All Forum Posts by: Mike Szatkowski

I've lived in this area my entire life and nothing against Rochester but I'd give Buffalo and those surrounding areas a look as well.  The Buffalo area has been on fire the last several years and is still on the rise.  Rochester just always feels meh to me.

The Buffalo, NY area has gone through a tremendous rebound.  Before my days it was a steel city on the decline after the 80s but it is now an up and coming town filled with younger people and growing technology.  I'm sure a lot of people here could benefit from that market.  I live 30 miles away past the suburbs of Buffalo and this area never changes little appreciation.

When you say the lender's numbers changed are you referring to interest rate and a higher monthly payment?

Thanks for the reply Andrew.

Cash flow isn't great but I live there too so basically live for free and make a few hundred bucks a month. I'm finally ready to treat it more like a business though. I've been renting the larger 4 bedroom apartment for less than it's value to my best friend. I'm working on fixing up the apartment and he is moving out soon. I should be able to generate some substantial cash flow by the end of the year on this house. The BRRRR method sounds amazing I've only learned about it in the last few months. Other than trying that method with this house I've also started saving for a new deal. I'm hoping to start stacking properties within the next 2 years.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $80,500
Cash invested: $11,500

A 3 apartment house in Western, NY where I live and rent out the other 2 units.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I bought this house in 2010 near the bottom of the housing crisis. There was a first time home buyer credit of $8,000 so I figured the risk was low. Since it was 3 units I figured I could rent out two units and live for free.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I knew the owner and had relatives rent apartments from this building in the past. The owner was older trying to get out of real estate business. I paid more than I probably could have but knew the numbers were good.

How did you finance this deal?

I did an FHA loan so that I only needed to put 3.5% down thru a local bank.

What was the outcome?

I've now owned the house for 8 years and still live in one apartment and rent out the other two.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I'm still learning lessons every day from this house. It was built in 1920 making it almost 100 years now. I was in my early twenties at the time and dealing with tenants, lawn maintenance, snow removal, plumbing issues, and everything else that goes along with it. There has been a lot of pain but the lessons are priceless.