All Forum Posts by: Raul R.

It does make sense with certain markets to go in with hard money. My first REi I borrow from my 401k and HELOC to get the cash I needed. After I purchase property I did a cash out refinance to pay most of my debt.. Some banks offer Personal Line of Credits, I have one as well. Some people use Credit Cards special offers for the cash but that's very risky you need to do your numbers right .. Raul

Matt,

I also live in NYC and invest in Charlotte, bought my first property last year in 1/16 and Purchased my 2nd Property 3/17. Yesterday I made my offer on 3rd Property, crossing my fingers by end of this week I should have an answer..

My first Property I manage myself, 2nd because I rent out all the rooms to College Students (4 in total) I have a Property Manager.

Most PM in Charlotte will charge you 8% of your rent per month, the finder Fee for finding Tenants varies from company. At first I was being charged 1st month rent as a finder fee, I negotiated it to half month rent and it wasn't easy. My Realtor is my advocate, her agency does PM as well so I lucked out..

In total I've had 2 different PM's, i fired my first after 6 months and because my Tenant turned out to be excellent I decided to Manage property myself..

After learning from my mistake what I looked for with a PM is a PM that does direct deposit on an exact date every month, my first PM mailed the checks. I always received my checks but sometimes they came late, my thought was if I expect my tenant to pay by certain date I expect my Check on an exact date.

I would rate my current PM company 6.5 out of 10, I would recommend them because I know they are all the same or worst after sharing my experience with other Investors.

If you decide to do it yourself make sure you have your network/team ready in place. You mentioned you're from Charlotte, so maybe you have family or friends that can help. 

Your network should include: Handyman, Lawyer, Accountant, Realtor, and because we invest in Charlotte, a good HVAC company ( I learned the hard way :) )

The X factor will be your future tenant, if you have an excellent tenant quite frankly you will not need a PM for 1 REI but if your tenant ends up being high maintenance, or forgetful in paying rent its good to have a PM to handle these hassles.

I would suggest to get a PM, read the contract and after 6months or lease expires you will have a good idea what type of Tenant you have and then you can decide in doing it by yourself or not.

Raul R

Thanks Bill. I was hoping I had other options to defer my capital gain tax. I guess there aren't any for my situation...

Not allowed in building, Coop is 100% owner occupied no rentals allowed.

I moved out 7 years ago to a 2br Coop with my family..

My brother stayed in the Coop and paid the Maintenance, I had no mortgage. I stopped by frequently that board didn't know that I moved out and brother lived there with no issues.

My brother graduated from Med school and is about to have a family so he moved out..

I have no choice but selling..

Hello all, I have a 2nd home that I'm in the process of selling in NYC, RIverdale.. Its a Studio Co-op, bought it in 2002 for 62k and should be able to get 130K. Spending 10K in renovations, currently in the middle of Renovations and I have no mortgage.

I made the mistake of not planning ahead and not claiming this Property as my Primary Residence to avoid any Capital Gain Tax, my primary residence is 5 minutes away I should have done it.. I looked into 1031 exchange and I don't believe my property qualifies because it's not Investment Property and the fact that is a Co-op wouldn't make it easy..

IF I have to Pay Capital Gain taxes so be it, but do I have any other Options to avoid paying Capital Gain? Anyone has any suggestions?

I'm an out of State Investor, been investing in NC for the past 2 years. Would love to use the entire Proceeds to purchase something in NC or any other Landlord Friendly state.

Are there any other 1031 variations out there that I can qualify for??

Also if anybody knows of any CPA in NYC with a good Real Estate background and specializes with Out of State investments feel free to recommend?

Thanks,

Raul R

Good idea, I wish I did that while in College. I recommend a lease.. I rent 1 of my Condos to College Students 4 br/4ba so each of my tenant has a private bathroom. I suggest in Lease be specific on what you expect with Utilities, number of guests, and bathroom privileges (not sure if you're sharing bathrooms). These are big items for College Students. Search online and look for a lease Template for your State..

I became discourage as well in NY after looking for over a year. Newbies in NYC need to be very careful, as we all know laws are more in favor of tenants in NE.. I changed my strategy and started looking out of state. Formed a LLC in NC and now own 2 Condos. 3br/2ba and a 4br/4ba. Ideally I would like to be living in same city as my properties but I found a way to make it work.. Good luck, don't be afraid to think outside the box. 35k can go a long way in different States..