All Forum Posts by: Abel Curiel

Welcome to the BP forums, @Dana Grant!

With your combined skillset and experience, you and your husband are great additions to this community.

I'd highly recommend setting up keyword alerts for topics and areas of interest. It is one of the best ways to stay engaged with the BiggerPockets members and make new valuable connections.

All the best to you both moving forward!

Abel

Hello @Allen Johnson and welcome to the BP forums!

Great to hear that you have a deep purpose/drive for what you're doing. Your boys will indeed be proud and benefit from your hard work. That is a great value to instill in NY's future young men!

Regarding what buyers are looking for, it is thankfully very simple. 

They want the numbers to work. Investors in NY ideally want to purchase properties at 50-70% discount. If you know what a property is worth when fully renovated, you'll have a good idea of whether the deal will make sense for an investor. 

For example, for your target property, if similar renovated properties are selling for $800,000, then you know investors will be looking to pay $400,000-560,000 depending on the condition & location. If the property has a clean title, can be delivered vacant, and is in decent condition, you may find that investors will pay on the higher end of that 400-560K range... possible more if its in a desirable neighborhood.

All the best to you on your journey!

Abel

@Tiffany Alfaro your license can help you if you use it to consistently and systematically generate leads. 

If you find good potential deals, you can aim to buy them yourself and/or with partners.

The deals that aren't a good fit, you can list them on the market for other investors/end buyers and earn a commission. You can also earn additional commission by helping the sellers purchaser their next property.

I agree with @Obed Calixte and @Ke Nan Wang. With a RE license, you only get what you put in. 

That said, if you don't get your license, you can still:
- purchase lead data
- subscribe to dialer systems for cold calling (i.e. RedX, Mojo)
- send mailers
- use SEO marketing 
- and more

If you cannot convert the lead or don't like the deal, not having a license can limit your ability to monetize the relationship with the seller. It becomes more difficult to refer the deal or collect a commission, although wholesaling the deal could be an alternative.

Welcome to the forums @Shan Dey!

Your experience as an investor AND with realtor.com will be super valuable to the community. Its great to see how your journey has led you to helping friends get involved as well, great stuff!

Welcome to the BP forum, @Marvell Martin!

Its good to know that you have the flexibility to move elsewhere. NY is definitely expensive. We are also based in Queens (Astoria), and in this area, the average sale price for 2-4 unit properties is nearly $400K more than the rest of Queens.

If you did decide to target the local market, I would aim for properties at or below $1,200,000 which is the median pricepoint for Queens and Brooklyn. 

The best opportunities for cash flow, lowering your current living expenses, AND staying below the median/average price points will be in the Bronx and Westchester. There are options in BK, Queens, and Long Island, but fewer options are available compared to BX and Westchester. If you're looking to lower living expenses, try to prioritize properties with ADUs or other potential income sources.

Whether or not you decide to focus on NY vs. OOS will depend on your short- and long-term goals. You will find more positive monthly cashflow properties in other states (or Upstate NY), BUT the annual appreciation here in NY is much stronger.

Landlording in NY is not for the faint of heart. Evictions here can take longer than in neighboring states (i.e. NJ and CT). 
That said, successful NY landlords usually do the following:
- Implement a process for pre-screening and thorough screening of tenants
- Use tenant applications and collect as much vital information as possible i.e. credit reports, past landlord references, professional/personal references, financial documents, etc.
- Set expectations and share unit rules prior to the application process to weed out disinterested tenants
- Deliver notices (notice to comply, late payment, 30-90 day notices, etc.) expeditiously. In other words: Don't give anyone time to give you a sob story, instead, get your attorney or property management company involved in delivering notices immediately.

All the best!

Abel

Hello @Dana Gaglion,

This is not legal advice... plenty of great attorneys in NY will offer a free consultation so I'd recommend going that route. A solid attorney should be able to share valuable insights and answer your questions. 

That said, I think you should get the tenant out asap. They've violated the lease, and the chances of them making a long-term change to become a decent tenant are slim. 

Evicting may seem harsh because you are sympathetic to their situation and live on the same property. However, this is also your business. 

Well said by @Matthew Becker! 

Give them a notice and offer cash for keys before eviction. 

All the best to you!

Abel

 Hello Lee,

I'd recommend looking up local meetups here on BP, meetup.com and, eventbrite.

You can also call around to speak with RE investors and professionals in your target market to begin making connections.

With so much available information online, I'd recommend speaking to a few people and doing independent research before committing to mentorships. This way, you can have a clearer understanding of what you want to do before making that initial investment.

All the best!

Abel

Hello @Shunnel Williams,

Sorry to hear of the challenges on your first deal. As stated by one of the respondents, this is a valuable experience for future investments. Very few successful investors get by without experiencing their fair share of bad tenants/evictions.

Selling tenant-occupied properties with uncooperative tenants is challenging in NY. The properties that sit on the market the longest are luxury, ultra-luxury, or tenant-occupied.

The good news is that there are plenty of investors who would be interested in the property as-is and even more investors interested if:

- The property is in an area they are familiar with
- The property is in a desirable area
- You are deep into the eviction process (it seems as though you are)
- You can deliver 1 unit/floor vacant (this could happen before closing)

That said, if you can keep it, I'd say do it. NYC property values are increasing at or above the national average (4%). If you can get through this rough patch and the #s work, you could see your property's value double from the original purchase price in a few years.

Lastly, I'd check out the Sell vs. Keep calculator.

All the best!

Abel

Welcome to BiggerPockets @Sebastian Romeo Harris!

All the best to you during your last semester.

Househacking is one of the most common routes for new investors in NY.

For best returns, I'd recommend focusing on South and Southeast Queens, Central and Southeast Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

There are parts of the suburbs (Westchester and Long Island) that have househack opportunities but the property taxes are higher and the commute time to NYC is longer.

Abel

Hello Marcel and congrats to you and your wife on your growing porfolio!

In theory, the plan sounds solid especially since you're both on the same page. In my experience (personal & w/clients) the wife usually doesn't want to pick up and move too often to stick with a strategy like yours. If you're both in and this is your best option, go for it.

On the other hand, looking into multifamily buy & hold properties could yield similar results with less hassle. I'd recommend speaking with local specialists in your target market to look at multiple investment options side-to-side.

Lastly, some of my clients have been encouraged to stay away from HELOCs unless they expect a lump sum (inheritance, sale of other asset, bonus, etc.) to pay off the HELOC in the next year or 2.

Another alternative here could be refinancing although it is likely your rate is well below today's rates.This is not financial advice, I am not a lender... just sharing some insights that have been shared recently. 

All the best!

Abel