All Forum Posts by: Paul Mendel

Im in albany and started at 24 with my first 2 family, realized i liked the rent checks more then living on my own, went back home, and at 26 finally got a 2nd 2 family that i moved into.  Just go for it!

518-703-3805 Stevie B

Say you got his # from Rudy.

Also I don't have his number but Jerry O'Neal is good cheap too

Maybe because I'm from Albany I'm bias but..

Albany/Troy/Schenectady = Upstate

Kingston/New Paltz = Downstate

Plattsburg = North Country

Binghamton = Southern tier

Syracuse = Central

Buffalo = Western

Rochester = would likely fall into central  but could be western

All depends on the neighborhood. You dont see many 3br/2br in albany unless they where conversions from single familys. Most duplexs are 3/3... Make sure its a legal duplex!... 

Lastly, Taxes seem low for albany and id love to know who does your snow and grass for $50 a month!

Ben,

Electric can get very expensive, and will absolutely scare a portion of of tenants. But i dont think it will leave you Vacant, You will likely get a lot of turn around however. There are very few places in Albany where gas is not available, its just a matter of installing it in the building and the demo along the way (usually the worst part).

Energy audit may help identify some improvements but they will still be additional investments into the building to fix what they find (not always smart since the tenants are reaping the rewards) and it just comes out of your cash flow which is already very lean. Not to mention older building can come with some extra constraints making some thing not even possible based on whats existing.

I would also consider waiting to make any investments in energy improvements, And get some low income tenants then using state money to get the repairs done for free. (YES they go by your tenants income not yours)

Let me know if i can help,

Paul

(disclosure I am Full time Energy Auditor & Part time investor)

let me start with Iv been in Albany my whole life, Right down to Albany High.!, There is no doubt there are many kinds of students. But you when you quickly refer to student housing in albany, MOST realtors will target what we local calls call "the student ghetto" its a approx a 6 block radius where come sunshine every porch is covered with kids.  Let me give you a video of how "roudy" the student ghetto can get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RNVsil0PEA 

With that being said. The landlords that can tolerate the annual damage are making good money. But this area is not for the faint of heart. Keep in mind NOT ALL college kids are the same, But if they choose to live in this area, then they are...

If your buying in this section all the due diligence in the world wont help you.

Now my suggestion is to move away from the "typical" Student rentals, You can still rent to other students Albany has Lots of colleges,  Target  med or law students or even pharmacy, This is a different neighbor hood, you will spend 30-50k more on a duplex, but will have a much easier go at it.

Im not saying you should never rent to students, Im saying make sure you word your questions properly and work with someone who knows the area and what you want.

I'd stay away from the bulk of college kids, they are rather destructive. And knowing your an out of town owner will only make things worse. 

As an energy auditor, I get these calls all the time,

Popular things are:

-extra fridger/freezers in the garage (typically a free or old one they dont realize uses a ton of electric),

-Hotwater tanks & Heating (is NG an option) If not look at airleakage and insulation

-Failed wel lpumps or sump pumps that never stop running,

-Non-Energy star Dehumidifiers,

-electric space heaters that get left on or forgot about

-A ton of Incidence light bulbs

And the biggest one, Is typically not the KWH at all, but people switching to other non regulated providers such as ambit who have a habit of slowly creeping up to double/triple the market rate.

Jeep Patriot with roll up windows! and NO car payment!

also check with the Gas provider. Here in NY we get about 1500 kick back on switching oil to gas by the local Gas provider. 

I would think it would increase your rental pool, as most people know gas is much cheaper then oil,

lastly gas furnaces/boilers will require alot less maintenance then oil.