All Forum Posts by: Mathius Gazi

I don't have much info to offer you, I only have one duplex in New Haven and just started out last year. However, I do want to follow along because I think this is a really cool idea!

I own a two family in Southern CT. It has gas baseboard heat across 3 floors, with second and third floor being a combined unit 2, new furnaces installed two years ago. Gas bill last month was $180 for unit 2 and $140 for unit 1. It has electric stoves in there too so it's all just from heat and hot water. As someone else said, check the history of prior gas bills and the average bill in your zip code, and understand that you might have to eat that cost. Everybody's heard about the cold Buffalo winters. Depending on the class of property and types of tenants you have, they may not take lightly to you going in and blocking off their thermostats or installing electric heaters to bump the cost of heating into their electric bill. 

Hey Austin! I'm a college senior here in Middletown and I was exactly in your shoes last year. I ended up buying a duplex and it's been doing pretty well. Let me know if you want to meet up and talk! Also, the short answer to your question IMHO is as early you possibly can haha

I picked up a two family last summer in New Haven and it is doing absolutely fantastic. Put in about ten grand and a summer's worth of weekends in sweat equity and the deal is very sweet. Let me know if you have questions, I really went through and through the process on this deal.

Definitely in support of @Todd Anderson's reply above. There are a lot of market-specific issues you'll have to grapple with and also, there are plenty of landmines in MFR on its own in CT that you'll have to be ready for, in addition to the nuances and complexities of developing something like this. Would definitely recommend finding a partner who can help walk you through this if you decide to move ahead.

 Would you recommend using Tenant Tracks? I need to figure out how to go about this myself for a property in New Haven. Thanks!

 Highly highly recommend that to you as well. Areas around Newark NJ and along the I95 Corridor in CT are fantastic. In the process of closing on something in New Haven myself and am very happy with the numbers and the quality of the asset

I really agree with this answer. If you rent this condo out and it brings in some positive cashflow, and then you move into a multifamily say 4 unit with an FHA or even conventional loan, you'll probably be spending about $40k-$50k all in on a high quality property. If you do some value add, you'll gain on sale plus have the benefit of having lived there for free for a little as the tenants paid your mortgage, and, there is no carrying cost while you do repairs or improvements - it's your primary home, so you're not losing anything by carrying that mortgage. Maybe this is enticing for you. I know some people are not super keen on just getting up and moving somewhere strictly for financial gains, and it's easier said than done.

 This is great advice. If you can find a quality agent in Columbus who is familiar with the trials of out-of-state investing, you can really find some awesome deals out there. I've spoken to a few people who have totally focused their portfolios on Columbus in particular, especially as big parts of the financial services, insurance, and tech industry migrate there. 

@Mario B. That is great advice! A hard no for me was anything above the "Dwight" neighborhood, which is where the "Ville" in Newhalville, etc. comes in. Crime sucks and rents are lower, and it will probably be the last neighborhood to improve. Regarding The Hill, I've scoped out a few off-market deals with my agent that are either close to that Union Ave train station, or in more walkable sections ex. close to Yale NH Medical, etc. You are totally right abt the walkability on Google Maps tip, and it's something I've been carefully analyzing for every property!

@Amaan Hassanali That is true. My counter to that, though, would be that I couldn't find anything that would cashflow if I bought it as-is, with tenants in place already and with under a 20% down payment. However, once you look at 2bdrs over a certain square footage, have off-street parking, do a small bit of renovating, and do 20% down, it seems like the numbers work well. But that is a big ask though, because with dp + closing + reserves you'd need around $80k in the bank for this.

My big thing is grabbing stuff with vacancy. I don't want to deal with pending evictions, a contingency for the eviction, going in to find piss on the walls, etc. I have tenants already lined up whom I've sourced online, through word of mouth, etc that are moving to the city for work and willing to pay the rents I intend to charge, so I just need to close and get them touring asap.