All Forum Posts by: Harold Looney

Maurice W. Evans - thanks for your informative and detailed post. I agree with you 100%.

I've done mid and long-term room rentals in Brooklyn for 16+ years. My tenants have included four teachers from foreign countries who shared an apartment, Doctors doing their Residencies at local hospitals, and single working professionals who are ok sharing the kitchen and bathroom.

My minimum lease term is 1 month, but the majority of my tenants stay 2+ years.

As Maurice stated, they are focused on their jobs, and don't care that the apartments do not have dishwashers, washer/dryers, marble countertops or the newest appliances.

PJ Boxel - thanks for the additional information. I agree with Chris Evans that having the right team in place will be critical, as well as the age of the property. I owned a 2 Unit Building in Grosse Point MI and still own a 2 Unit Building in Brooklyn NY. My challenge has been retaining reliable teams for repairs and maintenance. The Brooklyn property was built in 1920 and has steam heat. I've had several plumbers do work over the years and I still have issues. 

It is challenging to find a Property Manager for smaller multi-families in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. Also, one of the advantages of investing in larger multi-family properties is the ability to have a full-time on-site maintenance person.

Since you have a couple of hundreds thousands in cash and desire a long-distanced real estate investment, have you considered partnering with someone who is doing larger multi-family deals and already has an established Property Management Team?

Another option is to partner with someone who is building new homes. Depending on the location, you can be in and out of those deals with profit in less than a year.

Also, when you ask about house-hacking without living in the property, are you talking about renting by rooms?

Barrington Webb - thanks for your post. I own property in Brooklyn, NY so I can understand the appeal for holding on to NYC property because of the high appreciation and high-cash flow on rental property once a mortgage is paid off. I'm also a fan of creative financing and would be happy to brainstorm with you about options.

Like Henry Clark asked, I'm also curious about your plans for the property. Also, what type of property is it (Units, BDRs, BATHs) and what neighborhood?

Alex McKelvey - thanks for your post. I'm in a similar situation where I'm not tied to specific location and I'm comfortable living with roommates (as long as I make the house rules lol). I've house-hacked for over 40 years in various locations and currently own a 2 Unit Building in Brooklyn that I rent by rooms and live-in part-time.

I'm currently exploring becoming a Private Lender to Househackers. My company could help finance the acquisition and rehab of 2-5 Unit buildings where the house-hackers can live and rent out rooms. This provides a live-in property manager, and I could potential rent one of the rooms in locations that I travel to frequently.

I'm also exploring buying RV Parks in various locations, so I can have places to stay as I travel around. I was introduced to the VanLife community during COVID because of all the hotel and airline restrictions. I'm intrigued by that lifestyle. My desire is to have these RV parks include Clubhouses with shared kitchens, showers, co-working/recreation spaces where VanLifers can hang-out as long as they desire.

PJ Boxel - thanks for your post and congrats on your real estate success in Spain. A few questions to help focus my response:

1. When do you plan to move to the US and have you decided on a location?

2. How active do you want to be involved in your US Real Estate Investments?

3. What types of properties did you own in Spain?

Anthony Mannino - congrats on your new journey. I've house-hacked for over 40 years in various locations, including the past 16 years in Bayridge Brooklyn. Happy to share my experiences. DM if you want to connect.

I use https://markjkohler.com/ . He has great free content on YouTube and a team of CPAs and Lawyers who are also Real Estate/Crypto Investors and Business Owners 

Stuart Bassel - Welcome! As a Real Estate Attorney, do you have any experience placing Brooklyn properties into a Land Trust designed to sell beneficial interests to Investors?

@Kelechi Ukonu Nwankwoala - DM me if you interested in gaining experience managing a property in Bayridge Brooklyn.

Tim Woods - did you include New York or NY in your keywords search? That has helped me connect to many NYC Investors.