All Forum Posts by: Peter Stellato

I guess the neighborhoods we are looking at are Pine Hills and Center Square right now.  Really I guess my concern is if these areas (and Albany in general) are solid for a steady stream of renters.  These seem to be fine neighborhoods but obviously we would want to minimize any vacancy rates.

Hey all,

My partner and I are heading to Albany this week to look at some potential properties.  We are looking all around the capital region and upstate New York for investment properties.  I am somewhat familiar with Albany and my partner is a little more familiar than me.  I know there are some rough areas and we are looking for multi-families to rent to workers in the various institutions in the area (medical center, university, etc.).  Anything we should know about the city before we visit?

Lots and lots of great advice here.  I've definitely been wary of not knowing which neighborhoods to look into, so all of this has been very informative.  I am not too scared off by the rules/regulations/upkeep as long as the property is cash-flowing.  However all of this considered it does sound like I will need a quality property manager on board to accomplish my goals.  If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear it, but so far this has been super helpful.  Thanks everyone.

@Stephanie Medellin thanks for the heads up.  This is definitely something we will have to consider. It is definitely an obstacle but not a huge one.  I would mostly be interested in hiring a property manager anyway so I can be at least a little bit "hands off" to a degree.  Would a local property management company be able to fulfill the county residency requirement?  That would probably be the route I would have to go and will have to look for a good management company.

@Zach Matteo I agree with you that the Albany area has great potential for buy and hold.  Lots of institutions in place that aren't going anywhere any time soon so there's a job base.  I will certainly direct message you in the near future to pick your brain about specific neighborhoods. Thanks!

I can't say I'm experience in the NYC market as I haven't bought any property but I have lived here for 10 years so I can comment from the lens of a fellow BP member and aspiring investor.  You're probably better off looking past the city entirely and look elsewhere.  Prices are simply too high unless you can get a group of people to invest together or if you have very deep pockets yourself.  You may be better off looking in the suburbs of the tri-state area but you will find taxes to be prohibitively high everywhere within commuting distance.  If you really must stay within the city limits, consider the Bronx or Staten Island?  I don't know much about these areas but they are more affordable than Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.  I've been very intrigued by the Bronx myself but do not know much about it.  Perhaps others on here can chime in.

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for the input.  My partner and I are definitely interested in Schenectady as one possibility.  Albany proper is another area and some of the surrounding towns like Cohoes.  I've been reading up a lot on the area and I used to have some projects in Albany so I'm somewhat familiar.  We will be traveling up to Schenectady in the next couple of months to scout out the area so I will let you know if we find anything promising!  We would definitely need to figure away to manage properties up in Schenectady but we will figure that out when we come to it.

One of our advantages is that we are used to dealing with local entities/agencies with obtaining permits and certificates for buildings.  I don't know specifically Schenectady's requirements but I don't think it is something that we will shy away from.

I'd like to echo Gino's question.  Based on some quick research it looks like you need to complete inspections with the local authority having jurisdiction to have a certificate that enables you to rent your building.  Is that correct?  

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself to the BP community.

I have not yet begun my REI journey yet but I have known this was on my path since I was in college. I intend to invest in buy & hold rental multi-families and mixed-use properties with the goal of financial independence. My biggest challenge is that I live in NYC and the entire metropolitan area is very expensive. As a result I have been keenly interested in upstate New York as a potential area to invest (Hudson Valley and Albany regions). I'd also be interested in New Jersey and Philadelphia if the deals are right!

By trade I am a professional engineer (mechanical) who works on mainly commercial buildings for larger developers. Residences are not my expertise but feel free to ask me for any technical advice regarding buildings (not structural though!). My partner and I run a small engineering firm and he is also very interested in REI. It is both our goals to eventually transition from full-time engineering to full-time real estate holders/investors.

I've been following BP for about a year now and finally wanted to dip my feet in the water.  Looking forward to interacting with others who are involved in real estate!

-Pete