All Forum Posts by: Halil C.

Congrats on snagging that duplex in Ft Lauderdale! For the AC dilemma, I'd lean towards split. Yeah, they're a bit chunky and could get noisy, but tenants love controlling their room temp. 

Plus, it's a money saver if they don't use certain rooms. Central AC might look sleeker, but everyone's stuck with the same temp. And if it goes kaput, everyone sweats. It's like AC communism. I'd say go for the split — practical, economical, and folks dig that personal chill vibe.

Hey @Halil C. Do you have forced air heat with ducting? If not, then doing a ducted whole house is going to be difficult.

If you do then I would go get bids on both systems. One thing is nice about central air is it is easier to control remotely, but I am not sure how you do mini splits remotely.

Get the bids and see what's what. 

In all practicality, all these regulation may be there but *may not be enforceable* unless the city itself is very strict. However, In some neighborhood it's just very common especially if your location is located very near to multfamily zone. For example, I used to live in very "diversified" C+ class neighborhood Single Family zone (still very expensive LOL) but next block is all multi-family 3 story apartment. At this instance, nobody really care how many family are living in one physical unit. But if you live in A++ gated community (even without HOA) then that could trigger an issue.

It's all come back in common sense and location.

Check your local laws. If you split it into two, do it legally.

I don't know there, but where I am my insurance only covers up to 3 unrelated individuals living in one unit.

Hey @Halil C. - I’m originally from south Florida and have done real estate there and here in NYC. Right now sofla is overpriced and is headed for a correction. I would wait on making any moves there right now. However, the rents are very high there as well right now, much higher than normal. From my experience down there, sales and rental prices will drop. The difference with NYC real estate is that it’s always high and rentals are always in demand. Depending on where in NYC, you might be better off starting here where you already are for a year or 2 before moving to my hometown :)

If you want to chat more about Florida or NYC I’m happy to chat anytime. You can DM me.

Hey @Halil C. - thanks for sharing your perspective so clearly. I'm an investor & realtor here in NYC, and I also invest long-distance. It boils down to what your risk appetite is. There's not going to be any right answer because as you so succinctly mentioned, each scenario has pros & cons. No one in the forums can give you an answer, although you'll see a lot of people telling you what they think you *should* be doing. 

I'm for the mindset of your first property being somewhere that you're already familiar with, as that already gives you an advantage vs. somewhere you aren't directly involved in (even if you have family there). On the other hand, if you do your homework properly, long distance investing can also be on auto-pilot (after the first few months of getting up to speed). 

Shoot me a DM I'm happy to chat more about my experience overall and maybe it'll help you get some clarity at the very least. Good luck! 

Hi @Halil C. House Hacking is an amazing way to reach financial freedom.  My wife and I have been House Hacking outside of NYC for many years.   What's great about New Jersey is constant demand for rentals, this past year I had one property alone receive a $500 increase in rent per month without me doing anything to it.  Becuase of this high demand, high quality tenants are easy to find.  My wife and I have collected over 400 months of consecutive rent without a missed payment across our properties.  The best part of North Jersey is like you I needed proximity to NYC.