All Forum Posts by: Taylor Baruffi

Hello Bigger Pockets,

I've been getting a lot of inquiries for my rental units where the tenants are on DSS assistance and I was wondering if anyone had experience in that area. What are the requirements, headaches, benefits, etc. of DSS tenants? I spoke with my county DSS office and they said they pay a portion or all of the rent and it can be direct deposited. This seems like an easy and guaranteed payment on the first of the month which is a positive. Also, I would be helping people in a bad situation have stable housing which is a moral benefit, I just want to make sure I'm not falling into some big bureaucratic fiasco with nightmare tenants. 

Please let me know if you have experience in this area and what the pros/cons are from your perspective. I am in Upstate New York in case there are variances across state lines.

Thanks,

Taylor

Hello BP Community,

I am signing up for my real estate licence classes online this week and anticipate finishing them up and taking the state exam before the end of the year. I am looking for a sponsoring broker to work under. I am a buy and hold real estate investor in the Capital Region of New York and do one or two deals per year at current pace, but with the intent to increase this as means and opportunities arise. My goals in obtaining my real estate license are to have access to the MLS for listings, comps, etc. as well as be on my own schedule for showings as I have a demanding full time job currently and lining up my schedule with a realtor is not always easy. An added bonus would be to collect a portion of the commissions on each deal that I close on as I already do most of the searching, vetting, comps, etc. myself. It will also put me in touch with a community of realtors to better understand the market and area.

I have a few questions in this regard:

1. What is the best way to find a sponsoring broker? I was going to call and email several brokers in the area to explain my situation and what I am looking for (i.e. I will be doing deals only for myself and partners not becoming a full time realtor, a few deals per year, low fee split). Should I be looking for a smaller broker or a larger national/regional broker (i.e. ReMax/Coldwell)

2. Is this type of situation common and if there is any experience in that area, what is the typical deal fee split between agent and broker? Should I expect an annual fee?

3. Any additional information from those who have done this/are in the same situation would be greatly appreciated and helpful. I'd like to learn the most about what sort of issues/mistake/pitfalls are common with this situation on the front end so I can attempt to avoid them.

If there are any brokers in the area as well, I would love to speak with you and get any detail or insight you might have. Thanks for your help!

-Taylor

Welcome to BP!

I invest in multi-families in Troy and have been trying to stay on the East side of the river simply to keep my concentration area smaller. There is a lot of opportunity there for cash flow, not so much for capital appreciation in the foreseeable future. Troy seems to be on the upswing by comparison to the other towns in the area, though like in all cities there are regions to avoid. 

I'm always looking to increase my portfolio and find partners on deals, DM me if you'd like to discuss opportunities!

-Taylor

Hi Paul,

New to the BP community as well. I live in Saratoga currently and have been looking in the area for good investment opportunities. The issue I see is that the prices in Saratoga are to high now to be able to realize solid cash flow. There is opportunity for capital appreciation, but the asset prices are extremely inflated compared to the surrounding areas. That said, there may be opportunities to do a live in flip if you can find an older home that needs work. Several friends of mine have been buying in Saratoga and it is a very desireable area to live in the region.

I am a buy and hold investor focused on cash flow and I took a look at several multi-family properties in the area and found that you could really only expect to see a couple % return on investment. I invest in the Troy market and have found that region to have much better returns. The property appreciation is not as robust (pretty much non-existent) but there are much better opportunities for 30+% cash flow returns even with conservative estimates. 

Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding the area or realtors/inspectors if you make it that far in the process.

-Taylor

I'm new to BP, but have been listening to the podcasts for a while now and I definitely think it would be beneficial to separate out the regions and key words as there seems to be a lot of chatter about Rochester on here! I live and invest in the Capital Region (Albany, Troy, Saratoga) so this may be a good way to subdivide out the 'Upstate' forums to focus more on the area. Just a thought! I agree with some of the other posters though, I think of Upstate as the Albany/Capital Region area and Syracuse as Central and Rochester and Buffalo as Western. 

Is there a way to break out the forums into a more specific group for the Capital Region? I primarily invest in multi-family rentals (buy and hold) and am constantly looking for new opportunities. PM me if you'd like to discuss.

-Taylor

Hi Ed,

Great that you are starting so early. I started investing in Troy at 25 and it has been a great opportunity and success for me thus far. 

I would say build capital and constantly look for deals. In the Troy area, you can find smaller multi-family homes (duplex/triplex) in the 50's and 60's. The down payment on these would be slightly over 10k and doable if you save some cash and look for creative financing for the rest (family, friends, other investors). You may be able to get better terms if you start with an owner-occupied duplex and have the other tenant pay the mortgage for you allowing you to grow your investment fund. 

I closed on my last rental about a month ago and am already looking for the next opportunity. I am new to BP, but have listened to the podcasts for a while now. There are great podcasts on creative financing and 'Investing with Low and No Money Down' is a good read. PM me if you'd like to further discuss getting started investing in the Troy area and best of luck!

-Taylor