All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Makovsky

Hi @Robert Sanabria

What kind of advice are you looking for?

Just know, there are a lot of people on this site who will know a helluva lot more than I will ever know and chances are that someone will help you out. So if you have some questions that you are comfortable sharing, you will likely get a far more educated and better response than someone like me can probably provide.

Hi @Jason Topolski, welcome to BP!

Sounds like a great strategy. There are a lot of people on the site that are looking for capital partners (and many people everywhere, for that matter), so you should have many options to choose from.

You can find all the tools you need to learn how to analyze your deals on BP. As @Brandon Turner mentioned the podcasts are amazing, and it will also give you a flavor to the many different methods you can invest in, for example this week @Ankit Duggal had an INCREDIBLE podcast on RE tax lien investing - was eye opening (at least it was for me). As you start to come across deals you can post them in the "Real Estate Deal Analysis and Advice" forum where savvy investors on the site provide their feedback.

There will be a BP meet-up in NYC on March 11, so if you can get out of your busy job, it would be a great place to meet people, here is the link (http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/116176).

I'm no pro, but I'm in NYC so if you have any questions feel free to PM me and reach out.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks @Darren Sager Looking forward to being there, and please let me know what I can do to help.

@Christopher W.

You are in the best place to learn about finding deals. Also, the podcasts are a great resource.

I actually spent time looking in the Central CT area, and would be happy to discuss some of my findings and some contacts with you - both the good and bad. There are a lot of people on this site, who know this area better than me, but if you would like feel free to PM and I would be happy to discuss with you about what I know about the areas I've looked at.

Thanks @Joel Owens such great points all around.

In short at $105K ARV price this is not a deal, especially with a HML of 7%+ this deal is cash flowing in the red.

Just for my understanding:

1. Did you take it down from $875 to $800 to account for vacancies and credits?
2. Is 60% the general benchmark number you use when a landlord pays for any of the utilities? Do you increase the OpEx ratio to 65% if landlord pays for heat?
3. If the OpEx ratio is 60%, then the only way to find 10-caps is to find properties that exceed the 2% Rule (12 months x 2% gross revenue x 40%), is that correct?

Thanks again.

I am still a RE virgin with no properties under my belt, so please feel free to punch as many holes in this analysis as possible:

Background: There is a duplex in probate that the previous owner lived in the duplex and passed 4 months ago. The children of the estate live out-of-state, and the house has been listed for about a month (supposedly) without an offer on it according to my buyer's agent. The other tenant is in the process of being evicted, and we cannot get into that unit. I am hoping that because of the situation the estate might be motivated to sell quickly.

Property: The place looks like it's in good working condition (new boilers, oil tank), but needs updating especially to the kitchen cabinets and oven. In this area no fancy kitchens needs to be put in. I have not seen the other unit yet, but it was supposedly in good shape (and I would like to include a contingency clause in the P&S agreement to reflect this).

Offer: They are asking $150, and I would come in with an all cash offer of just under $90K and a quick closing period to entice the owners (is the all cash offer necessary?). I expect that the place will need another $15K, so an all-in price of $105K - $110K. (After 3 months, I would like to apply for traditional financing when the property is stabilized.)

Numbers: From the research I've done, I believe I can fill each of the two units for $875/month ($1,750 total). The property taxes are pretty steep ($4,100). The property is heated with oil and has separate boilers, and separate electric meters. I will pay the hot water and water bill.

Thanks in advance for reading and appreciate your suggestions.

A member told me that one is scheduled for March, although I don't have any of the details yet. Once I do, I will post it.

I put out a feeler in a previous post, to see if people are interested in a monthly NYC meet-up - since I don't believe there is an existing one out there. I would be happy to help start it, but as of now it did not get too much traction.

If you are interested - even if we start it small - let me know and maybe we'll try to have one on a monthly basis. At worst, we'll have some pizza, beer, and talk real estate with just a few of us.

Welcome @Dave Olverson!

There's a lot of great info and people to find on BP that I'm sure you can reach your turn-key REI goals.

I'm in NYC too, and I hope that we can meet at the next BP meet-up. Best of luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions (I will try my best to help).

G'day mate and welcome to BP!

I'm also in NYC and I would be happy to share some of my experiences, if you're interested (feel free to PM me). Otherwise, I hope to see you at the next BP NYC meet-up.

Best of luck @Chris Doyle

Welcome @Tom Merritt! I'm also in the NYC area, and I hope to see you at the next BP Meet-up.

You might want to connect with @Darren Sager based on your approach. He's an amazing guy, and he might be able to help you out since his investing relies on being close to major transportation hubs - especially NYC feeders. He also has a great BP podcast that explains this in more details, I believe it was podcast #48.

Best of luck to you!