All Forum Posts by: Mills Shenkman

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate your reply! That was always something that intrigued me. 20% down necessary on something like that..or if it’s a short flip can you put lower down in hopes of gaining much more back? 

Hey! I would love some advice from those more experienced than I am (aka everyone here!) I am from NY, live in the Dominican Republic, and will be moving to Scottsdale where my family is, in February with my boyfriend. We will be living with my parents while we save up more, he gets a good job (he's a structural engineer here) and to help my parents out a bit. 

I have 50K i can spend, but some guidance would be great. I am okay living with my parents for about a year, but wouldn't want to stay too long there. The ultimate goal is to build our own home (bf can do all of the drafting) somewhere in the valley. I also have always been interested in income through REI. Here's some options I was considering:

-put a down payment on a piece of land for a future home build for ourselves.

-buy an existing, poor condition house that in a better area that we can scrap or fix up to stay there for a while, then flip or rent out.

-buy a house under 230K or so, make minor changes, rent once we can build our own house. 

-4 options I want to consider for rental income... student rentals, and rent out by ROOM, single family rental, vacation/airbnb/nightly rental, or rent to own option.

What would you do with 50K? Put a 20% down payment on a home and live there? buy land for a future build? Would love your opinions! Let me know if you need any more info! 

Hi all!

I have been thinking about buying a property in Poughkeepsie, NY for some time now. Ideally, I would like to buy a home, and then rent it out to a family or students. Vassar, Marist, and the Culinary are all in Poughkeepsie, so I am hoping in the right area, there would be students/faculty/etc who would like to rent. I think I need to stay under 150K. Wondering who has experience with something like this, and if it was profitable. I know that I could get more each month in rent than the monthly payments for myself would be, but curious if anyone has experience that it cost more/less than expected, and if they were able to pocket some of the rent. I also need to stay in a nicer area of Poughkeepsie to avoid section 8 renters (at the advice of realtors in the area) and be in a location desirable for renters. Anyone buy and then rent out that could offer insight? I want to start looking at some more properties knowing the cost and income potential. Rather broad question but any experience helps! I am also a real estate agent in the city, so I think that could help in the transactions.

Thanks! 

Guliamo- I am a real estate agent in Manhattan and primarily on the Upper West Side. We have a lot of investors come through that are interested in buying and then renting out their apartments. I do not see many that are looking to rent through Airbnb, but there are some who do short terms and you could also sublet or offer for longer periods of time than Airbnb users may be looking for. This is a high demand area with a lot of people looking for shorter term in great locations. Feel free to inbox me-I would love to learn more about your plan to invest here! 

Mills 

Hi Everyone!

I am a real estate agent in NYC, recently from Poughkeepsie, NY. I am also still very interested in real estate investing. We have a great listing available in Queens, and I thought to post here because I view it as a great investment. 2 family home, that could definitely be fixed up and rented out or flipped. Here is the ad:

https://streeteasy.com/building/162_10-87-road-queens/house

I would love to hear about your experiences as an investor in NYC and what you look for!

@Thomas Nguyen thank you!!

@Jonathan B. Let me know how it goes! I am not too familiar with Peekskill. But there a lot of options in Poughkeepsie, just have to find a desirable location in the city haha. Much more affordable than Westchester!

Thank you all for the advice. Glad I posted.

@William Donaldson I was considering doing that. I live at home right now, rent free luckily, so I have to consider that as well. However it would also be good to live there, even if for a year, to qualify for the FHA loan and rent to friends. This house is so appealing because it is move in ready, but I am going to look around and see if there are any good homes available for cheaper. Many in Poughkeepsie are cheap, but would need a ton of work.

@Bill Anderson good point! I luckily know a good amount of people who are very handy with home repairs and things like that. Unfortunately, I myself am not very experienced with these things, so it is good to be able to know people that would be willing to help. I was considering talking to a property manager as well, especially if they have more experience with college students. Trying to find some investors in this area who rent to college kids or people with more experience to bounce ideas off of.

@Justin F. Well it may not happen for me either lol, have to still see if I can afford it. Would also love to talk to your friends who do this in Poughkeepsie!

I read that I cannot do FHA unless it would be my primary residence. As

@Watson Smith stated, I believe there would be other ways to secure a loan for an investment at a lower percent down. The reason why he said he charged less is because he had one single male renter. I would be looking for more people, and if it were a college rental, would charge per person/room.

I actually mistyped, the house is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, and 1 half bath, which would help alleviate 3 girls in one bathroom at once!

Freshman and Sophomores are guaranteed housing at Marist if they want it, but juniors and seniors are not, and there are not enough rooms to go around-so many move off I have heard.

The house sold for $82,000 last.

@Andrew Syrios would love to talk to your friend to learn of his experience!

Thank you all for your responses! Learning a lot already and trying not to jump in to something too quick just because I think it's a good opportunity.

Thanks for your reply Sharad. I am hoping at a younger age I can afford to take a little risk, with hopefully a reward there.

The house was built in 1920 and still has some old charm and character but it was last bought in 2006 and has recently been redone. New roof, siding, paint, brand new carpets, kitchen appliances, bathroom finishes, and more. There is really no real work that would need to be done. The garage out back however is in pretty bad shape, so I am not sure if it would qualify for an FHA loan then, but I was told I can get a good rate anyway through conventional loans.

I am still researching the average rent in Poughkeepsie for homes..lots of condos and townhouses, not full houses. The owner of this house rented it to a single man for 1,000, yet said I could easily get 1,600. For college students, I could probably get over 2,000 if I wanted too.. Marist room and board is very expensive. Still trying to find out if there are a lot of potential renters.. I wouldn't want to have an empty house..I would just have to move in then!

Hello,

I am 22 years old and graduated college last December. I have a full time job now, as well as a side job. I have invest my money and have a good savings account. I looked at a house in Poughkeepsie, NY today near where I live. It is a 1920, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, recently renovated. Priced at $112,000. Interested in renting to some college students, (Marist college is one mile away) or other renters. While I am not currently with a broker, I did pass all of my real estate licensing courses, and am interested in investing young without a huge risk!

Thanks! I can give any more info if needed.

Mills