All Forum Posts by: Ralph Chiaia

Hi Efraim, I'd definitely consider East Flatbush. I work that area a lot and it's perfect for a house hack if you're cool to do a chunk of work. We are seeing solid two family homes in the 650k-850k range. They do need work but fit your threshold of under a million with rehab costs included. Hit me up if you'd like to discuss in a little more detail. Also, check out what @Abel Curiel said. He knows his stuff, too. 

Ha ha -- smart man! Your goal and mine are exactly the same except that I'm already 45 and only about 30% of the way there. I'm hoping I accelerate my growth curve quite a bit in the next couple of years. 

@Craig Hormes glad you asked this question. I have 1 section 8 tenant and I have zero complaints. I think screening is always imperative and it is with section 8 tenants. This thread had tons of great screening advice. Follow those ideas and I bet you will be happy having a section 8 tenant in which you get paid every month no matter what the economy is doing.

I am an agent too and work with section 8 renters and find many come quite prepared and make the process really easy. Some landlords make it hard for them to get places so when a good section 8 renter finds a good place with a good landlord they tend to be loyal tenants.

In my opinion it’s win-win

@Lisa Larson these are great points. I’d add that meeting the prospective tenants in their place before lease signing is a good trick. You’ll see how they live, how clean they are, etc. With section 8 this can really point out who could be a bad apple. I think Joe Asamoah first gave me this idea on one of his podcasts.

@Tyler Hodgson what able said. It’s an opportunity to get more seller concessions. Everything else seems to me to be in the househacker’s favor.

@Ahmed Saad I think you hit the nail on the head. Brooklyn is outrageous. The cap rates are crap. Unless prices drop drastically, these facts won’t change. I’d go PA all day.

@Rob Massopust Zillow ads are a total racket here in Brooklyn NY too. I pay a small bit in the zip code besides the one I really want to work in to create leads at a fraction of the price but even that is seeming more and more frivolous.

@James De Stefano are you looking for a few indicators during the summer (ie China’s economy recovering smoothly) or just a general increase in confidence?

Some areas of the economy will get hit very hard. Some things will get bailed out. The rules of the game are about to change. I think we need to stay awake and watch which are which and react accordingly. I think you'll see real estate prices fall. They will likely lag the stock market by a few months. Watching if China has a flare up after relaxing the lockdown will be a major indicator in my opinion. If new cases continue to taper off after easing the lockdown we will see a boost in confidence in the US market. I still think real estate is the place to be. If I find a deal, I'm buying. I will simply be careful not to over leverage (which is always part of my strategy). At any point now you may have a tenant not be able to pay, so being conservative with your numbers is a must. 

**I am not a psychic or a professional finance minster. I'm just a real estate agent and investor. 

I have been listed about 7-10 days and yes priced accordingly. My concern is that we are going into a slow season due to the seasonality of FL and all the craziness in the news.