Rental Property Investor · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes
Hi Everyone,
NYS tenant and landlord law have recently changed. Wondering what landlords outside of New York City are doing to account for the changes. They seem drastic and tenant biased but I’m remaining optimistic and realizing that as time goes on changes are going to happen and I will have to adapt.
I have a photo of a briefing but not sure how to post it.
I think these new laws make it harder to justify investment in an already tough market. Property taxes, tenant laws, increasing inventory in the city, decreasing market value upstate, and demographic trends are all headwinds for the NYC and NYS markets (the city is obviously different from the rest of the state).
I believe the best strategy is to look out-of-state. This has obviously been my approach, and I have been happy with it. My friends who have chosen the other route have either lost money or made returns so small that it would be completely unacceptable anywhere, save for the emotional and cultural attachment they have to New York City. For my part, I do love it here, it's just not where I wish to invest.
I have done some limited analysis upstate, and I see the other side of a tough picture. High taxes and declining growth prospects for those cities make it a tough sell from a growth or cashflow perspective. No matter which way you slice it, there are sunbelt regions with better favorables on all points.
I have properties in Memphis; Lexington, KY; Fayetteville, NC; Trenton, NJ; and until recently (just sold) in Richmond Virginia.
There are reasons I like each market. Lexington, Fayetteville, and Trenton are larger partnerships, and they are entirely passive from my end. Memphis is also fairly passive. Richmond was the most hands-on, and the market there is getting much harder to find inventory. I was happy to sell into a hungry market, but I think I'll sit it out in that area until the end of the cycle.
Trenton is a possible bright spot for prices in the Northeast. That said, New Jersey taxes and the general economic environment in the city lower the upside. I don't plan to do any other projects there for the times being.
I think these new laws make it harder to justify investment in an already tough market. Property taxes, tenant laws, increasing inventory in the city, decreasing market value upstate, and demographic trends are all headwinds for the NYC and NYS markets (the city is obviously different from the rest of the state).
I believe the best strategy is to look out-of-state. This has obviously been my approach, and I have been happy with it. My friends who have chosen the other route have either lost money or made returns so small that it would be completely unacceptable anywhere, save for the emotional and cultural attachment they have to New York City. For my part, I do love it here, it's just not where I wish to invest.
I have done some limited analysis upstate, and I see the other side of a tough picture. High taxes and declining growth prospects for those cities make it a tough sell from a growth or cashflow perspective. No matter which way you slice it, there are sunbelt regions with better favorables on all points.
We are seeing quite the opposite in our area, prices are up, population is solid and the city is growing with big developers putting their money here. Cashflow is great in my area of upstate. appreciation, meh. m2m leases have became popular with these law changes in my area.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes
6y
We are seeing quite the opposite in our area, prices are up, population is solid and the city is growing with big developers putting their money here. Cashflow is great in my area of upstate. appreciation, meh. m2m leases have became popular with these law changes in my area.
Dylan thank you for the post! What are you doing to adapt to these laws?
I think these new laws make it harder to justify investment in an already tough market. Property taxes, tenant laws, increasing inventory in the city, decreasing market value upstate, and demographic trends are all headwinds for the NYC and NYS markets (the city is obviously different from the rest of the state).
I believe the best strategy is to look out-of-state. This has obviously been my approach, and I have been happy with it. My friends who have chosen the other route have either lost money or made returns so small that it would be completely unacceptable anywhere, save for the emotional and cultural attachment they have to New York City. For my part, I do love it here, it's just not where I wish to invest.
I have done some limited analysis upstate, and I see the other side of a tough picture. High taxes and declining growth prospects for those cities make it a tough sell from a growth or cashflow perspective. No matter which way you slice it, there are sunbelt regions with better favorables on all points.
We are seeing quite the opposite in our area, prices are up, population is solid and the city is growing with big developers putting their money here. Cashflow is great in my area of upstate. appreciation, meh. m2m leases have became popular with these law changes in my area.
Dylan thank you for the post! What are you doing to adapt to these laws?
Hi Jennie,
So far I haven't needed to change much as I have great tenants in my properties. Moving forward I might start implementing m2m leases and tightening screening criteria and inflate the rents a little more than market to alleviate the trash. Will it work better? I am not sure. Luckily I tend to attract great tenants as I go just a bit more with my renovations than my competition without breaking the bank. This has worked well so far. Other than that I will continue to dislike Cuomo and pray for the best! ha.
Rental Property Investor · Syracuse, NY · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 5 votes
6y
Hi All, Newbie here getting ready to rent my first property in Syracuse NY in a couple months. The new NYS law states that tenants can only be charged $20 for screening. I found Cozy charges about $35... so sounds like that is out for New York? Also I stumbled across Landlordboss offering free tenant screening to both Tenant and Landlord (for a limited time). Anyone try it? Here's the link: https://www.landlordboss.com/p...
Rental Property Investor · Syracuse, NY · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 5 votes
6y
@Eli Lederman I read the $20 max rule here: https://www.nyrealestatelawblo... but read it elsewhere too in my research. Here is what it says: "Effective mid-June of 2019, landlords may only charge potential tenants an application fee equal to the cost of conducting a credit and background check, or $20, whichever is less. Additionally, landlords may only collect that fee upon providing the applicants with a copy of the results of that inquiry, together with a copy of a receipt or invoice, and must waive this charge if the tenants can provide copies of a credit and background check conducted within a thirty (30) day period prior to the application. (Any provision of a lease or contract modifying or waiving this protection is void.) [Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1)(b), Real Prop. Law § 238(a)(3).]"