All Forum Posts by: Nicole (Dunlap) Pendergrass

WHOOAAAAA @Mahbubur Rahman I thought MY story was bad!!!!  I too bought a multifam in the Bronx in 2015 (a 3-family in Morris Heights), I also had thousands in water/electrical issues right after closing.  I too had to go through a rough eviction after months of late payments turned into about 6 months of getting half the rent, which turned into about 7-8 more months of NO rent, until the Marshall finally came after multiple delays with Bronx Housing Court.  Got a judgement for close to $25k, have yet to collect ANYTHING, even after hiring an investigator and a law firm that "specializes" in collections. I FEEL YOUR PAIN.  But I feel I was super lucky/blessed that I was going to grad school at the time and my job had given me tuition reimbursement - I used that money to pay the mortgage instead of paying off my student loans (otherwise I would have probably lost my first investment!).

Having reserves and being well capitalized is VERY understated - ESP in NYC.   Luckily finding a GREAT agent to find me great tenants, appreciation in the Bronx and a heloc/refi have changed my financial position.  I've been able to purchase another multi (NOT in NYC) to continue building my portfolio...  

Don't let this experience stop you! (doesn't sound like it will, seems like your taking this as a part of Landlord University and learned a lot). I still believe REI is the best wealth building vehicle out there. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Let me know if you want my agent's name - I'm happy to refer him

Yosef!!!!! The part about "self-education is not equivalent to taking action" .... Man!!!! Not enough people realize that, just take that first step bc otherwise you'll never progress and your story symbolizes just that! Great way to lead by example and I'm so proud to say I know you and am part of your extended fam! Great job and can't wait to see what the rest of this year holds for you!

I'm part of Jake and Gino's program and the MIH (make it happen) Mastermind (run by Gino's brother and another Jake and Gino member - both crazy experienced, but mastermind is NOT a part of J&G it's a separate entity). Both have education included, both have private Facebook groups so you can network with other members, someone is always working on a deal or has capital deploy so people work together all the time. The attitude of people in both groups is always about giving value first, don't know how they curate such a great group of people across the board. You would be well served in either group!

Differences:

Education: J&G educational content is more robust, MIH is building thiers up but they are also newer, I believe they started about 1-1.5 yrs ago.

Networking: J&G helps create account ability pods for members that want to be in one, and you can also network with whoever you want to in the group. But it is really up to you to reach out and do the work of connecting, even at thier live events (which have been spotty bc of covid, but they still have some planned for this year - Manage Right bootcamp, Money Mixer, etc). J&G also gives you a Deal Expert Coach who you can schedule calls with and email with questions on deala.  MIH is like forced networking, constant communication and very individualized attention from the guys who run it (Marco and Hadar). Personally I needed this extra layer of attention and constant communication - we have a Facebook messenger group with everyone in the Mastermind (about 40 people now and growing) and we're always messaging back and forth about so many different topics - if you ever have questions or need help with something you could just put it in a group or message Marco and Hadar individually they're always available to help. The setup is the mastermind is broken down into smaller subgroups of five to seven people who have calls once per month on a progressive educational topic for a year. But like I said you have access to the entire Mastermind through the messenger group and you are a permanent member of the mastermind even after the year is over. there's really so much more I can say but if you want to talk more on the phone just message me and we can connect!

I bought my 3 family in the Bronx in 2015 (if that's recent enough lol)... I post about it here:  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Although I def need to do a detailed updated post, but just to recap I refinanced in 2019 and used equity for other investments :-)

@Myriam Joseph  I think house hacking is a GREAT idea, so YES look for a multi!  (I house hacked my first house in the Bronx - a 3 unit) Allentown/Lehigh market is very competitive right now, a lot of NYC/NJ money going there.  That being said, I think you are at an advantage because you want to live there... you can potentially pay slightly higher than another non-owner occupant could and still have the numbers work for you.  Whether you buy something fuller renovated or force equity by getting reno done yourself is up to your goals/comfort level.  I've never done Air BnB as an investor, but it doesn't sound bad to me - the income you can get would be much higher than a traditional tenant... also more turnover/managing bookings ect - so depends on if the cashflow makes the extra work worth it for you.  Fi you want to chat more you can DM me and we could set up a call - best of luck!

@Shelby Ek Look at this!  SO much interest in the group, its going to be great!  can't wait for the first meeting :-)

@Shane Bladel I agree with @michael baker.... Not to being more competion to the area lol, but I have a 3 fam in the Bronx, refi'd and put my equity in a deal in Allentown... Lehigh Valley is attracting a lot of money from NY/NJ.

 Thanks so much!  I really appreciate the encouragement :-)

 Thanks so much!

 I'd love to talk! Funny I'm in the middle of listening to your podcast episode with @Jeremy Moyer and Tejas.  Some more experienced insight into Allentown would be great :-)