My name is Raylan Willis and I'm originally from San Francisco, California. My wife and I have recently moved to Buffalo, NY for her job as a professor at the University at Buffalo (SUNY, UB). I’ve been around the idea of property management and ownership most of my life as my father was a landlord in SF. He and I invested in a few single families back in the downturn (2010) in east Oakland, CA and San Pablo, CA. It’s then when I started taking on all the responsibilities from leasing to repairs. Fast forward to our relocation, my father wanted me to take "the headaches" with me to Buffalo. We exchanged 2 single family houses into what is now 14 units in Buffalo. It’s been a full time job doing it all on my own and learning the rental market here. There’s opportunity here as Buffalo is one of those rust belt cities that hasn’t seen home prices (and more importantly rent) rise in a very long time. My timing here is lucky and I’ve been told if I was only a few years earlier I could have bought homes for $2500, oh well at least it’s on the up.
The city of Buffalo is in it’s resurgence stage but it has a long ways to go. The surrounding suburbs like Amherst are rated for top things like safest city in America so it’s a hard sell to get most to live in the city proper. I’ve chosen to hedge my bets and have a few multi families in the first ring burbs but have more recently picked up a few rough properties next to state and privately funded redevelopment areas in the city. Goals are to rehab them but I’m having trouble finding contractors to take on these projects (for reasonable costs). Most of the homes in the city are averaging 100 years old and are not standard in their builds so I understand where they’re coming from.
I'm planning on diving into BP to connect with local investors, property owners, contractors etc to network and figure out how to grow this business in this market. If I can rehab the 6 units I have idling I'll be able to add to my portfolio but more importantly it'll be a great exercise in not swinging a hammer myself and to create the needed team to succeed. Looking to implement a true BRRRR strategy and to get off market deals rather than all the MLS deals I've done thus far. I've learned a ton from BP podcasts so far and am looking to move from being a one man show to having a team and system in place.
I am lucky to have entered the Buffalo area market on an upswing (hopefully) and am working hard to develop the skills needed to leverage the position I'm in and acquire properties for cash flow and passive income.
Please contact me if you’re local to Western New York (WNY) or Upstate New York in general. I’d love to start connecting with others who are like minded and are willing to share their experiences and markets that work for them.
Thanks BP!
Raylan
