All Forum Posts by: Nate Ginsberg

Have to say I disagree with @Jason Turgeon. You’re 24. Time is on your side. If I had the sense to start buying property at your age, I would probably be well into double digit doors by now or already own larger multifamilies. I wish Somebody had pulled me aside back then and showed me the light.

Take advantage of the time value of money and by the time you’re 30-something you could be well on your way to a portfolio that gives you financial freedom. You can still live below your means and put tax free savings into your 401(k), but that’s really just government subsidized savings, not investing. (You can make it into a true investment later by borrowing against the balance to buy other cash flowing assets like real estate.)

If you haven’t already read it, check out Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I discovered it in my 30s, and wish it had been given to me years earlier. That book will help you distinguish between a true asset vs liability, and set you down the path.

@Greg K. Nice deal. What town was this? I assume Worcester county too?

Hi folks, I’m a new investor in Leominster Mass and newish member of BP. joined a few months ago shortly before closing on my first property - a duplex near downtown Leominster. Excited to get connected to other investors, agents, contractors, and the like! I’m a part time handyman, and also laying groundwork now for a PM company I intend to operate in my area, focused on helping other small multi family residential investors get the most out of their investments. Send me a message to connect. Excited to be here!

@Jessica Costa who are you using for property management? I’m laying the groundwork now to start my own PM company focused on small multifamily in the Fitchburg-Leominster area. Interested to know more about your experience hiring yours.

Hi BP community! I am an investor in Leominster, Massachusetts - which is central Mass for those outside the area - focused on value add deals for small residential multifamily properties with 2+ bedrooms per unit. There are tons of older (ie built ~1900 or earlier) buildings in the area in need of minor updates to be rentable at or very near market value. We like to aim for the middle of the market, and median annual income here is about $57k. My question is what are people in nearby in MA/NH/ME using to estimate vacancy and credit loss when analyzing/underwriting deals? There’s very little supply right now, but I can’t believe that will last forever...

@Khemaro Nuon what did you end up renting the place for??

@Michael Hines I just went through this less than a month ago. My wife and I inherited long term tenants and after much debate decided to wait a couple weeks, then give them notice of the rent raise. They had been paying the same rent for 10 years (!!!), so the snap back to current market rates was about 35% increase, and came as a shock to them at first.

Because of the previous owner’s reference, we wanted them to stay and tried to soften the blow of the rent increase by offering to make some improvements to their unit - things like fixtures, appliances, painting, etc. We also gave them some time to consider their options before following up to gauge their interest in staying. So far, it seems likely they’ll agree to the new terms and rent and stick around, but they haven’t made a final decision yet (not have we). They have until end of this month to decide.

@Matthew Dennehy good points. We’ll definitely be screening them prior to signing a lease. I’ve been reading Brandon Turner’s Book on Managing Rental Properties for tips on the screening process and have come up with some minimum qualifications and a new plan for pricing that sort of splits the difference.

Plan is to raise rents slightly below market so tenants will look around and realize they won’t find a better deal out there and want to stay and sign our lease (assuming they meet the qualification requirements). We’ll sit down with them first to see what maintenance/upgrades are on their wish list and try to find 1-2 items to address up front for them. This way we show our value as landlords and they provide value as good tenants, without dealing with vacancy right off the bat.

@Jon Arsenault do you mean special breed good or bad? They’re TAW and have been for years, so upgrades have been minor and minimal during that time. They have a couple newer appliances, and previous owner repainted the place for them, but that’s about it as far as I can tell.

@Gualter Amarelo I’ve heard Fall River is still pretty rough. What signs have you seen that it’s a good area to invest? How did you find the 21 unit deal?