All Forum Posts by: Neil Gulden

James Smith , thank you for sending all of that. Great info in there. All in all, would you recommend this considering the high profit? We would hire a property manager so we wouldn't have to field any of the calls, so the head ache aspect of renting to college kids doesn't bother me that much. I have some properties in Boston, but scaling without investors is tough and I'd rather do it with my partners only. If NH works out, we can scale much faster due to how inexpensive the properties are. I guess I just want to make sure I'm making the right move by going there and am not just blinded by the dollar signs. Thanks again.

Hi Everyone, A few other investors and I are considering buying a property near Keene State College in New Hampshire and renting to college kids. I realize the head aches that may come with renting to college students, but property is cheap relative to what I'm used to in Boston and returns seems very good. I'm looking to see if anyone has experience with college rentals, but someone with experience renting to students at Keene State would be even more ideal. Also looking for property management referrals out there as well. Thank you, -Neil

Brendan Garrity in the research you've done, would most of the opportunity come from section 8 type housing or college rentals, maybe both? Out of the two, which way are you leaning?

Cheng Bin Zhang , I'm using George Morancy. He's the best in this area. For architect, I'm using Arthur Choo & Company in Quincy. I'd reach out to a zoning attorney and have them look up the lot. They can tell you if it's feasible or not.

Cheng, I bought a SFR in Southie in August and that sat on a 602 square foot lot. Adjoining the house was a second lot that was 1058 square feet and the old owner was using that for parking. I'm currently going through the zoning process to get approval to turn the SFR into a two family and build out on that additional 1058 square feet. I'm combining both parcels and turning it into one. Despite what your other replies have been, you CAN get approval to do this, but you'll need to hire a zoning attorney, like I did. Essentially all the developers in Boston do this. What part of Boston is this house in?

Ishaan Misra , I have considered buying "out of my back yard," but my issue is that I really like being involved with my investments and being able to touch see and feel them etc. Also, I like to have a full understanding of every market that I invest in and be involved in the acquisition process, it would be tough to be heavily involved buying far away and I'd have to fully rely/trust the person I'm working with. That all said, if I had a close friend or business partner that I shared the same goals with and trusted and they happened to live in the particular location I was looking to invest, I would definitely be willing to invest elsewhere. For now though, I'd prefer to stick with local investing. Plus, there is tons of money to be made in the Boston market right now.

Mike Hurney , on small scale, I've been doing my own hand written notes directly to home owners/properties I'm interested in. I'm not sending out 4-5,000 mailers a month, so my lead generation is minuscule. I've also done a lot of cold calling, which is how I landed my recent property in Southie. I am very interested in working with whole salers though, which I see you are. Let's connect and discuss what areas you work in and maybe we can work together.

Michael S. , My most recent purchase was a single family home on a large lot in south Boston. I found the home by cold calling. I ended up buying the house for $660,000 and am currently going through the zoning/permit process to get approval to build two town homes on the lot. In Southie, you get $650-$700 a square foot for new construction. Each town house is going to be 1,500+ square feet. Please keep in mind again, I'm not a full time investor. I have my day job. But, I listen to podcasts daily, I network with full time investors and am constantly doing everything I can to better learn this business. In my opinion, education is the key to success in this business. The more you know and learn, the more successful you'll be.

Michael S. , I have a two family rental in Medford and love the area. But, you're right, no deals there on MLS. I bought mine in 2008, so my situation is different. The only way to get deals is by direct mail and finding "motivated sellers" i.e. people who are upside down, just got divorced and need to sell, a death in the family etc. You'll be waiting until the next crash if you're only using MLS. That all said, I get your position as you have a full time job, so do I. I'm not sending out 4-5,000 mailers a month like a lot of others do. I'm also focusing more so on either condo conversions or new construction as that is where money is being made in this market. Finding buy and hold rentals, unless you do your own direct mail and lead generation, probably isn't realistic in today's market in Medford/Boston.

Patrick Wheeler part of me feels like I still over paid because I used an agent for this deal and paid "market price." I'm not beating myself up over it since it still fits into my business model and cash flows 15%+. I buy for passive income, appreciation is just cherry on top. My most recent purchase is a single family in Southie on a large lot which I'm currently going through zoning to get approval to build two town homes on the lot. With the market being as insane as it is in Boston, condo conversions and new construction are probably the best way to make money right now since prices are so high for buy and holds. When the market corrects itself, I'll definitely start buying more buy and hold again. No one has a crystal ball right? We shal see what the future holds