All Forum Posts by: Sean Relyea

Seconding Stonebuilt, I have 3 rentals and my personal home with them

Hi All,

It's been a while since we've had one of these but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. We have the same private room at the main Common Roots campus in the taproom down the hall that we met in previously with service at the bar for your purchase of food and drinks. Meetings will be the first Wednesday of the month going forward (unless otherwise noted). We have the room starting at 6 and will have free networking time until around 6:45.

Anyone interested is welcome, though since this has typically been a smaller meeting by attendance it is meant to be less structured and more discussion-based on the central topic(s). Like other meetings, we'll have brief segments to discuss off-market deals and general updates if applicable. I will be doing my best to organize, not necessarily lead, these meetings each month. Everyone is encouraged to contribute their thoughts and experiences and to suggest future meeting topics.

This month, since it's been so long I'll ask everyone to come prepared to give a 1-2 minute (longer if you need it) summary of where you stand as an investor, whether you're yet to do your first deal or have advanced to several each year. I'd also like everyone to think about their goals they'd like to reach by the end of this year, end of next year, and an idea of a five year goal. Think about your steps to make progress, the challenges you need to overcome, and your questions/concerns of how to get there. Hopefully we can help each other and hold each other accountable for our progress.

Reach out if anyone has questions and see you soon!

Hi Josh,

Welcome, I'll reach out to you privately. I live in Clifton Park currently, and went to school in Potsdam (I'm guessing there's a strong chance you did as well based on the interest). It sounds like you'll have decent options to as fast or slow as you want with a strong career. First things first, I'd make sure you fully understand your new financial situation from starting your career and  learning what you need to live on while educating yourself as much as you can for at least a few months. Stick with it, and good luck!

 Robin, this would not be a reno and flip, it would just be a flip. It's being very poorly marketed right now. I'm not sure I want to use the term wholesaling for it but it more or less would be.

Trying to assess the value of a 1989, 980sqft, 2bd 1.5 ba mobile home. From the limited pictures, it seems to be in superior condition for its age and has newer appliances . It's in a desirable location in a good school district in an all-ages park, and has an in-unit washer and dryer. Lot rent is about $600, and the park does not allow for renting so the exit strategy would be flipping it. It has a current list price that feels reasonable based on no experience with mobile homes, but there may be room to negotiate down. Any recommendations for on how to come up with a resale value?

Thank you, Jamie. That's a great summary and it sounds like it offers more than RentRedi (without the add-ons at least). @Tom Gotuzzo if you were interested in another update, I'm pretty dissatisfied with with RentRedi at this point. The time it takes for the draws from tenants and then the ACH transfer to you leaves you getting pain on the 7th or 8th of the month, the $1 ACH transfer fee is an annoyance that has drawn some complaints that are as petty as the fee feels, the new tenant application features are sub-par, and I'm not sure how well it properly informs tenants of the additional charge for credit cards as I got panicked texts about the added fee from a tenant already going through some hardship. Has been more trouble than it's worth.

 Jacquelyn, I think @Ricardo R. has the right idea here. At the very least, finish up your course and get MLS access. Plus, this gets you in the network of the real estate agents in this area, of which we have a very strong one. Keep adding tools to the toolbox and learn. At the same time, I don't think this means you're overthinking it. You don't want to fall into paralysis analysis, but put a lot of time into thinking and learning. If you don't, you do risk setting yourself back or getting yourself stuck. I do think from the questions on foreclosures you're playing with fire a little bit on the first deal. Our area has such a wide spectrum of construction ages and problems that it's a difficult route to take. If you have seen the house, that's a lot more than most people get but make sure you either have the knowledge or have someone that knows what to look for. But as far as the funding questions, those get largely answered by networking and talking to other agents and investors. We have a great REIA that takes place in Clifton Park that just started a few months ago, that's a great place to start.

Hi BP Community,

I starting watching from a distance and listening to the podcasts a little over a year ago when I was already a few steps into my investing journey. I bought my first duplex to live in back in September 2020 and lived in it. I followed it with my first triplex in August of 2021 and second triplex in February 2022. I made the questionable investing decision but great quality of life decision to buy a personal home in August 2022, in the process of which I became an agent and signed on with the brokerage owned by my 4 time agent. So 2.5 years into my journey, I own 8 units and my personal home.

How did I scale up this fast? It's not a story I'm overjoyed to tell and it's been a difficult time. I lost both of my parents 10 years apart to cancer. Suddenly at 23 years old, I found myself with a lump sum of mid six figures and no clear direction. I did have a pretty clear concept of the life I wanted, after going to school for mechanical engineering and following it up with an MBA. Suddenly, that didn't seem like the path to the life I wanted. I watched my dad work on his death bed for a boss that never appreciated him, and I could see myself in a similar position if I didn't change the plan. So here I am, with a strong foundation that I have my parents to thank for and many years to grow that into a beautiful life.

I share this because I'm sure I'm not the only out there with some version of this situation, and I think real estate is both a great vehicle to a better life and an insurance policy for the worst that life has to throw at you. Please feel free to reach out and connect, and if you happen to be in the NY Capital Region or interested in investing in it I'd be happy to help!

Patrick, love the concept and think it's good planning. A few comments on both options. You are limited to 16k for a gift that would be tax free, anything more incurs taxes that are generally (possibly exclusively?) paid by the giver. I can't comment on the process for a trust, besides the obvious that there's going to be added costs. On the FHA, if you are a co-borrower who would not be living in property, you do not have the advantage of the higher LTV percentage that comes from the FHA. So either scenario likely becomes more cash intensive than you would think for an FHA loan.

If she happens to be in the Capital Region, let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

I had a similar situation once where I bought a building and had the tenants notify me they were moving to Texas about a week later on lease that ended 5 months later. My opinion, just let them go. If you start a fight over it, you risk them being careless or malicious with the unit. As soon as they leave the state, your ability to pursue them for any money practically vanishes. The people in my case were the worst tenants in the building and left a mess and some light cosmetic damage. I think I could have made a fair argument that over half of their deposit was gone from the condition and the time it took to turn the unit over wiped out the other half. As soon as that situation comes up, just focus on minimizing risk.