All Forum Posts by: Mo Farraj

Thank you very much Chris, took a ton of knowledge from your post. To be completely honest with you, I feel the sense of FOMO as well - especially since I am just starting out and analyzing deals. I will try and network more before getting into my first deal.

Originally posted by @Chris Hake:

I would say that Realtor might be shooting themselves in the foot by saying that. 3 Days or any amount of days is not a determination that a property is good or bad. That is what you figure out when you do your due diligence, ask questions, run comps, run analysis, etc... What I do know is in my area the MLS for the past 4-5 years has NOT been the place to find a deal (too many newbies and unexperienced investors that are fudging their numbers to get a deal or they just plain do not know how to underwrite a deal so the fear of loss kicks in and many times they overpay and then regret later after its too late). Not saying you cant find a deal on MLS, but that pool has too many people fishing and it only takes ONE buyer to overpay and everyone else is out of the game. I suggest turning over rocks, networking, direct mail, door knocking, bandit signs, etc... to find the hidden market sellers. That is where you will find the greatest deals! Good luck

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Thank you for your reply Matt, I love the idea of reaching out to the people who may have a property on the market for 3+ months and starting to feel desperate.

Originally posted by @Matt Brown:

@Mo Farraj

Personally, no, that situation wouldn't affect me. I do look for properties that have been on for quite some time (3 months +) as those sellers may be getting desperate and wanting to deal more.

As for it being 3 days or so, could just be not fit for someone's portfolio or they're funds are tied up and they're not able to execute. If the numbers work for you then go for it. Could still be a good deal.

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Great point Mike, MLS is very competitive. Especially since I have a full time job, I don't have the time to compete with those doing this full time.

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @Mo Farraj:

Hello All,

I am a new investor and looking in Upstate NY for my first rental. I am currently working with a broker and she said the below statement that really changed the way I view properties under my search criteria.

"If the property has been on the MLS for more than 3 days - it probably wasn't a deal to begin with."

I would like to hear your views on this as well. Do you look at how long a property has been available for sale? Does this sway your decision to buy the property in the first place? I work a full time job and I find it a bit difficult to have enough time to analyze/visit/evaluate properties as soon as they hit MLS. Any other buyers with a full time job that can chime in on their process please?

You are going to have a very hard time finding a "deal" if you are trying to buy off the MLS. You are far better off hiring a high school kid to knock on doors and hand out flyers that you are looking to buy a property.

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Hello All,

"If the property has been on the MLS for more than 3 days - it probably wasn't a deal to begin with."

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Originally posted by @Nik Moushon:

Originally posted by @Mo Farraj:

@Nik Moushon I really appreciate your reply, very thorough and thoughtful - thank you for this. In regards to your last piece of advice, do you mind explaining how one can use debt to their advantage?

Basically its how you structure the financing or different ways of doing it. Seller financing, lease options, partnerships, BRRRR method thats popular here, ect. You dont always have to take on 100% of the debt yourself and there are ways so that you dont have to put up any cash or at least very little instead of the typical 20-25% down payment. As long as the numbers work out in the end and you have planned for contingencies and such you should be fine.

I just wanted to clear up that I am not against flipping. There are plenty of people that do a couple flips, eat the taxes, so that they can build up their saving for a larger down payment later. That is defiantly one way of doing it. Its just flipping is a full time job all the time right from the start. Where as MF rentals are more easily structured to be "hands off" investments if thats what you want. Though that comes at a cost as well so most people dont do that. I will also mention that there are people the flip MF so you can do it that way too. Dozens of different ways to do things. Just have to pick one that seems the most fun to you.

Anyways, I would advise doing a lot more reading. Cash Flow Quadrant is a good book at explaining these concepts in more detail without getting too heavy into the numbers.

Thank you again really appreciate the advice, I will check out that book!

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Hello BP Community,

I've been listening to podcasts, and reading all about rentals for the last 6 months. Now I had a quick question from all of my readings. What tells you a deal is worth your time? Looks like most of the community is after MFH. But what makes a deal worthwhile in your eyes? What scares me is how large a mortgage or money borrowed is as compared to the rent you charge for a property. For example, lets say I found a SFH that costs 200k after all renos, and I can rent it out for 1k/month. If I put 20% down and get a 160k loan, it would take me (160k/1k) 160 months or 13 years to pay off this loan. Now even with appreciation and increased rent inflow - it would still take above 10 years to pay off the loan/interest expenses. This does not seem ideal. Do you refinance all of your properties to increase cash flow? If you do not refinance, do you take on massive amount of debt and just collect the small difference between your investment property expenses and income until you fully pay off the loan? Do you have a certain criteria you looks for in regards to rent vs cost of home? Why wait 10 years for 1k per month as opposed to flipping a home and possibly making 20x?

I appreciate your help!!!

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Hello All, I currently have a good job with very little expenses. I’ve saved about 50k and ready to invest into real estate. Was thinking about taking the follow paths but unsure what to chose. 1. Use the whole 50k and outright buy a cheap property in upstate NY or NJ and rent it out to tenants. I will use a property manager to manage this since I live in the NYC. Continue to save the same amount (may take 1-2 years) and repeat. 2. Invest in more expensive properties by putting 20% down on 2 100-150k homes. This is my first real estate deal, not sure what any of the pro/cons are of each. Hoping to learn from people who took one or both of these routes Thanks, Mo

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@Llewelyn A. Appreciate the thoughtful response, I found this extremely helpful!!! I do want to jump in a deal soon, but I also know being impatient will only led to some costly implications in the end.

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Hello All,

Over the past 3-4 months I've been relentlessly reading up on buying and flipping properties, as well as attending RE networking events. I feel as though I am ready to partner with a few people I have met and look into my first investment. My question here is before I partner, can anyone recommend any legal documents I should look into? What if the partner somehow screws me over along the way of getting the deal closed? What if he somehow takes more of profit at the end of the deal than original agreed to? Any recommendations would be awesome.

Thank you,

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All Forum Posts by: Mo Farraj

Mo Farraj has started 10 posts and replied 52 times.

Post: Does Number of Days on MLS affect your buying decisions?

Post: Does Number of Days on MLS affect your buying decisions?

Post: Does Number of Days on MLS affect your buying decisions?

Post: Does Number of Days on MLS affect your buying decisions?

Post: With so much debt involved - when do rentals finally pay off?

Post: With so much debt involved - when do rentals finally pay off?

Post: With so much debt involved - when do rentals finally pay off?

Post: Using Cash efficiently - Outright buy with cash or use loans

Post: Creating Partnerships - How can I watch my back?

Post: Creating Partnerships - How can I watch my back?