All Forum Posts by: Josh Russell

I just found this, they have some detailed local reports you can download for free on different sectors of commercial real estate: https://research.irr.com/

I agree with Jason, though. One thing I've been noticing lately is that statistics give you a picture of the average, and we're looking for the outliers. I've been reminding myself lately not to put too much weight on statistics.

@Chris Humez

@Cerwin Haynes

Thanks!

@Chip Carney

@Chaim F.

@Melissa Gittens 

Thank you very much, everyone!

I'm Josh Russell from the Syracuse, NY area (Camden). I am going to get into real estate investing in the next few years. I think the end game for me is to own several hundred rental units, in the form of several largish complexes. Part of the reason I want to become very knowledgeable about investing is so I can get some people from my hometown into it, and help make my hometown a wealthier place. I also want to meet cool people and have interesting conversations. My biggest reason though, is to change the financial direction of my entire family. I come from working class roots, and my mission is to see both my siblings and I living very comfortably in a sustainable way. They have their own good jobs, but they also live in expensive areas, so I want to pass this knowledge on to them and their families.

I'm studying to become an agent first, so I can get to know the local market and save up money. My plan as an agent is to focus on listings and investors, and never stop marketing for sellers. I want to be able to offer several options to sellers, including a quick sale at reduced price to investor connections, listing on the MLS if it doesn't make sense as an investor deal, and recommending anyone they might need (contractors, decorators, cleaners, etc) if they want to improve their property before listing it on the MLS. For a personal investing strategy, I would like to do the BRRR strategy with multifamily. I also want to learn more about how affordable housing works financially, and put that knowledge to some good use.

I've read the following books:

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller

Getting Things Done by David Allen

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow And 36 ... by Frank Gallinelli

The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J Scott

Fixing and Flipping Real Estate by Marty Boardman

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller

I'm in the middle of Think and Grow Rich and New York Real Estate For Salespersons, and I have 20 or 30 more books on my 'to read' list.

I've read this article https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/08/2...

and this thread https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/21/topics/268...

and a good number of other articles and threads on BP, and listened to almost every one of the podcasts.

Right now I'm looking for non-commission paid work, full or part time, in support of a local investor or agent. I'm especially interested in anything that will get me exposure to estimating rehab costs, marketing, deal analysis, or the part of an agent's work that doesn't require a license. I don't really care how much it pays as long as I can survive on it.

I walked away from a secure job to find my passion. This is it. Real estate is what I am doing for the rest of my life. 

I just want to thank everyone who took the time to answer, this has been very enlightening.

http://www.danspapers.com/2015/07/top-5-lawsuits-affecting-income-producing-real-estate-owners/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-m-lieb/top-5-lawsuits-affecting-_b_7849444.html
(both links same article)

This article is pretty interesting for landlords. It has some interesting details to think about regarding leases and partnerships. It's based on NY state law, but is food for thought in all states.

An excerpt:

1. Purchase/Sale Disputes: Just getting to the closing table is the purchaser's first challenge. While the real estate brokers may have promised that they negotiated a terrific deal where everyone agreed to the price, financing and deposit, what happens when the current owners have open building permits that require a Certificate of Occupancy and the town decides that the construction wasn't performed to code? Now, the town requires a variance to grant the Certificate of Occupancy, which may not be forthcoming. After the purchaser's lender declines the loan incident to this news, the purchaser wants the deposit back, but the sellers say "no way," arguing that they are complying with the contract of sale by way of making good faith efforts to get the Certificate of Occupancy. This results in litigation that can take several years to resolve. Beyond title defects (i.e., open permits), there can be other issues that prevent a closing from occurring, such as out-of-possession property lines, seller's non-ownership status, restrictive covenants preventing an intended use or just the efficient use of the property, existing liens against the real estate, current tenant issues with estoppel letters not being forthcoming--and many others. Prospective purchasers who are pound-smart rightfully know that spending their pennies on proper due diligence as soon as practicable can save real money when getting into the real estate game. Start with a title search, perform environmentals, review all current leases and perform a meet and greet with tenants, while always being sure to check with the Army Corps of Engineers when dealing with waterfront property. Only if everything checks out should you even consider being a purchaser.

See the link for the rest.

@Brandon Turner

Oh, that makes sense then. Thanks, really enjoying the podcasts!

Podcast 16's download link seems to be broken. It's the one on the same line as "Podcast: Play in new window". I just get a tiny file that can't be the whole thing. It looks like a really interesting one, so I hope this can be fixed.

Can anyone in the Syracuse or Utica NY area recommend a financial advisor that knows a lot about real estate? Preferably one who will do an initial in person meeting for free and is available to talk very soon, like tomorrow or friday. There's someone in my family making very impulsive financial decisions about business and real estate who needs to hear an expert's opinon.

@Manshi M.

It sounds like you're trying to make as much money as possible and minimize risk.

Speaking of risks and money:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/08/19/family-student-killed-fire-prepares-wrongful-death-lawsuit/CFhp5A0XzHVu77s7vfMFuI/story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/nyregion/manslaughter-charges-for-landlords-in-brooklyn-fire-that-killed-5.html?_r=0

http://www.junipercivic.com/juniperberryarticle.asp?nid=263

So, in the event of a fire, you're concerned about getting a few thousand dollars from your insurance company. Do you think that few thousand will make any difference if you're facing a wrongful death lawsuit or manslaughter charges?

From that last link:
"Look at the risks the owners take to collect illegal rent: civil and criminal charges in the event of death, that certainly means possible incarceration; no insurance coverage because of misrepresentation to the insurance company and income tax evasion charges from the IRS and [state] taxing authorities. Income tax evasion charges usually carry heavy monetary penalties Also, since the other legal tenants in a building with illegal rentals can withhold rent they, too, have recourse to refunds on any rent already paid while there was an illegal rental in the house. You have to ask, is it worth it?"

If you want to minimize risk, stop putting yourself in a position where your life might be destroyed: stop renting the illegal apartment. See what it would cost to turn it into a legal apartment if you still want to rent it out.