All Forum Posts by: Quentin Thiery

@Quentin Thiery  One thing you might do is attend investor meetings, local REIAs or meetup groups vs pounding agents with questions.  Typically there are plenty of agents at these meetings and they're designed to network.   Plus you'll meet other people too.

If you find an agent you like and you're asking for a lot of their time and expertise, add them to your team, especially for that first transaction.   Don't be your own first client.  Real estate school gives you the bare basics, not the expertise you want on your side for your first transaction.   Let them walk you thru in and earn their commission.   Over and Over I see both people who just want to get their license to try to save the commission on their primary home, and also new investors who want to try to save/earn that commission and from what I see they are often their own worst enemies and rarely get the deal they're expecting.   They know just enough to be dangerous to themselves.  So don't be that guy.

Another idea is to have them walk you thru the transaction if you get your license and split the commission with them.  Pay them for their knowledge and expertise.  I appreciate your thoughtfulness.  Seems like lots of people are not doing free work any more, like contractors giving bids.  Several of my contractors charge for the bid, and give a credit if they get the job.  Too many times the good contractors give a bid, then that bid is used to go out and hire cheap contractors for less money.  Things like that.  Kind of like the plumber and electricians that now have minimum service call fees.  Many lawyers in my area also now doing the same.  No more free 30 minute initial consultation....up front fee of $300-$500/hour and maybe some kind of credit if you give them the case/work.   Appraisers do that now, collect the fee up front.   Some lenders want fees up front.   Realtors I don't see it yet, but maybe one day.   I see you are interior designer.....do you do any free work up front for clients?   If so, what kind of time limits or information will you give before giving up or wanting a fee.   Not really fair for me to spend a few hours of your time, get all your ideas and concepts, then dump you and go buy everything on my own. (Not like I could ever do that, as I have no design expertise and would mess it all up....it would never come out the way you envisioned....I'm sure there are people that try though.)

Best wishes on the house hack.....still a great way to get started.

No rehab on that one at all! Completely turn-key and a cash-flowing monster. If I had to do it again, I'd probably choose something with more value add opportunities. 

If you're looking for your first property, something turn key is honestly not the end of the world. The last thing you want is to get over your head in rehab while navigating the process for the first time. Buying a turnkey property gave me the confidence to dive into more complicated projects later. 

Hey @Quentin ! Im an agent upstate in the Hudson Valley and have plenty of connections in Albany area. I have a few lenders that would be able to help as well. Reach out if you want some help looking!

@Quentin Thiery I definitely recommend the Capital Region! I closed on my first househack in Cohoes (county of Albany) last summer at the height of the market. The building was a triplex and cashflowed while I was occupying!

House hacking is very doable in Albany, Troy, and Schenectady and will more times than not cover your whole mortgage payment. 

I am from Long Island where everything is much more expensive and much newer. All the property I own in the Capital Region is over 100 years old. Some people will say this opens you up to risk and high maintenance costs, but this provides so much opportunity for value-add updating. 

Plus the buildings in this region can be so beautiful. There's nothing like restoring an old Victorian home to its former glory.

Hey @Quentin Thiery - I'm an investor & realtor based in NYC, but I invest upstate: Buffalo, Rochester, etc. 

While I was doing my research, I picked Buffalo over Albany because the population was larger in Buffalo with similar career-demographic breakdowns (a large chunk of Buffalo residents work in healthcare as they have an extensive hospital system up there). There are also a few colleges between Buffalo and Rochester to consider (RIT being a notable one). 

I've heard a lot of good things about Albany as well, as you can probably guess from the rest of the comments in the forums. 

Ultimately, you can't really say one area is better than the other as it boils down to what you actually want. I know if I could start over, maybe I would have invested in Albany because it's definitely a lot closer than Buffalo :) 

@Quentin Thiery great observations.  NYC can be expensive to start and or continue investing in.  We purchased 3 properties in the South Bronx, before deciding to give Albany a try, mostly due to the price point.  Due also Albany has several schools, hospitals and also all the state workers.  It is a nice trifecta :)  So far Albany has been very good to us, so drop me a line if you want to chat more about the Capital Region.