All Forum Posts by: David MacClintock

@Shannon K. Sinking properties are a real issue in the entire area. I chose not to invest in anywhere in Buffalo since it is a 5hr drive and I touch everything in my rentals, but if I had of gone with Buffalo I wouldn't be deterred by the ~500 houses that have been shown to be sinking. In fact I would see opportunity in nobody wanting to touch them. If your doing rentals instead of flips, who really cares about the basement? You can have supports and jacks everywhere or even pour in the entire foundation without affecting your own property value a bit. Further, it seems as though the onslaught of new issues has tapered off a bit. I would guess to say it is because either drain dams are being used properly or the areas that were going to be issues have already been drained.

Utilize the vacation tactic. "If we were to make an extra $450 a month and put it into a savings account, each year we could fly to (insert snowless non Buffalo location) and stay for 5 days for free. I know how much you love to travel and see this as a way to provide that" Don't push too hard though. That isn't worth it. As for heating systems, natural gas boiler and radiant heat. Unlikely to get radiant in an old house though. So baseboard hot water. Your likely to find either forced hot air or steam/hotwater radiators. Avoid electric if you want to keep your bill low. As for spikes in the price. If you can predict the cost of energy, don't bother with RE and go make a killing in energy trading. Energy bills are weather dependent and based on how well you seal up your house.

Added benefit of two roommates. If you put all the utilities in your name and designate that they are part of rent, 2/3 of your utility bill you would have payed anyway just became an expense.

It is a strategy I have personally employed. I wouldn't limit yourself to just tri/quad as they tend to be limited selection and the ones that do go to market are fixers. My first was a duplex. I flyer advertised on campus and told groups I met. Never not rented. I also hand picked roommates to live with me on my side. In two 3/1 apartments I had 5 tenants and me.

I would start with NYS website on it. http://buffalobillion.ny.gov/ . If you can get past the political bragging there is some valuable info. Amherst is the ticket, best investment area in the city from what I have seen. A duplex student rental managed correctly should cover your payments and living expenses. Vacancy shouldn't be a problem as you can utilize your network to fill up.

I have family in Buffalo and Rochester and have seriously considered both markets.  Since you live in Buffalo, I have a few questions you may want to think about and answer before you invest in Buffalo. What areas of Buffalo do YOU want to live? What economic activity will be Buffalo's growth in the next 10 years? Where will that activity be centered? Are UB student rentals something you are considering and will UB continue to push toward being the flagship University in NY? Will "The Buffalo Billion" actually help long-term in the local economy? Have you identified areas that the Buffalo Billion plans to gentrify and browsed multifamily listings within two blocks?

Buffalo as a whole, being a fairly poor city, offers awesome rental opportunities. I am deterred by how management intensive they will be however. Most of the rental homes you will see are a minimum of 70 years old and will be huge single families converted into multi-units, just the same as the rest of the rust belt. They offer awesome cap rates but often come with high cap-ex. If you are an effective DIY and also know when to sub-out (foundation, roof, structural) you can develop a strategy to quickly add doors to your portfolio but be aware there will be nothing passive about managing these places. 

Edit: I guess I missed you do not live in Buffalo currently. The question should be have you explored what areas you want to live.

After reading your profile again, I don't think we went to school together. My apologies, still would like to connect and possibly pass you some deals if you would like

Jason, I'm an investor located in Oneonta. I think we actually went to Delaware academy together. I have a very good contact who owns rentals in Otego and Unadilla that wants to get out after the last of his long terms leaves. Mount Upton is going to be a high vacancy town. We can find you much better deals close by. I just received a call from a fellow in Walton today. 7 units fully rehabbed and rented for $200k. If you would like, pm me and we can discuss some really nice deals I have seen recently.

Welcome! I've spent countless hours hunting around the same market in the last few months. There are some truly great deals flying around for small multi units in Waterford right now. I have chosen somewhat recently to direct my attention toward single family flips but keep getting some awesome deals sent to me through wholesalers in the area. I try to view everything that comes to me (Outside of West Hill, Schenectady) and would be happy to pass on any info and deals that don't fit me.  

I've got an 07 F350 Cab and Chassis with a 12 Foot service body on it. It weighs almost 10k dry but I travel for rehabs and it allows me to carry days worth of tools and material. The bed is wider, longer and taller than a standard pickup. I got it this spring for 8k from the people who lease to home depot and other outfits. Its got high miles. Which interestingly is a good thing with todays vehicles. Power trains don't wear out like they used to and corrosion is the real enemy. Rather one thats been used than one that has sat. It is underpowered with the small v8 but I'm not much of a speed driver anyway. Gets 15mpg when I'm loaded up. Don't know about unloaded since who wants to drive that around as a grocery getter. The company is constantly sending me really good deals but the catch is you have to go to VA Beach to get it or have it shipped. Message me if you want the info of the sales rep I deal with.