All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Gonzalez

Hello BP community,

I'm working on an investment property in Newburgh,NY that was listed as a 2-family but has only one kitchen, 1 gas meter, and 1 electric meter.  I've been hearing good things about the cashflow potential of student rentals and I'm beginning to think this would be the best use of the property.  Does anyone here have any insight to share about off-campus student rentals in this area?  My concern is there is only one private college nearby and I heard rumors that the school only allows seniors and grad students to live off-campus.  Before I go ahead with renovating and furnishing the house for students, I'd like to better understand the market.

Any information would help.

Thanks!

Hi Lyndon! I live in Brooklyn and started investing in the Hudson Valley last year. I agree finding a cashflowing deal in a desirable area in NYC is tough. For that reason my wife and I looked into Beacon, NY for our first investment. Multi-families in Beacon were above our price range but we found an affordable small 1 BR condo near the Metro North station. I self-managed the rehab which was super time consuming and exhausting, but it paid off in the end. Now we have it listed as a STR and we hired a manager to handle all the guest communications, maintenance, and housekeeping. The property cashflows and we are completely hands off.

We're currently working on our second deal, this time a SMF in Newburgh.  We are planning to self-manage for the sake of gaining experience.  Once it's up and running I'll be happy to share my experiences and lessons learned with you as I'm bound to learn some things the hard way.  If it ends up being too much of a burden I will seek out a property manager (we budgeted for this when we analyzed the property).

Overall it's certainly possible to self-manage from a distance.  Your decision will depend on your skillset and desire to learn from hands on experience.  It could be time consuming so if you want to accelerate your RE investing journey you might be better off just hiring a manager off the bat and using that extra time to focus on your next deal.  Personally my wife and I love the Hudson Valley so visiting the property is a great excuse for us to escape the city and go on a nice hike.

I'd be happy to share more details with you so feel free to connect with me.  Good luck!

@Julio Garcia - I spoke with a bank today that offers HELOCS on secondary properties at 75% LTV. Seems like you just have to ask around.

Hey BP community!  I'm wondering what to do with the equity I have built up in my secondary/vacation property?

According to the realtor I work with it can be listed for 150k and I currently owe 48k.  With my awesome math skills I was able to calculate equity of about 100k. What would be the best approach for tapping into this equity?  I estimate I would need about 20-40k out of the equity to supplement the cash I have on hand and pursue the type deal I'm looking for.

I'm conflicted with all the information out there.  I hear HELOCs and HELs are for primary properties (not secondary homes) and I don't think a cash-out refi is the way to go because my mortgage balance is so low.

Lastly would it be advised to just pay it off?  I'm sure savvy investors will cringe at this thought but figured I'd lay all the options on the table for discussion.

Thanks,

Jeremy G.

 Could you expand on this a bit?  Which areas in Jersey are you referring to?

@Abel Curiel - Thanks for reaching out and for the warm welcome.  What are your insights on house hacking in Brooklyn? I always thought I couldn't afford it but maybe you have some ideas. I pay well below market rent right now so my cashflow might actually decrease if I try house hacking in the city. Perhaps the appreciation factor is worth it?

@Lamont Chen - Great advice. Turns out the city of Beacon just enacted a local law that covers short-term rentals. I'll have to dig deeper into this. At a glance it seems like there will be some hurdles to jump over to get the STR to work legally. The biggest issue I see is that the STR needs to be the "primary residence of the owner." Not sure how that works for a condo.

Regarding your comment on SFH investing, could you share any quick tips on finding distressed properties?

Hello BP community! 

My name is Jeremy and I would like to introduce myself.  I am an electrical engineer and I currently live in Brooklyn, NY with my wife.  I am interested in real estate investing to become financially independent and change my family tree.  I'm wise enough to know that I will not leave behind a legacy by trading my time for money for the rest of my life.  It's time I take my financial future into my own hands.

I made my first real estate investment earlier this year with the purchase of a condo in Beacon, NY. The original plan was to find a long-term tenant but my agent shared insights about STR in the area and convinced me to give it a shot. Now I'm thinking about the next move but I'm not sure if I should stick with single-family or move on to a small multi-family property. Any feedback or insights would be appreciated.

As a newbie investor my primary goal is to connect with like-minded individuals who can share knowledge and experiences.  I look forward to connecting with other members. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."