All Forum Posts by: Stefanie Gouvis

 yes, I am!

 Hi Chris, this is an excellent way to get into real estate. I wish I had done it when I bought my first house! We're renting that out anyways but sincerely I missed the boat on starting with a multifamily home. There are so many great local lenders you will have great options for figuring out the best loan for you - you don't *need* to put 20% down by any means, but never a bad thing to go that route if you can. With anything in the Albany area you can't go wrong because between the colleges and the hospitals nearby, there are so many people in need of apartments.

If you need referrals for inspectors, attorneys, lenders or anything, feel free to reach out! If you need help finding the right property I could help you with that if you haven't already connected with an agent. Good luck on your investing journey!

Hi Stephen! CRREIA is probably the biggest meetup locally, I went once and would love to go more. I personally have a few SF rentals but would love to get into more of the MF or even possibly short term vacation rentals someday. Slow and steady for me, though! Maybe see you at a meetup sometime!

We use Armor Group for our landlord policy SF rental in Mechanicville - good coverage with Sterling. Robert is a broker and offers many coverage options but he is also great because he is honest and will tell you if his options aren't the best for you. Highly recommend him! He is currently located in Saratoga Springs 

https://armorgroupinsurance.com/index.php

 Of course - I loved reading your post as well. Super in depth, and helpful as I don't know much about those markets by you! They sound quite similar actually, being college towns with strong economies outside of them as well!

 Hi Marika! I am an agent in the Capital region, so I cover Albany/Schenectady/Troy/Saratoga and surrounding areas. Appreciation is VERY strong here. Property values are strong. So it isn't going to be cheap to get into something in this area, because there are a lot of buyers and investors to compete with. Even the gut job properties are listed and go pending very quickly because there is a lot of money to be made in the region.

Albany - 

There is an area in Albany that is convenient to both numerous hospitals and colleges. It is a very strong area for rentals. You can do both basic housing aimed at students (they usually aren't hard to impress, just want a safe place to sleep - they don't need fancy and usually won't maintain fancy) and higher-end housing geared towards all of the professionals who work at the area hospitals, and everyone who works in Albany area in general. It all works in this area. Because things are so strong here though, it will be hard to get into anything at a low price unless you are willing to do some renovations. Property taxes are high relative to the assessment values also. 

Schenectady

There are colleges, hospitals, and other workplaces in the area as well. Downtown is making a huge comeback, attracting lots of new businesses and generally going through a revitalization. I would say it has less interest in it than Albany area though still strong. Similar to Albany in that taxes are pretty high relative to assessed values and market values. 

Comparing the two, I'd say Albany is always going to be the more popular area. Looking at the MLS, 379 MF listings sold in the city of Albany during the last 12 months, compared to city of Schenectady at 241. County-wide, 549 sold in Albany and 268 in Albany. As far as rents, I know the MLS is not the usual or only place for rentals, but again comparing MLS closed rentals for the last 12 months from today, the average monthly rent for Schenectady county was $1,673. Albany was $1,790, for a smaller average space.

If you'd like to discuss investing in the Capital Region further, feel free to message me any time!

Yes, I am - I am based out of Ballston Spa! I used to do the commute to Albany for many years, and it was so horrible only because of traffic. On the days there was no traffic, it was a breeze! Maybe the commute wouldn't be bad if you were living in Albany and commuting to Bspa. I also don't think Mechanicville would be a bad choice, probably just better if you planned to hold for a long period of time. There is one that just came on that looks turn key, and has a huge garage which could provide additional income. 

If you decide you want to see anything in person, I would love to assist you!

Hi Natali, are you looking in a broader area around CP? There are usually so few MF properties that come up for sale in the Saratoga county area, and if they do they are usually at a higher price. It looks like there are several for sale right now in Mechanicville, but taxes are relatively high there and rents are typically some of the lowest I see in comparison to other nearby areas. Taxes are even higher of course in Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties but rents trend higher as well in those areas. The good thing is that no matter where you buy or what you do, you'll be looking at solid rents and solid appreciation in our area, so this is a great place to start a real estate portfolio with a house hack!

Hey Joshua, I also grew up in Clifton Park! There are great lenders here with DSCR loans that are great for investment properties, too so your personal finances don't even have to come into play if the numbers are right! I'm a Capital Region real estate agent, feel free to reach out to me anytime if I can help in any way.

Track rentals typically make the most money if they are VERY close to the track. Otherwise maybe Airbnb would be best. There is also a large restaurant company here that I have been told needs rentals for a shorter term but pays very well to house staff that they bring in from out of town to work for them during high season. So maybe you could try to find something like that and do Airbnb in the meantime.

Subdividing is not super cheap, and vacant lots typically sit on the market longer than homes do, but it could be a good opportunity if you have funds available to purchase the lot and to pay for subdividing services. Might take a while to fully cash out but depending on the location of that land it might be a smart thing to do.