All Forum Posts by: Barbara G.

Harlem had a lot going for it

It was in the greatest city

It had some really interesting Brownstones and there was no where else to go in the city but uptown.  New York is not your average city.

You can make the documentation as easy or difficult as you like.  As long as you have something.  It usually just gets down to as long as the tenant leaves the place in an acceptable condition and you are good to just give it a once over .  If they damage something just  document that and the reasonable cost of the repair and hope that your deposit covers it

Sounds like converting it to a 4 bedrooom is not going to cost only 13,000 so I imagine you should be thinking of a minimun renovation.  

Are you enlarging the basement windows so you can put bedrooms down there?  Does the basement has an access door?

It sounds like as everyone has suggested an FHA 3.5 loan is the way to go.  

Michael N's suggestion to talk to a bank is a great first move.

I think you should explore house hacking and an FHA 3.5 Loan as your first venture.  It's a perfect ntroduction and your renants will be paying your expenses.  Look for a multi family where the numbers work

It sounds like a good idea

You need a place to live so you have your first tenants.  You can self manage the property because you are right there looking and seeing everything.  Make sure you do a complete inspection and or have it inspected.

It will keep you occuppied and hopefully out of trouble,  You will learn alot.

Run the numbers yourselves and on BP.  

It's a great real estate course be sure you get college credit for it.

I think it's wonderful and you can make money renting it and it sounds like it will be easy to sell

Get a cleaning person for it.

It's possible that as you say the sellor's realtor was not interested or he did not understand it.

So as has been suggested rework the offer and re present the new variation.  

You say you are not the most educated person out there

and I say you are not the most modest person out there!!

Come on!!!

CT is not a rural mountain area.  Of course you will be fine there and comfortable. Are you a American of Asian decent or are you from Asia?
Well welcome/

Why don't you join a local Ct Real Estate group or a Real Estate  Meet Up Group in upper Ct and get to know some Ct people and learn about Ct real estate?

Debbie 

I just read about a wonderful way you can get part of that 11,000 that you lost back in the form of a tac rebate.

You can use it as a tax deduction if you are a Real estate investor.
Follow  is part of the article on using your payment for the Guru course for a tax write off:

"I met Harry at a local real estate club back in the summer. At the time, he was just starting out in real estate and had not done any deals yet. After chatting with him for a bit, I found out that he had spent a significant amount of money (over $20k) on a series of real estate courses. During those courses, he learned a ton of stuff about tax liens, setting up legal entities, creative financing, apartment investments, and even took a class on mobile home parks.

Since Harry knew that I am a CPA, our conversation naturally evolved into him asking me some tax questions regarding whether his education expenses would be tax deductible. After getting a general idea of his situation, I told him that one of the best suggestions I had for him at this time was to actually focus his attention on identifying the one direction that he will be taking in real estate.

Whether he was going to do flips, single family rentals, or mobile homes, it was important to define exactly what his next move was going to be. Rather than flying across the country to learn about all these different types of real estate investments and spending a ton of money in the process, I felt that it was time for him to put a stop to the learning and to kickstart the doing.

 Continuing education can often catapult us into the next phase of real estate investing. The best investors in the industry are lifelong learners.

Related: Where’s the Wealth in Real Estate Education?

I was attending a creative financing class one day, when I came across a nationally acclaimed real estate teacher who told me that even though he’s been in the industry for almost a half century, he always learns something new when he attends a class. It could be a class taught by another veteran investor or even a class taught by a fairly new investor, but even the smallest things that he learns can often help him to significantly grow his business.

By having laser sharp focus on his next steps on the investment side, he would be one step closer to his immediate goal, which is actually making money in real estate!  Maximize Tax Benefits by "Doing"

What this man is saying is even if you don't own property if this course (the $11,000 you spent on the GURU course)  is part of your education and you are actively looking for an investment you can claim the $11,00 as a tax deduction, reducing your income tax.  You should speak to your accountant or a real estate accountant about ir

It sounds like having a partner has a positive effect in that it gives both people an incentive to study and plan.  Two people can encourage each other particularly at the beginning of a real estate career.