All Forum Posts by: Lior Rozhansky

@Edosa Osemwegie congrats man on starting the journey! I would use this time to study up hard. Listen to amazing podcasts (GSD w/ Joshua Smith, Pat Hiban's, Real Estate Uncensored) to start learning about the different channels out there. I would also pick up a couple of sales books like Cardone's books and Jeb Blount's Fanatical prospecting. Keep practicing basic scripts, and maybe start practicing getting on the phone. No secret to success, just gotta do the dirty work. Start with the basics (calling, networking) and then begin to build out a brand. 

@Dan Weber there are definitely some lenders tightening up the guidelines quite  a bit, but its definitely not across the board. I've had a number of buyers pre approved recently for a low down-payment loan on owner occ. Shoot me a DM and happy to connect you to a few folks that can help. 

Come join us as we share our "20 for 2020 journey"! We set out to acquire 20 new rental units in the year 2020 and we've nearly completed that goal less then 2 months in. We'd love to share with you a little about how were able to achieve this so quickly and how you can build your Real Estate portfolio in similar fashion. We'll discuss how we source deals, analyze the property, find the funding and manage several construction projects at one time! We'll also share how you can structure partnerships and other industry relationships to build a massive cash-flow portfolio!

This is also going to be an incredible networking opportunity with over 100 local investors in the room! Don't miss the chance to rub elbows and chat it up with some of the sharpest minds in the business.

Drinks and apps will be served. Doors open at 6pm. Presentation starts at 630pm.

Hope to see you then!

Meetup link: https://www.meetup.com/Networth-Investors/events/268981582/

@Patrick Hagerty to be honest you may want to consider holding off on investing in real estate and focus on improving your cash reserves. If your max budget is $200K on an FHA loan, meaning you basically have around $10K to play with, you may not be well capitalized enough to buy your first one quiet yet. The real estate game is fantastic, but I always encourage buyers to at least have $5-$10K as reserve funds after purchase (I had a furnace go out within a month of my first purchase that ran me $8K). Especially in the price point you are looking at, if you do find anything chances are it will likely not be in a great location and it wont be in great shape. If you focus on earning/saving for the next year, you'll be in a much better position to go after better property and not place yourself at risk. My 2 cents.

Hey @Alexander M Stanton welcome to the game! There are plenty of meetups around the Boston area and further out. If you search investing on meetup you'll get tons of options, where you can connect with investors from all over. Awesome vision by the way! 

@Atiba Hainstock welcome to BP! There are some great pockets around Boston, plenty of pockets here to make money. Just buy right and based on numbers and you'll do well! 

@Alejandro B. you're right, which is why one way or the other, converting the attic into a legal 4th unit would be a big task. Assuming you even get the permission (which again, is likely going through some sort of variance process which may involve zoning attorney, architectural plans, fire plans, surveying etc), then to get it to code you would need to sprinkler, have egresses etc. 

You can certainly do what you proposed and move into the 4th floor, plenty of people do that with attic spaces or basements, the issue is it would be an illegal unit and you need to really understand your liability. If something catastrophic ever happens, and say you have a fire, and it was found that someone died because you had illegal space in there etc etc, you would be put in a world of hurt. I think a lot of people focus on the "making money" aspect of buying real estate, but risk mitigation is just as important. My 2 cents. 

@Alejandro B. I would check out the program @Ben Simon is referring to, it's a great one. I think the simple way to answer it is by saying that you can't just create a "non-conforming" unit in Boston (or anywhere really lol). In order to create a 4th unit, it would be an extensive process that would require you to go through the zoning process (which would require you getting architectural plans, hiring a zoning attorney, getting land surveying, then going abutter and community meetings etc). It's hard enough to get that approved, but based on your description of no parking on-site, it would make it even harder. Not saying it's impossible, but you would certainly be fighting a battle, and it would be very far from guaranteed. 

I think the bi-level 4 bed/2 bath unit is your best bet. It's not as sexy as creating a 4th unit, but depending on the area and price per square foot as well as rents, adding an extra 2 beds and 1 bathroom can create a ton of value in your property and significantly increase your cash flows. Just my 2 cents! 

@Michelle Costello I'm not a qualified intermediary, but I did do a couple of very similar transactions like Dave talked about. I had someone sell their two family (that was part owner occupied) and 1031 into a single fam that would be rented for a year (he moved into a rental in the meantime). 

There was no issue with the 1031 intermediary company I was working with in going from a two fam into a single fam, it was just about moving up into a higher priced property. But I don't think you can do what you are suggesting, which is 1031 the deffered gains into a single fam investment property and owner occupy the second single fam from the exempt gains. You might want to confirm with a 1031 intermediary to be certain, but I havent seen that. I think you would need to 1031 into another 2 fam or buy a "package deal" of 2 single fams but need both of them to be rentals for one year. Feel free to PM me if you need a local contact in Boston! 

@Phillip Dixon welcome man! For the most part I'd agree you'd want to look at 3 fams, as cash flows typically are higher with scale. But depending on your goal (since you mentioned you are looking to rehab as well, it could be more of a BRRR play?), there could be some 2 fams out there that could make sense, especially those with larger bed counts.

In terms of markets, love the selection, though I'd say Southie is pretty tough to make numbers work; a large % of people buying multies there are either developers gutting buildings to make condos or cash/buyers looking for storage for cash; hard to cash-flow there well. Chelsea, Dot, and Quincy are all very solid markets, as you can cash flow pretty well there while still having good upside. Plus depending on the neighborhood, not too bad to live in! Also FHA is the way to go, though note you cant close with an LLC on a residential mortgage. You'd have to buy the property and then transfer the deed, but if you just get umbrella insurance you're good. Good luck!