All Forum Posts by: Lawrence Rutkowski

There are alot of comments on here bashing Kiyosaki and his "Rich Dad Poor Dad" book, yet I think these folks are forgetting just how many mindsets this dude actually changed, and woke them up from systemic financial and economic ignorance.  I was 22 years old when I first read "Unfair Advantage" and that book changed my life.  Yea he makes some obvious, generalized statements, and calls for a crash every damn year lol, but his overall message in those books is sound. I don't really read anything new of his, or listen to his podcasts now for the reasons many of ya'll have mentioned, but by taking the things he has said as food for thought, many of us were able to shed our corporate shackles..  

If you are able to get conventional mortgages right now and aren't acquiring (properly vetted) properties or refinancing, you're really missing out. Leverage this cheap is an asset. If you're worried about paying loans back after an all-out economic collapse, paying that loan will be the least of our worries.

Also, unless you use your primary residence as an asset (like I'm sure many of us here on BP do!) it isn't. Financially speaking of course.

Normal people don't.  Easily manipulated communists do now that "cancel rent" culture seems to be politically expedient.  

@Robert A. Coloma @Ryan McKenna  Any update with your loan guys experience? I'm looking to do a cash out refi on a duplex I have, but I cannot find any reviews online or much of an online presence for them. There are only 3 reviews on their website which are all extremely generic and I think aren't real.  

@Robert A. Coloma @Ryan McKenna  Any update with your loan guys experience? I'm looking to do a cash out refi on a duplex I have, but I cannot find any reviews online or much of an online presence for them. There are only 3 reviews on their website which are all extremely generic and I think aren't real.  

Leverage is good with interest rates so low.. I would buy another rental, and if possible, refinance the vehicle to a lower rate. Sub 2% seems to be common right now for used vehicles. If you've got the credit of course.

Hello BP friends,

These days I find myself thinking about the future quite a bit.  

We're living in a time of rampant polarization, which is directly effecting every aspect of life, but more importantly, and for the purpose of this post, real estate.  

I own rental properties in Buffalo NY, where I grew up. I live, work and own properties in San Antonio TX.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, places like NYS are getting increasingly difficult to be a landlord. Landlord-Tenant laws are very much pro-tenant. To the point where you can't legally refuse a prospective renter because they can't afford the rent.. We are seeing metro areas, like Cincinnati, banning security deposits. Covid has been a reason to outright cancel rent collection and evictions, thanks to executive order on a federal level as of this past weekend.

I do NOT want this thread to turn to politics (Save it for facebook lol), but, and I'll keep this macro, we are looking at a presidential candidate and party who are increasingly villainizing landlords, floating ideas of a 25% "flip tax", and a litany of other legislation and taxation that would seemingly destroy private sector residential real estate for many of us small business owners.

I have been contemplating liquidating NY assets based upon this looming potential doom and gloom. I'm not going to because I've been fortunate with good tenants, but my mind can't help but think of what's on the horizon.

My question to you all, what are you doing to prepare for this, if anything? Are you changing your real estate strategy and income mix? Are you investing in something else altogether? 

Inquiring minds would like to know..

@Richard Singh As a good friend of mine once said, actually, he says it all the time; "Everything is your fault as the investor."   

We certainly have alot of balls to juggle and forces moving against us, but at the end of the day, it's our deal.

In scenarios like this where I'm inheriting tenants, I always make closing contingent upon various important terms of a lease agreement. Like move-out dates, type of lease, etc.  I also always make sure to address security, the last month's rent if paid up front, and prorating the rent for the remainder of the month which I'm closing. (I always try to close as early in the month as possible.)

What are the realistic repercussions of refusing to close? Here in Texas, unless the deal is quite juicy, there's typically no recourse taken if someone breaks their contract, outside of losing EM if you're the buyer.  More times than not, taking someone to court to perform isn't financially worth it.

I am a full time licensed investor living in San Antonio TX. I own rentals here, and a duplex in Buffalo NY.  

My intention, prior to the absolutely ridiculous new laws the wonderful state of NY passed last year was to grow my portfolio in Buffalo.  Property values are cheap, rents are relatively high in relation, offering significant cash flow opportunity.  With the amount of liability landlords are now (and please, if anyone has more insight than I do, fill me in.) subject to, I no longer have a desire to. San Antonio property values have been, and will continue to rise, along with taxes, offering minimal (if any) cash flow, as the rents aren't rising enough to keep pace.

My question is, what markets are ya'll buying and holding in now, and why?

If rent is not received by the 5th, you may send a what is now a 5 day demand letter for the rent. (Used to be 3). Then you must wait 14 days to serve to varying notice of petitions. Then, depending on how long the tenants have been there, you must wait between 30-90 days before you can take them to court. Then, after you take them to court, if the ruling goes your way, I believe you must wait two weeks before you can have the Sheriff physically remove them.  If at any point they offer to make any sort of payment other than what is owed in full, if you accept, the entire process ceases, and if they stiff you on the rest, you will have to begin the entire process over.

Aren't NYS residents fed up with these ever mounting loads of crap that keep piling up?? Is anybody going to band together to illicit any sort of positive change, or are you all going to let Fuhrer Cuomo continue to run that state like Nazi Germany?

New Western is a product of the current market, plain and simple. 

These guys mostly serve up stinkers to wannabe investors they hound at every REI meeting in the city. Normally I wouldn't care, because, buyer beware. Do your own due diligence etc, BUT, there is a never ending stream of newbies with stars in their eyes after watching HGTV who are one of the larger drivers of this rapid price inflation, driving down deal flow and profits for everyone. For every newbie flipper that fails, 7 more will unknowingly take his place. New Western is legally deceiving them.

As a buyer for flips? If you know how to properly calculate ARV, Rehab, Holding and Sale costs you will see that most of what is provided from NW's "Pool of 20,000 Properties" or whatever they say, are mostly not deals. I get comparables that are 1000 sq ft larger than the subject property, too far away, etc. Rehab estimates are laughable. Now there are some "Deals" that could work if the aforementioned holding and sale costs didn't exist.

Now I will say, I have spoken with two colleagues of mine that have successfully flipped property using NW.  That was awhile ago, however. Before the san antonio market saturation.

I've used multiple agents of NW to send me properties, but it has been largely irrelevant as they're regurgitating the same houses. I've even been sent MLS properties they don't even have under contract yet.

They tend to get very upset and unprofessional when called out about this.

I don't think were due for a market correction any time soon in San Antonio, but it will be interesting to see their business model when it finally does. I'm betting then is when they'll be useful again.

If you want to BRRR a property, or get a value-add rental or personal residence, you might be able to buy something currently, but that's about it.