Hi All,

I would like to share my first real estate negotiation story as it is a great case study on persistence. 

My wife and I are in contract to buy a triplex in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. We offered at our preapproval max and were initially rejected by the seller after two weeks of negotiation. Rather than walking away, we asked them whether we could strengthen our offer and bring in an inspector before they accepted our offer. A few hundred dollars our of pocket later they realized that we were serious buyers and determined that our persistence to close the deal made us a better candidate than the several cash offers who offered more money. Persistence pays off!!

Now that the deal is near closing, we are beginning to think next steps. The owners unit has been renovated but the two rentals haven't been renovated in decades. Does anyone know any good contractors who do good work in Bushwick? We want to hit the ground running.

Also, are there any good Brooklyn real estate clubs that anyone knows about? We would love to get more involved in the real estate investing world locally.

Thanks in advance!

@Scott L.  are the rentals empty  or are there tenants in there? What type of units? 1BR? 2BR? What are the rents?

I might have a guy or two to recommend depending on the type of work you are planning on doing. 

@Scott L.

Congrats on being persistence. Things like this are why I enjoy RE so much. You ever know what type of opportunities are around the corner. You just have to keep working on what you are working on and things will fall into place.

Let the BP community know how your renovations go.

Sam.

Hi Scott,

Congrats, that's a huge step! I'm in the process of looking for a 2 or 3 family in the Bushwick area and have been trying to find a great contractor to team up with as well. I'll be following this thread and I'd love to hear more about your experiences.

Ed

Hello Scott,

Awesome! Showing the rest of the newbies that investing in NYC is not impossible. Congratulations on completeling your first deal. I wish you have many more to come !

Thanks everyone, glad that we've inspired some like minded individuals. The property is a 3 family with an owners garden unit and two 2BR apartments which need a full gut. 

I know that there are some serious hurdles with NYC renovations requiring permits, etc. I would like to hire a contractor who can do all the work that requires permits. We're definitely going to do the work which doesn't require permits.

Preliminarily, I am thinking it will need electrical and subdivided gas lines run throughout the building, new plumbing fixtures, and a new roof. All of these I know require permits but I need a contractor who is able to look at the scope of work and tell me what I may need permits for.

Does anyone have any contractor recommendations?

@Scott L. how's it going with the sale? Depending on when your closing I could pass along a guy I use for reno work.

Hi John,

Things are moving along well. We're hoping for a June closing date. If you could send me a massage and share your contact it would be appreciated. We have big plans with the property!

Thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott,

I have a guy I've used on a few of my own properties. He just renovated an apartment in a 3 family I recently bought. He's reliable, quick, does a great job and good at communicating which is dentist as I also work a full time job.

He started 2nd week in March and finished a 3 bedroom apartment ready for me to rent out in April.

Let me know if you're interested and ill pass his details on to you.

@Scott L. any updates on this deal? Did you close on the property?