All Forum Posts by: Sara Abernethy

Mark Venuti is really well known for real estate transactions in Geneva. I used him for my first RE transaction. He was on the other side for my second, so I hired Jeff Kowalski, who I really, really liked. You're in good hands with either. 

How did this go for you? 

Hi Alex! What did you end up doing? I didn't realize you could get prequalified for a 504! That's cool. 

HELOC on non-owner occupied is very hard to find. I have tried it before and didn't get anywhere. I have since heard that Navy Fed does them, but haven't looked into it. Though you could just cash out refi - if you have equity in the property, there's no reason you can't refi it.

Anything non-owner occupied is going to come at a premium. It's just how interest rates work - if it's your own house that you lay your kid's heads down in, you're statistically less likely to default. I'm not saying you can't find something in the 3s or 4s - always good to shop around, but the nature of lending is based on statistical rate of default, and owner occupied properties are statistically less likely to default than non-owner occupied. 

Do report back on what you find though! Would love to hear if you find something good. 

Hi Ben! I use Bank of the Finger Lakes in Geneva - they’re great. I haven’t done a deal with them since the pandemic hit but I would expect 4-5%. You can’t expect less than 4% for a commercial loan, but you might be pleasantly surprised if you shop around. But make sure the numbers work at 4%. Commercial loans are about making the numbers work FIRST, then pinching pennies where can. Making the numbers work should be your highest priority - I’m doing all my calcs at 5% interest rates. If it’s lower that will be lovely. 

I'm purchasing a 7 unit vacation rental complex. My local bank is offering a 20% down payment, 20 year fixed rate loan. It's really not bad! However, the taxes are massive, so I'm trying to find a way to create some breathing room. Either a lower down payment or a longer amortization of the loan would definitely do the trick. Does anyone know of any banks that would do this? My bank is local and I'm plowing through the other local banks in the area. The area is considered "rural" so that might be a hangup for some lenders. Any ideas on lenders? I'm not against the idea of asset-based lenders, but so far their terms seem to be worse, not better than what I already have, and I already run vacation rentals in the area successfully, so I shouldn't have too much of an issue qualifying for a bank loan. 

Thank you Mike! The electricians are telling me that permits aren't necessary, but may make it more attractive when I sell (not sure why, I've never asked for that kind of paperwork when I buy properties). I'm looking to sell this place once the work is done. I've had this since 2007 and I've since decided to put my efforts in STR in the Finger Lakes, NY.

I'm doing a knob & tube re-wire because after years of handymen messing with it, I want to make the house safe for my tenants. I'm getting quotes now, and the electricians have been suggesting interrelated smoke alarms. This makes sense to me because the last few sets of tenants have taken the smoke alarms down - which infuriates me, but they don't care and they do it anyway. (I rent a 4BR single family home to college age and early 20-somethings. They're usually unrelated. The building is 3 floors.). 

Has anyone had issues with hard-wired smoke alarms? While it sounds safe, it also sounds harder to troubleshoot. When a smoke alarm keeps beeping for no reason, you can just take the batteries out. One of the electricians is telling me that it's not necessary to have hard-wired smoke detectors in SFH in Philadelphia, while the others are strongly recommending it.

Hi there!

I invest in the Finger Lakes NY - a bit further from NYC than the Catskills. I think you definitely have an opportunity there. I would advise to try to find an area that you can rent year-round, and add hot tubs, which will clinch the deal. I would be really careful what you pay at the moment - the outskirts of NYC is exploding with people moving further from the city. You should also be very careful with any research you're doing right now - Catskills are packed, Finger Lakes are packed...anything in driving distance to a major city is bursting at the seams. I'm literally booked every day through the end of August at all 4 places I rent out STR. Look at the last two years for a more accurate picture of what your potential revenue could be.

Sara

I was totally going to say tiny home, but others beat me to it:) Putting a tiny home on there gets you nearly automatic revenue - the septic + well + pad would only take you a few weeks if you line up the players or find someone who is all in one. Then you purchase the tiny home and have it delivered - this gets you started with income coming in right away. At that point, you can take a step back and figure out what you want - do you want to subdivide? Do you want a tiny home compound? Multiple vacation homes? Get VERY VERY familiar with the zoning laws and any other laws that pertain to that property (for some reason the environmental health department is all up in my business - it's not straightforward whose opinion matters and it takes time to work out). STR is a really sticky thing and it's continually changing (look at what happened in NYC!).

Don't get discouraged about tourism - my cabins in the Finger Lakes NY have been slammed since the moment I opened. I have 4 nights left to book across 4 listings across the entire summer. Tourism will come back, especially if you're a driving destination. 

@Michael Baum I'm obsessed with that silo house and if you know anyone in NY state who would be able to build me one of those, please do let me know :)