification! They are throwing down highway 81 (1/2 mile down the street) and building a "community grid" that will bring in more people and investment starting this year (project already underway). It's a $2 Billion dollar investment and the very first roundabout will be down the street. Just down the street from Centro bus maintenance and JMA wireless (2 big, high paying employers). 1 mile from downtown. 1 mile from Syracuse university, hospital, and the cancer center. 1 mile down the street from the carrier dome (now JMA dome) Possibility of building a 5th unit in the super cool cathedral ceiling attic (personally this was my dream and I would've kept that unit for myself). Very prominent building right on the corner of two main roads. It gets noticed and would never have a hard time finding renters. Syracuse has traditionally been a very linear market with a stable or declining population, however starting in 2020 it started seeing an increase in population as well as lots of investment being injected into the city. Home to the 6th largest mall in America (Destiny mall) and lots of industry. Fairly low taxes, insurance and water bills.

The bad:

Needs new siding. About $30k to tear off current wood siding and replace with vinyl. Needs new balconies. Price would depend on style and materials chosen. Interior units would need to be refreshed as tenants leave, but that could be a while as they've been there forever. The neighbourhood is alright, but it's literally on the edge. If you go north, you're in the bustling downtown. If you go east you're at the university and the JMA Carrier dome. If you go south or west, you're in the hood. Some abandoned houses and sketchy areas. But the building itself is just on the outskirts of that, and personally I've never felt worried to walk around at night with a pocket full of rent money.
My plan was to keep it forever, unfortunately as a Canadian I'm having a hell of a time finding someone to refinance it, and I need the money for an amazing business opportunity. Looking for a quick sale. Any more questions please feel free to reach out!

@Arun Gupta I'm a Canadian that had to set up some entities last year when I bought my first US property. I did a bit of research and like you found that some people charge a lot, or you can do it yourself but I didn't really have the time or feel comfortable there, so then I heard about legal zoom. I called and they were pretty knowledgeable so I went with them. Would I do it again? Probably. The forming of my LP and my Corp went well. But I have been quite upset with their other services as of late. They almost screwed up my yearly declaration (if not for my intervention), the price they charge for their registered agent is high and service is so so, and the worst is I've been waiting almost 6 months now for my EIN to come in, and I know the IRS backlog is only 2-3 months, so they are not doing their jobs. Long story short I would use them for the incorporation of the entities, but nothing else. Hope this helps.

Hi @Ronald Starusnak

You say that money and credit is easy to come by, is that still true?

I've purchased a 4 unit about a mile west of SU and will be looking to refi out once I'm done my renovations. I'm new to the area so any advice or suggestions for lenders would be greatly appreciated. Side note, I'm from Canada so even though I've put the property in a NY based LP, I fear I will have trouble finding a lender as I am a "foreign national".

Hi @Fabiola Sanders

Did you ever find someone decent?

I've purchased a 4 unit property in Syracuse and need some work done as well (siding, balconies, etc). I Was going to do it myself but I've suffered an untimely injury and as a result can't do any of the work myself for about 3 months.

Hi John!

Congrats on the Purchase! I've been looking in the Syracuse area myself, we'll have to talk more soon. Also that’s a very good question you’ve got there. 

As a fellow investor and a former insurance agent (many moons ago when I was young and foolish lol) I can shed some light on the subject. Without the details such as square footage etc I can't give a dollar amount but here's what I do know. One thing they consider when insurance companies calculate the cost to rebuild is also everything that will go into the preparation before hand, ie; demolition costs, soil decontamination, permits, planning etc. So that inflates the bill more than most people realize. Then for the actual build the cost will be inflated as their costs will be a little padded VS if you contracted it out yourself for a new build. Long story short if you have a few minutes, call some builders and ask what their price per square foot is for a similar build, then figure out your square footage. From there add the "approximate" additional costs for demo and prep, landscaping etc, and you would have your answer pretty quick. Most people are completely surprised at how high it is btw. Hope this helped and good luck on the new purchase!

Cheers

I would think yours is at least option # 2 and possibly heading towards #3. 

For the price of the premiums  (and all other things being equal) I would definitely dump #1 like a bad date, go straight to #2, and take a good hard look at  #3. The truth it's only a $16 month difference ($192/yr). 

Cheers

My (educated) 2cents