All Forum Posts by: Sid Leibowitz

One thing is for certain. Once you have an infestation of Bed Bugs it is very important that you have the place, hallways and other apartments professionally treated before the they spread if possible. If you want to counter you can sue them for creating infestations and damages as long as there are no other claims in the court system where they can document that this was a  pre-existing condition that could back fire on you. Russell Brazil noted that heat is a remedy for killing off infestations however; I have been told by more than one exterminator that the only way is using refrigerant and not heat. Please make sure to get a few professional opinions on this. There are many ways this could have happened. From traveling and bringing them in through luggage, from purchasing new or used furniture and delivered with a truck that was infested by removing old furniture and delivering new. The furniture or companies never treat a truck. New York has laws in place that furniture and bedding to be delivered in plastic bags and the old furniture removed in plastic bags. I have even had them transported in a limousine from a night on the town where the previous user was picked up at airport. 

The Zoning board may not allow you to do any improvements that are not true to the original structure. You may not be able to even point brick, paint or change the roof unless it it a color match to the original. If you are working with an architect you should address these items before you do any massive investing. It is easy to buy and could be difficult to sell historic properties. Many investors are forced dump them when they find out the true cost of improving houses in historic zones. 

While obtaining a State license may appear to be a short path to riches it may not be. The education is affordable and quick and very useful. The legal obligations to a broker of record are still in place and governed by State law. Once the listing is entered into the MLS system it is governed by "REALTORS". These are Brokers that pay dues to Multiple Listings for their "Realtors" designation. Not every Broker hasto be a Realtor. You must be a Broker Realtor to actually list in MLS so, even if you were a salesperson and you need to have a broker of record that you work for and you found a bargain in MLS, Your broker and the listing broker are entitled to a commission of the sale. You may only save Your commission. The other Brokers are still due a commission. More than that, it may be a conflict of interest to purchase a property that you found on MLS from another broker without YOUR broker finding out and want a piece of the deal. These are State Laws. It becomes apparent when to take State Real Estate Course for Salesperson and the "liabilities" and "responsibilities" are revealed, You may short cut the course if purchase a Real Estate State Study Guide from a large book or Real Estate School perhaps Ebay, if you find a current copy as the laws could change from older and newer additions. Be aware of the State laws that protect the Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons in your State.

Find a crash course as a Real Estate Salesperson pronto, Take the course which takes 75 hours depending on state requirements. Just take the course for the education. It will be invaluable. This should cost about 250.00. When you pass the course you may or may not want to take the state exam for a State salespersons license however; you will understand the state laws and the procedures and you will not have to figure out who has the information that you seek as you will be armed with a low cost education. It will all become crystal clear. Is it worth the 75 hours and 250.00? You should have done this from the start. 

I find it amazing how these flip shows on TV show property everywhere in urban areas and they simply they can buy a house for 56K close in a week , do over the kitchen for 8K and then the bathroom for 4K and flip it  and close all in 60 days for a profit. What planet are they on? If they were so successful why are they now moving on to other endeavors? I suppose they did so well that they can make the profit out of the tabloids and cosmetics. Don't believe what you read. Real Estate is not so easy in the urban areas. Look at more rural areas around railroads and transportation to the urban areas if you want a deal

You may learn more from others that do not charge you for the knowledge. Some day you may find that this is organized crime. This is like paying for protection. Either pay me now for a degree or I will not allow you a job. This is a mob tactic. This is a threat! Unless you are in control of you r income potential you will never be the boss of yourself. Be aware of education snobs and embedded brainwashed individuals that strike fear it the youth of America. Read history. How many famous American entrepreneurs even have a high school diploma and how many have a college experience. You would be amazed at the statistics. This is actual numbers and not imagined. I am not against college if you want to be a doctor or some professional where you must learn from a prior professional,  instructing a course of study. A real estate course is just that. not a degree that puts you in life long debt. 

IMHO and I only have many decades of experience to draw on. An MBA is an educational scam and will be revealed in its own time. This is a profit center for the educational industry. The master plan is to keep the youth of the country in debt forever and pay interest to financial institutions. This affects your credit rating and FICO score thus prevents you fro achieving personal independence by being a slave to an employer that does not enable you a way out. You pay for many years and can never pay it off no mater what promotion you get. You become a slave to big business. Your credibility never grows. This is a long term loser plan unless you are planning on being a corporate slave for life. 

Hello Kendall, Many years back I was in architectural sales myself and I left as the employers wanted to play games with commissions and I lost about 56K on one that owed me that. It would have taken an equal amount to recoup in time and legal fees so, sadly I moved on and went into development in construction at a time when the emphasis was not on having a degree, I came through the ranks and went far with talent. Today the emphasis is on a investing in a degree and working for an employer that does not pay enough to be able to pay the education or hence the education scam. This will be revealed in later years. Not here, Not now. I have been around a long time and I am totally aware of trends which equate to fashion. Fashion changes and trends change also. What is current today will be obsolete next year. There are many Millennial and Gen X here that are not experienced in the current trends in an effort of hitting a home run. They do not read history so they act in the here and now fantasy. If a landlord tells you he made his money by being a landlord then they are not being truthful. There are so many hidden costs, laws and changing times that it is impossible to get and stay ahead. Long term buy and hold is a loser in the long run. It is impossible to predict changing times, structure conditions, insurance costs and local catastrophic abnormalities that can occur. Then there are taxes. The only constant is the cost of ownership. The local laws protect the tenant not the landlord. It is like marrying a stranger. Would you do that? What happens after the honeymoon? There are an abundance of conditions that happen to a landlord that could bankrupt you. I only flip now. Short term investments. I turn a SFR every 90 days and pick up my profits then. My investors agree with my experience and philosophy. They are all older and wiser. We all have have tenant horror stories. Be careful not to jump on the landlord carousel. It can speed up on you at any time without notice and sent you flying.

The Brooklyn project was concrete and not stick frame. Between the fire codes for stick frame and seismic areas which is in NYC it is problematic. Many are not aware of the faults in the bedrock make it problematic. With concrete it may not be cost effective here with logistics and closing streets to transport to build a SFR. Perhaps for small commercials. In any case, it may become more feasible and affordable if they can work the kinks out.

Eric. I thought that you might find it interesting that by coincidence attached  a link to one of my past consulting projects that I left in 2015 as there were many problems with the developers and vision as well as the feasibility of the B2 building. If you read the entire article you will find that the project was a complete failure there at this location in addition to being built over the Amtrak Atlantic Terminal Railfoad Tracks in Brooklyn. You would not want to live in this building. This was an expensive "Experiment" that I left in the design phase and I was intimately involved with this in the early stages. I did not want to have my reputation involved in this building. Read your link again on the failure and there are currently more articles in the works to come.