All Forum Posts by: Timothy Smith

@Matthew Irish-Jones I definitely agree with you on all points, and would advise our friend the same. The one thing a mentor can provide is objectivity, since they do not have anything to gain (unless it is a paid mentorship or quid pro quo situation). On many occasions, I’ve found myself just needing to commiserate and bounce ideas off of other investors without feeling like I am leveraging an agents time. ESPECIALLY without the promise of a transaction. But I’m also the kind of person who is very conscientious about wasting other peoples time, so I probably stifle reaching out when I shouldn’t!

Another upside to a mentor is that you never know when it will lead to a partnership or private money. My mentor never lent anyone as much as $2 for a hot dog, but when he saw how my properties were turning out, suddenly he was offering me the opportunity to borrow money — at very generous terms, I might add.

End point is you definitely need an investor friendly agent, but you also need a wider network and relationships that are not necessarily transactional. 

Hi Hong, congrats on making the leap and also finisher your PhD. UoR, I assume? I have actually been thinking about offering some mentoring and would be happy to have a chat with you. I'm not as big/experienced as some of the other Buffalo folks on here, but I am an information junkie and know a lot of great resources to help you get started. My profile is not up-to-date with my projects/holdings as I just can't be bothered to spend the time on that, but I do own 17 units (15 LTR, 2 STR) and am looking into small development as my next step. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat.

Tim

@Bruce Tieu where are you located? Price sounds high to me but could be on-par with your locale. FWIW, you can usually get a better quality product from a plumbing supply dealer, even if it is the same brand. Honestly, I’d consider doing tankless with that many people in the house. High cost, but cheaper to operate and you’ll never run out. Just my $.02

Hi fellow BP data junkies,

What are some of the best analysis programs for construction projects that have multiple draws, and also various funding sources at different lengths and rates? I have been using DealCheck but it is not set up for more complicated projects. For example, it will not calculate increasing principal over the course of construction draws. One must manually calculate the interest and factor it back in on the refinance section, which makes it much less user-friendly and difficult to share reports. 

I cannot find any information on how advanced the BP calculator is, and I must have burned my free trials a few years ago or I would take it for a spin! Any suggestions for apps or software that can do this are greatly appreciated. TIA.

Tim Smith

@Manuel Koschnieder a friend and contractor of mine is actually doing this for their personal residence and business, as well. I could put you in touch with them if you’d like.

Hi @Devon Huff. I'm also on the West Side and at the moment self-manage with the help of a great handyman and GC. I'd be happy to chat and throw around some names if you are interested. I haven't been interested in going with full-scale property management for many reasons, though I know several people around here that are good at it. 

I keep trying to get to the Wednesday BP meet-ups, but it's just a very awkward time for my family. Maybe I'll make it next week. Otherwise, perhaps we can link up on the phone or around the neighborhood. 

Hi @Collin Sabers and welcome! What neighborhood(s) are you invested in? I’m looking at starting an off-shoot of the monthly BP meetup that would be mornings (especially for those of us with families or evening conflicts) and I want to keep it somewhat local to my immediate area — at least for now.

Best wishes on your journey!

@Kaja Baum if you ever want to sell to a neighbor here in Buffalo, let me know!

Hi @Anneliese Kvashay, I'm sorry to hear about your stresses with this project! I'm betting you are in my neighborhood, or just next to it. Definitely connect with @Matthew Irish-Jones (who I see already replied) and James Wangelin if you can, as they would be some of the most knowledgeable folks on here from all aspects of your project. 

This is a total long-shot, but I have some friends moving back to town who are actually looking at opportunities like these. They considered everything from buying a city lot and building, to turn key, and everything in between. Projects don't scare them. Shoot me a DM and we can connect. If nothing else, it's another resource. 

Good luck!

Hi @Nicky Venditti, I'm also in Buffalo and consider myself familiar with NYS landlord/tenant legislation. I usually buy vacant properties, but the few times I have inherited tenants, I've used the following to bring rent to (or close to) market.

1) Make sure you put eyes on their current lease. See in writing when the term ends, and when their tenancy began. If you are familiar with the 30/60/90 day notice structure, great. 

2) Find out if they are on any rental assistance programs. If they receive Section 8/Belmont/etc, there may be a delay or further review to the increase. I'm not experience with this, but definitely is worth finding out.

3) Once your deal closes, meet with them and ask them to show you any maintenance issues that need to be addressed. Show them that you want to respect their home and make it a better place for them, while possibly also making some upgrades that increase their standard of living. This makes the rent increase an easier pill to swallow. Simply taking over then raising rent is a bit abrasive. 

4) Consider an escalated rent period, where you make the increase steadily over a few months.

5) Make sure you do it before the NYS legislature takes another run at GCE with a rent increase cap!

Good luck!