All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Pliszka

@Nicholas Potocki Greetings from Gratz Park in Downtown Lexington. Looks great, well done! Most importantly, with a rare Polish surname in Lexington, I'm surprised we haven't crossed paths! :-)

Hi @Eric True - Greetings from Downtown Lexington. Welcome to BiggerPockets and best of luck getting your business up and running! 

Hi @Luke Metzker - welcome to BiggerPockets. I'm incredibly biased, but I love Lexington! I think the city (and select surrounding towns) are certainly poised for growth!

Great stuff, @Becca Y. - congrats again on all of your success and best of luck in your journey!

Hi @Becca Y. - Greetings from Gratz Park in Downtown Lexington! Congrats on the purchase of your new home and congrats on all the success with your business! I agree with some of the sentiment here, but it's important to internalize your risk tolerance and determine if you and your husband are comfortable taking on the additional risk or if it's most beneficial to put the ~$200,000 back into your current residence and lower your monthly payments. Conventionally speaking, yes, you should leverage your asset to help make you more money, but make sure you're comfortable doing so. Furthermore, you mention tax mitigation strategies so I'm going to assume that you and your husband are both contributing to a SEP IRA, etc. With all that being said, if you do wish to be investment property owners, I would carefully interview prospective property managers as I imagine that you're not looking to take on the responsibility of day-to-day property management considering your existing commitments to your business. In terms of where to invest, my wife and I have been pretty much exclusively looking in 40507, 40508 and 40505, but that's more my personal preference/investment strategy as I think the Lexington market is a bit overheated elsewhere. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any specific questions. Best of luck with your investing!

@Eric Miracle MLS will never produce the best deals largely because you have a 6% realtor commission baked in. The best deals exist off-market, but those are obviously more difficult to find. I will say, I think the MLS gets a bad rap because people get consumed with the idea of "getting a good deal" and often times never take any action, which is the important part. With that said, if I have clients looking to add to their real estate holdings and it catches my eye as being suitable for one of my clients, I'll pass it along regardless of the channel (i.e. MLS, wholesaler, etc.) For condos specifically, I think you would be hard pressed to find any off-market deal. Condo owners are keenly aware of the market value of their units because they often have recent comps right across the hall.

Hi @Eric Miracle - Greetings from Gratz Park in Downtown Lexington! The big thing here will be the HOAs as many have significant rental restrictions, etc. For example, financing can be difficult if a certain percentage of a building is tenant occupied versus owner occupied. As a result, many HOAs put a rental cap in place. Anecdotally, but specific to Lexington, I haven't seen any condo opportunities that have made sense for me personally. Good luck!

Hi @Jordan Brown - Greetings from Gratz Park in Downtown Lexington! My brother in law is a Lexington firefighter so much respect to you and your day to day! I will say, you have a great resource right in your own department as there's a firefighter doing some awesome construction/rehab work around town. Feel free to to shoot me a PM if you don't know what I'm talking about and I'm happy to connect y'all. Good luck!

Hi @Brandon Castillo - Greetings from Gratz Park in Downtown Lexington. Congrats on your first property! Honestly, I'd be less worried about getting a good deal and more pumped that you took action and are learning! At the end of the day you need a place to live and you're getting a significant portion of your note paid for. Most importantly, make sure you're diligent with that extra $300-$400 a month as it's easy for it to feel like discretionary income that can be spent. Best of luck to you!

Hi @Tim Morris - Greetings from Lexington! My wife and I are currently doing deals in Downtown Lexington. Best of luck with your investing!