Hello @Alex Aguilar! Sorry it's taken me a while to respond...! Erm, I have not heard of or dealt with Investors of Buffalo but I have seen them online.
I live in the UK and manage my property from here. Because of the time difference I am able to do my UK work in the morning and slot the US stuff in the afternoon. I do get a little help from Housing Assistance in Buffalo because both tenants receive financial assistance with paying the rent. It works for me and I would like to expand on what I do. It's sometimes quite challenging, especially with the time difference but overall I am happy with how things are. I feel that I have quite a good understanding and relationship with both tenants and speak to them regularly and so far I believe both tenants are happy - they have both said they are anyway! I'll be honest... because of the troubles I have had in the past it has put me off employing another PMC. Both promised to behave and both ripped me off which, as you can imagine, is incredibly upsetting and frustrating. @Jacob Lea-Kelly you are right and I agree, it's tough and I feel that I was an easy target because I lived some 4000 miles away from the property. Taking legal action has crossed my mind a few times. I was really concerned about managing my own property in the beginning because the last PMC (DASA) really put me off even contacting my tenants - I believe it was done purposely and purely so their pockets could be lined with my cash. Now I wonder why I didn't jump in earlier than I did - or maybe I have been lucky with the tenants.... If you have the time, @Alex Aguilar maybe consider managing your own property....? I have found it is not as bad as I originally thought.... S.
Hello @Alex Aguilar! Have you found a decent PMC yet? From personal experience I would AVOID at all costs DASA Properties on South Park Ave and ABC on Englewood Ave. ABC may have changed their ways, I fired them in 2009 for excessive charges and went to DASA Properties. In October 2016 I fired them because I discovered they were charging me for repairs that simply did not exist..One of my tenants also informed me that DASA claimed to own my property! I manage my own property now and things are a lot better for us. Good luck!
Sorry you had such a rough experience with those management companies @Sarah G.. It sounds like what they did was unconscionable from a professional perspective. I know it's really tough to find the correct property management @Alex Aguilar because there is so much abuse. Even when you find a good one, you have to stay on top of things to make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain. What it boils down to a lot of times is that the owner of a property is absentee and the management companies see a chance to get away with maintenance that was never needed or needed and not done. Most times because they know they will not be caught. You need to look for a company that is looking out for their clients. The better their clients do, the more houses their clients buy and the more doors they get under management.
Look for recommendations here as well as on google. The best thing you can do is call a few companies, have a conversation, and see if they are a good fit for your investing philosophy.
Hello @Alex Aguilar! Sorry it's taken me a while to respond...! Erm, I have not heard of or dealt with Investors of Buffalo but I have seen them online.
I live in the UK and manage my property from here. Because of the time difference I am able to do my UK work in the morning and slot the US stuff in the afternoon. I do get a little help from Housing Assistance in Buffalo because both tenants receive financial assistance with paying the rent. It works for me and I would like to expand on what I do. It's sometimes quite challenging, especially with the time difference but overall I am happy with how things are. I feel that I have quite a good understanding and relationship with both tenants and speak to them regularly and so far I believe both tenants are happy - they have both said they are anyway! I'll be honest... because of the troubles I have had in the past it has put me off employing another PMC. Both promised to behave and both ripped me off which, as you can imagine, is incredibly upsetting and frustrating. @Jacob Lea-Kelly you are right and I agree, it's tough and I feel that I was an easy target because I lived some 4000 miles away from the property. Taking legal action has crossed my mind a few times. I was really concerned about managing my own property in the beginning because the last PMC (DASA) really put me off even contacting my tenants - I believe it was done purposely and purely so their pockets could be lined with my cash. Now I wonder why I didn't jump in earlier than I did - or maybe I have been lucky with the tenants.... If you have the time, @Alex Aguilar maybe consider managing your own property....? I have found it is not as bad as I originally thought.... S.
@Sarah G. That's incredible that you are able to manage your property from such a great distance! Good for you, no sarcasm. How did you go about initially purchasing the property, I'm assuming it was in person?
Thanks again for the reply @Sarah G.. I can't say how much I appreciate it. I was wondering how do you have the house open for showing and what not being so far away? Do you know someone within the city helping you?
And thank you Jacob and Peter. I'm going to look into real property management.
