All Forum Posts by: Raymond Y.

Shawn,

If you are planning to use a property manager, now is a good time to see if he has good contractors. I used Louis from Maurtua Construction for my one and only minor rehab. I'll PM you his contact info.

@Daniel Akerman I grew up in the Bay Area (Go Niners!) and currently live in Jersey City just outside of NYC. A couple months ago, I was on the same boat as you and I decided to invest in nearby Allentown / Lehigh Valley. It is only a 1.5-hour drive away from NYC so I could make frequent trips out there to check on my property. Through BP, I met a local investor friendly agent who was able to find me a duplex under $100k that I can rent out for $1,500 total. He was also able to introduce me to other local investors and I was able to quickly build up a team there.

With the numbers you are looking at, that is definitely doable in Allentown, although I might suggest starting off with a property in the 100-150k range so you will have extra cash for rehab. But other than that, stay patient and I am sure you will find a market that is right for you.

@John Livanos Welcome to BP! I started looking around NYC but I realized my money goes a lot farther in Pennsylvania. If you ever think about investing out of state, feel free to ask any questions.

@Gabriel Green-Lemons It is great that you have a team in Indy already. I am looking at small multifamilies to start and I recently found a good team. I am going to try to scale as much as possible before looking to diversify. It would be great to keep in touch just in case I ever want to venture out to Indy.

Hey Gabriel,

I fit your criteria. I am in Jersey City and I currently invest in Allentown / Lehigh Valley. Good cash flows and the close drive from North Jersey is why I chose that area. What areas are you currently considering?

Similar situation as you, except I went a little further out into Allentown/Lehigh Valley area (1.5 hour drive). I am assuming you are going to manage the property yourself? How's Union City? I thought about house hacking there a year ago and it seemed like some duplexes were around 400-500k.

@Ken Yeung Welcome to BP Ken! I am an out of state investor as well, so let me know if you have any questions.

Welcome Shane! Getting a realtor on your team is an important first step. If your agent specializes in investment properties, then he/she should have an ecosystem of investment related professionals that could help you out. I would first ask your agent for any contractor recommendations. If you are using a property manager and found one already, then your property manager probably has a couple guys he/she works with. That is how I found my contractor.

@Jason Lee You are correct that my numbers aren't taking into account any appreciation. Appreciation is a very market specific topic that I am sure we can write essays about and it is more volatile than returns from rent. From the growth numbers you mentioned, betting on appreciation could be lucrative as well if you are willing to take on the risk. 

@Milan Obradovic That is an interesting way to source deals. Where can I learn more about these tax sales?