All Forum Posts by: Vincent Leclerc

@Eric James, @Michael Sandritter @Shane Hirt @Matthew Irish-Jones Thank you for the insightful information 

It seems that the challenge is the short season and high fixed costs, I am visiting a house this week-end and meeting with a property manager, we'll see but based on your comments reaching my goal of 20-25 weeks rented/yr will probably be difficult. Worst case I will get a nice weekend in the Finger Lakes out of it :)

Thanks Again

Hi, I am investing in the Buffalo area and I am looking at a waterfront properties in the finger lakes. Has anyone invested in vacation homes in this area? 

I need to better understand the numbers (how many weeks a year can it be rented / seasonality / taxes / cashflow / management fees...). 

I am looking at properties 3+ bed 2+ bath with access to the water in the $300-$400k range. Canusus or Canandaigua lakes. From what I see it can be rented between $250 and $400 a night depending on the season and taxes are around $10k. I was hoping to be able to rent 20-25 weeks a year and I am not sure if it's a reasonable assumption. 

Thank you!

Hi @Mohamad Khan I don´t think that they will be able to help you, they live across the street and use a huge snow blower so they are mainly doing job around the block. Unless if your property is on the same block in the Hertel area :)

Hi Michael, I just hired a snow plow for the winter in Buffalo, I figured that you might be interested to know the numbers.

It's $350 / $400 for the winter. Driveway (that goes all the way to the backyard) + sidewalk. 

So roughly $32/month or $10/month/tenant for a 3 units. It should be easy to include it in the rent. 

It's safer, they will appreciate the service and you can deduce it from your taxes :)

@Alex Scott 

Hey Alex, sorry work is crazy. I won't be able to make it this week but I'll be in touch for a drink soon!

Hi Alex, good idea but not sure I'll make it this week with work, are you in the city? I will confirm tomorrow if it works for me!

Hi Meghan and Welcome!

I am new to BP as well. I rent a multi family in North Buffalo. 

I am not sure about the market in your area but a $100 increase represents 20% if they are paying around $500 a month so it might be a lot. I would just introduce myself first (with cookies!), tell them that you will require a formal lease and mention that you will study the market and make an adjustment on the rent if necessary. 

It will give you an opportunity to assess the situation and have a first impression on your tenants and confirm if you would like to keep them or not. If you think that they will be good tenants you can have a softer approach and announce them that you will gradually increase the rent. If you want them gone you can go ahead with a bigger increase and security deposit. In any case if you start with just introducing yourself and explaining your intentions it will show them that you know what you want and give them time to accept what is coming. You can follow up a few weeks later with your decision.

For the lawn, I would just offer them to do it for a $25 rent discount. It´s $300 a year and probably close to what you would pay for a professional. If they are not interested I would not force them, they might not want the responsibility and I would be concerned about liability (or poor quality job).

We have been renting for a year and a half, learning along the way and it´s been a very good experience so far. The Buffalo market is very favorable and most tenants are great so no worry :)

@Mike Cumbie @Ayodeji Kuponiyi @David Niles @Alex Scott

@Warren Ifergane

Thank you for all your nice messages. Alex, discussing real estate in Buffalo sounds great!

@Jacob Lea-Kelly Thank you Jacob, nice to see that a lot of local investors are networking here. My goal in the next few month is to develop a strong network in Buffalo and a good real estate investing team. It would be nice to grab a drink at some point and discuss about the market, property management and future business opportunities. 

Hello, I installed the cheapest wifi honeywell and mentioned the smart thermostat (and lower gas bill, which is a plus for a tenant) in the ad. It was only a $80 investment, however our appartment is completely renovated and high end for the area. I guess it depends on your target. Also be careful with smart thermostats, most of them require a 12v wire not always available if your house is old, check the existing wires. Wifi is using too much energy to run on battery. Finally I really like energy efficiency and the idea of limiting my carbon footprint ;)