Thank you @Account Closed - honestly, not a problem, I thought it would be just awful if you experienced any problems even remotely close to what I have in the past. I will be posting public reviews online in due course. The reason why I have not done so yet is because I wanted to see how things went and to see for myself how many complaints / repair requests would come in. I've had one repair request since November 2016. The PMC were throwing repair bills at me pretty much every month. Anyway, the last PMC placed one of the tenants and the other tenant came with the house when we purchased it so I have not yet needed to deal with getting new tenants in. I was crafty enough to get the PMC to email me the leases and certain bits and pieces but they have withheld quite a lot of paperwork and some money since the 'divorce'. When the time comes I'll need to appoint someone in Buffalo to do everything I physically cannot do. I do have a couple of contacts in the city so even finding a new tenant and cleaning up one of the apartments does not really worry me too much. If you would like the contact details please let me know and I'll send them to you. I have spoken with her and she seems a really nice lady but I am yet to do business with her. Is your duplex tenanted or are you looking for some? What sort of tenant/s do you want? I'm curious... who is @Emily Wu?
If I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to get in touch! Or maybe, keep in touch anyway? I am more than happy to help where I can! S.
@Sarah G. I'm currently an investor in New Jersey, originally from New York, but my research and personal contacts are pointing me in the Buffalo direction. There is a university there with a lot of international students, from what I hear, but I was/am trepidatious about investing so far away. Seeing your story now has emboldened me; the ROIs are definitely better up there than here.
Red Bank is an awesome, funky, and now, somewhat rich town that I haven't had the pleasure of visiting. Your comments have given me a kick in the pants, it's only an hour away from me, I'll be sure to check it out and report back soon!
@Account Closed my wife and I recently started looking in NJ, close to NYC as we are a bit weary of being first time landlords too far away from home. The market there is so competitive even though the cash flow numbers don't make sense (at least they don't fit our model).
If you are in JC, would be great to catch up in person.
Hey @Account Closed! Please do keep me posted on what you do and how you get on! And if you do get to the Secret Stash down there on Broad Street I will be m-o-s-t jealous - you lucky man! I'm checking out their website all the time - the only pooper is the amount of VAT / Import Tax I would have to pay with importing to the UK... Mmmmm - I need a holiday....! S.
About to close on a duplex in Buffalo, NY. Anyone have recommendations on property management companies?
I have a referral for a good Property Manager in Buffalo. I'll be happy to pass the info on.
Also @Andrew Son don't overpay for a WNY property. What might be "Cheap" due to NYC and NJ Comparables might be overpriced for Buffalo. Be aware of that "Micro Bubble" that's happening now.
@Derrick H. Speaking the truth! Be careful, lots of inflated prices currently in Buffalo. A lot of competition due to our limited supply. These prices don't seem sustainable with our local economy. The bubble is forming
100% Agreed. Bidding in N. Buffalo is a joke at this point. All cash deals 25%-100% over asking haha. There are still some deals but definitely a need to be careful.
Any thoughts on a reliable maintenance person or company in Buffalo? I am struggling to find dependable and professional maintenance resources in Buffalo. Hoping some of you have recommendations.
Has anybody had the privilege of working with "buffalo turn key properties" all the numbers seem too good to be true. They use ABC property management company.
@Sarah G. The City of Buffalo requires all non-owner occupied single family houses and doubles to be registered with their Rental Registry. Properties with 3 units or more have to register with Multiple Dwellings. In both cases, if the owner of the property does not live in Erie County (NY), the City requires that the name, address, and phone number of the owner's agent (who MUST live in Erie County, NY) be provided. This means, you are not legally able to manage your own properties remotely if you do not also have a local agent. Is your property registered with the City of Buffalo?
Has anybody had the privilege of working with "buffalo turn key properties" all the numbers seem too good to be true. They use ABC property management company.
Please Please Please DO YOUR DILIGENCE. What you see may not be what you get.
I've also been looking for a property manager in Buffalo, and it appears good managers are hard to come by. I have had no luck as of yet. Let me know if you find one that works out.
@Michael Eng How did you your visit to Buffalo go? Were you able to meet any PMs and have you found any contractors/realtors/lenders that you found were helpful? Please share if you don't mind. Thanks.
searching for PM and maintenance people is like searching for needle in the hay. We were burnt by 5 property managers before we settled on our current manager. They too tried to rip us off on repairs. So we do our own repairs which is a pain specially with these houses being so old. Things seems to break often.
If you guys have any good repair person who is not busy with your projects, appreciate you guys sharing that contact.