All Forum Posts by: Phil Morgan

Old Brooklyn is very street by street in my book.  I just bought on W 47th and I feel that is a good area but some of the roads I have to take to get there are extremely questionable.  I know it's hard for you but my best advice would be to check out the property in person and walk the neighborhood and see what kind of vibe you get.  Is it as nice as Parma? No.  I would get $150 more a door in Parma than I am getting for my place in Old Brooklyn but then again I would have paid $20k more for the same property.  I do not seen any drastic revitalization in the near future though.  Buy and hold can work great IF you get the right tenant.  And that can be a big IF in that area.  Good Luck!

@James Wise, thank you for the info!  This is exactly what I was looking for, unfortunately it was the answer I was afraid of though.  Making it a bedroom suite is a good idea as well I was just hoping for the extra rent from the additional unit.  You're probably right about the $400 tenant though.  Do you think getting plumbing up there to make it a real "master suite" would not be worth the investment?  I know this isn't a high dollar neighborhood so I obviously do not want to over do it.

Thanks

@Tom Ott, thanks that is exactly what I'm going to do.

Thank you for the information guys. The property is actually in Old Brooklyn in Cleveland Ohio not NYC but I am sure a lot of the zoning is the same. I will check with someone at the zoning office and see what they say. If I can do it legally I will if not I'll probably just make it a master suite for the upstairs unit or just leave it as storage. 

I do not see selling this within the foreseeable future and I will be getting permits for the work.  Are the permits the only thing I need though?  That is the question.  Are there additional inspections or processes needed even after the work is approved?  I have never said once that I was looking to do the work under the radar or not get permits.  I am just trying to figure out what else, if anything, is needed.

@Dan Mitchen, thank you!

It does not have 2 egress points, but either do apartment buildings correct?  If I'm in a third floor apartment building I only have 1 egress route unless I want to jump out a window.  Am I looking at this incorrectly?

So basically I just have to get a permit for the work? I just wanted to make sure I don't have to do any additional paperwork to change the property legally from a duplex to a triplex.  Or does it matter since it's already a multifamily property?

I am closing on a duplex in Old Brooklyn on the 17th and it has a huge attic I am thinking about turning into an efficiency unit.  Question is do I need to do anything with the city since the property is already a multifamily?  Is there paperwork involved in doing this or to I just build it out and and find a tenant?  Anyone with experience doing something similar in this area??  Followup question, I will be looking for a couple people to quote this work if you can recommend a good contractor.

Thanks 

I found this article on one of the member blogs.  The information along with the information in the comments is very helpful.  Anyone looking for partnership information would benefit from reading through this.

How to Best Structure a Partnership for Investing in Rental Properties

Thanks for the reply Joseph. Since this will be an apartment building that will be a buy and hold I am looking more for partnership options for keeping the property. Not looking to flip at this point, more interested in the long term

I have a few duplexes and am looking to go bigger.  I also have an investor who is more than willing to be the private money behind growing my portfolio.  My question is about how to structure our partnership.  If he wants to be a 100% passive investor vs if he wants to be involved in the day to day processes.  He has the funds to buy virtually anything I am looking at and has already told me that he is willing to front 100% of the funds upfront to get a deal done (with the plans to refi down the road after value has been added).  I have never worked with a partner and own all my duplexes myself so this is a whole new ballgame for me.  Any advice you can give or directions you can point me in would be much appreciated.

Thanks