All Forum Posts by: G. F.

Does the bank know that the offer they have received is from your cousin?

Read your listing agreement. I'm sure it says something about that.

Wes S.,

How were you able to reach the asset manager?

Just read 2 recent article (http://www.govtech.com/gt/734535 & http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/real-estate/palm-beach-county-foreclosure-auctions-to-go-online-113473.html) that miami-dade and palm beach county in South Florida are making their trustee sales accessible online.

I have mixed feelings about this. This will bring a lot more competition from investors who were too lazy to go the courthouse. On the other hand, having this information on a public forum (the internet); I'm all for that.

This seems to be a catching on as other municipalities have also annoucned that they are moving to this format. Just wanted to know what the BiggerPockets community thinks?

It sure is.

Source: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/tenants/heat-and-hot-water.shtml

I have experience with section 8 tenants in New York City. Where do I begin. Like all tenants, you have your good ones and your bad ones. Section 8 is no different. There are some truly hardworking people out there that need help with the high cost of living in this city, and the section 8 program provides that. Then there are the ones that take advantage of the system. They waste limited subsidizes, run up your water bill, and find excuses to not pay their limited portion of the rent. But that I believe comes with being a landlord.

The real difficultly with section 8 in NYC is trying to evict. The court system is pro tenant to begin with; a section 8 tenant only adds a magnitude of complexity. You could hire a lawyer to do an eviction, but that will cost you $1800-$2500; money you will more than likely never recover.

If a tenant doesn't pay their portion of the rent, you first have to get permission from section 8 to evict them! There is a special form that you must fill out, which they essentially just rubber stamp; trying to get the form will take a week or two because it must come from and be mailed back to the Manhattan head office. I keep the form on file but it's a an addition step that you have to take with section 8 tenants that you wouldn't have to with regular tenants.

Once you get the form back, you can find your case, file the necessary paperwork and serve notice on the tenants. You will be given a court date, usually 2-3 weeks later.

In court, the judges will usually give the tenant about a month to come up with the money or face eviction. The tenants will apply for some form of public assistance to pay the back rent. If the time expires, they can ask for an extension and they usually get it as long as they show they have applied for some form of help. This will leave you with no rent for another month. In the end it could take 60-90 days to get your back rent. So if the tenant was already 60 days behind when you file, be prepared to not collect rent for another 2-3 months.

Thats the easy one. If you have to evict for any other reason other than nonpayment (holdover case), they'll get up to 6 months if they prove that they are searching for an apartment. Tenants have proved this in the past by simply bringing a rental application. If they don't find an apartment by then (many don't) it's another 4 weeks to get the eviction order certified (the clerks office takes their time) and the marshal that does the eviction has to wait a week after serving them notice to kick them out.

Being a landlord in NYC is not for the faint of heart.

Depends on what part of NYS. In NYC, in the day (6AM-10PM) if the temperature is below 55 degrees outside, it must be at least 68 degrees inside; at night (10PM-6AM) if the temperature falls below 40 degrees outside, it must be at least 55 degrees inside.

I am not an expert in apartments or mixed use, but there is more to purchasing a building than just rent roll. You need to know the condition of the property. Some questions that I would need answered before considering a purchase like this is

How old is the roof?
How old is the boiler and what type of fuel does it use?
When was the apartments last updated?
Are any units rent controlled or rent stabilized?
What is the overall condition of the building?
Who owns the note (bank, private lender)?

If the property in located in nyc, use these four resources to get a better idea about what you are purchasing.

First,
The City Register where you can view the mortgage on the property, who sold it, who purchased it and who financed it
http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/Coverpage.dll/index

Second,
NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) where you can check on complaints and violations. This usually can give you a pretty good idea on the condition of the building and what the tenants are complaining about
http://167.153.4.71/hpdonline/provide_address.aspx

Third,
NYC Department of Buildings - Also has complaints from HPD and also building altercations and any fines that were handed out
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/bispi00.jsp

Fourth,
NYC Department of Finance - Check out taxes, unpaid taxes, appraised value, unpaid fines, number of units in building, owner, etc...
http://webapps.nyc.gov:8084/CICS/fin1/find001i

Great idea Ted but be prepared to purchase it at full BPO price if you buy it right out the gate.

cant see a reason to offer higher than list unless it's priced competitively.