All Forum Posts by: Thomas Hartman

Hi everyone!

I’m looking to get connected with good PMs and contractors in Indianapolis. Can anyone send any references that they’ve had good experiences with?

Much appreciated, thanks!!

Hi everyone!

Looking to potentially build a team in Jacksonville, FL. I want to grow a large portfolio of SFH and MF, and would like to talk to property managers and agents over the next few weeks about which areas of the city make the most sense to invest in. I will be in Jacksonville for two weeks in mid-late March and would love to meet up and learn as much as I can about the area to make the right decisions and avoid buying in troubled areas. Thanks!

@Corey Minard thanks for the input! I agree tenant quality is crucial but I guess I’m still ignorant on what the best ways to truly figure that out are. Talking to a property manager? Seeing what kind of cars are parked in the streets where you’ll potentially invest? What are signs to look out for (pre tenant screening) to really find out the potential tenant “quality” in an area?

Hello everyone!

I’m curious to see who on these forums is investing in rental properties in smaller cities in Indiana such as Fort Wayne of Lafayette, and if you’re having success there. I’ve had my eye on Indianapolis and I’m analyzing deals for the past couple of months. Haven’t taken a dive on anything yet but it seems to be pretty hot right now and I’m wondering if it’s a wiser decision to go to a smaller city where I can get more bang for my buck such as the ones I mentioned. Or if there are any other cities in the area you’d recommend investing in, what might those be?

Any advice would be super appreciated as I’m still pretty new with all of this and haven’t actually begun investing yet. Just reading a lot of the essential books and trying to ask as many questions as I can on these forums!

Thanks and take care!

@Horton M.

Hey Horton, thanks for the message. Could we meet on Sunday afternoon? I’ll be working in UWS til 12:15pm, could meet shortly after that anywhere in town. Let me know!

@Nik Corbaxhi

Hey Nik, I appreciate your input! Thank you for sharing. I’d like to dig deeper into this with you if possible.

No, I have no experience with any single property yet other than analyzing deals on my own, so I’m sure I will learn a TON when I jump into a deal, but I have to say that after reading both of David Greene’s books, he makes a really strong case that investing long distance is really no different than investing in your own backyard, and if anything, investing closer to home might only be a hindrance to your progress as you will tend to get more emotionally involved, and want to micro-manage everyone on your team. Virtually all correspondence with team members would be over the phone, text, FaceTime/Zoom, or email anyway, so I’m wondering if you could share your perspective on why it should actually make a difference where the property is located? I am not meaning to sound argumentative, I only want to know because yes at first I was thinking it sounds almost silly to try and trust a team of people I don’t know and will never meet in person to do everything in my best interest for my investments. But the more I am learning about it, it just seems like the core foundation of succeeding in real estate is about building relationships, and having solid communication. What do you think?

@Nicholas Mann

Thanks for the heads up on Albany! I will definitely look into it. I’ve also been interested in other towns up the Hudson a little closer to the city. Kingston for example. I definitely see some potential there but I haven’t yet looked into tenant-landlord laws and how much they’d favor the landlord (NYC proper is a very tenant-friendly city, I do know that.) Nor have I looked into labor costs for rehabs and repairs up there. I know that labor in NYC is crazy expensive. Either way, I’m still very much a beginner and I know there is so much to learn so that’s what I’m trying to do!

Hey friends, Happy New Year!

I am looking to buy my first investment property in the first half of 2020, and since I live in Brooklyn, NY and I’m not yet a millionaire, this will be a long distance investment. So far I’ve read both of David Greene’s excellent books, Brandon Turner’s rental property investing book, and a few others but the list of must-reads remains long and I’m so thrilled to get to them. I’ve earned a lot in the last two months but I would still say I am very much a beginner with most of the concepts.

I am wondering if there are any other NYC dwellers who invest long distance on these forums, and if so, would you be willing to meet up for a coffee or lunch on me in the near future and chat about strategies, areas, and all things investing? Or even just chat on the phone perhaps if time is tight. I know it’s a lot to ask to meet a complete stranger and have them pick your brain, but seriously, you can order whatever you want on the menu and if you want music lessons, I can offer those as I am a musician by trade (mostly drums and guitar.) I also can teach you Spanish or Japanese. Yes, all very random things that may or may not help you in your investing but hey, figured it wouldn’t hurt to put it out there as they are all things that have enriched my life over the years an unquantifiable amount.

Thanks for reading, and may this year bring you all success and fulfillment in your investing and related endeavors!

Tommy

Hello everyone! 

Quick question here about pre approvals. Me and my wife are in the process of getting our papers together for pre approval. My concerns are as follows: 

How badly does getting pre approval affect my credit score? 

If I’m potentially looking to invest in a few different areas of the country, do I need to pursue pre approval separately in each market? And I’m assuming if one credit check in one area affects my credit score, a few checks in other markets will affect it even more? 

We are only about a month into educating ourselves with real estate investing and still on the fence about whether or not to invest locally in NYC where we live, or remotely in more affordable areas, or perhaps even both of our pre approvals allow for it. We are a bit all over the place at the moment trying to weigh options but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to continue to ask questions here because you are all extremely helpful and generous with your wisdom. We truly appreciate it, and love that this resource exists for people like us! 

Thanks and have a wonderful night!

Tommy

@Alex Horelick hey thanks for your responses ! Could you clarify what areas you’re aware of north of the city that have good schools, or at least better than Yonkers? Our son will be in Pre-K from this coming Fall. Also planning to have another kid soon. Schools, Safety, getting into the city relatively easily with or without a car and ideally a diverse crowd of people are important factors for us. 

Would love to chat more about this ! We’d ideally want to get started on our first house hacking property in the first half (maybe even first quarter?) of 2020. At first I would plan to manage the property on my own, but do you know good and reputable property managers with references, as well as contractors? And would you be willing to connect me with folks you’ve helped out to find a house hacking multi family in these areas in recent past? 

Also could you elaborate on the rehab loan (FHA 203k)?

Sorry for all of the follow up questions, but I’m looking forward to connecting ! 

Tommy