All Forum Posts by: Shanna Vataj

@Jessica Jacknow there should be a minimum time for notice of vacancy (30/60 days). If she gave you that time, even with a full lease left, its hard to keep the entire security deposit to cover that time. Your court costs to keep it may be more than the actual amount and the apartment may have to stay empty until it's figured out so we usually do not pursue.

I would recommend going in with as much amo as possible. Comp the property, get a soft preappeoval (no hard inquiry) and then priority mail a letter (stands out). You don't want to be caught off guard if they ask you questions and you want to give them time to think. Be honest in the letter and tell them you’ve been thinking about buying it for a while but with all of the changes, never got around to it

1. Are you tired if the property? 

2. Do you see issues in the near future (mechanicals/roof coming to end of life)

4. Are you only comfortable with one property or want to expand?

Refinancing it to put a downpayment on another property is an option as long as it cash flows enough to pay It's own expenses. 

In CT & NY - They were both on the lease. They're both responsible for the rent no matter if he lives there or not. Did they miss paying rent? If not, You may only be able to deduct repair and the cost for the remote. Rekeying, painting & cleanup are your job as a landlord already. It may be worse than expected but hard to quantify. 

Universal garage door openers are 2/$15 on Amazon. Not even worth the conversation.

Not enough on the market. Higher costs due to sanitation requirements. Local gov’t crackdown on all short-term rentals. 

@Michael Ansley

100% agree!

You can never truly “guesstimate” when the crash is going to happen and when prices will start to drop.

You can however, look at the rates of new homes and properties being built since one of the main reasons we have a housing shortage was that new builds were at an all time low (for many reasons).

You should also be watching when the inflation rate gets back closer towards the “2%” mark because that’s the FED’s magic number and they want to be at that whenever possible. As we approach that, it will be clearer that the rates you’re seeing will stick around.

Why wouldn’t they just rent it themselves. Take a finders fee or even a normal agents fee and forget the headache with managing the rentals 

In my experience cash is ok as long as there is a deposit receipt or bookkeeping to go along with it. Obviously banks want to see it all deposited but that’s not realistic. 

@Tania Dubljevic @Stephanie Medrano

Hi Tania & Stephanie,

You can definitely find something within an hour of NYC. Look into Carmel/Brewster area as well. Beacon/Fishkill (would use Beacon Train for express to NYC), New Windsor & Cornwall (a little further and no train) are in that price range too. I grew up up there so I may be biased. My point is, an hour of NYC is a a great start. I’m a licensed and actively engaged realtor in NY & CT. Here to answer any questions if you have them.

@Eric James

I think we saw that at the end of 2020 don’t you?

Beyond rushing to exchange, what procedures are you doing for heirs and future investments?