All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Golon

I appreciate everyone's input. I was hoping maybe someone had experience with the city of Albany with regard to this. After researching it more, my understanding is that if I can't get it grandfathered in, I wouldn't be able to get a ROP which means if I did rent it out, I wouldn't be able to evict someone. I would then only rent it to family/friends that I could trust, but it has everything up to code already, including egress.

I would still need an ROP for AirBNB per Albany regulations.

I am looking to purchase a property that has a 3rd unit that doesn't appear to have been used in several years, but everything is there to make it legal (from what I can see). It is zoned as a 2 family (along with the rest of the neighborhood). From what I understand, its almost impossible to get a 3rd unit legalized in 2F zoning areas, but considering this has had the 3rd unit there for many years (appliances look 30+ years old), is there any chance it would be allowed?

If not, what are the thoughts on using it as a 3rd unit, but only renting to family and friends? 

Yes, and that's a scary thing but I'm just here for some advice. I'm calling the accountant for my job today to get a feel for whether or not I'd lose my job if I had them correct the issue. Having been my first job, I really didn't know what I was supposed to claim tips all year (I thought I just did it at the end of the year), and when I found out that if I claim my tips now there will potentially be a problem for my employer I was very upset.

I don't want to be dishonest on my taxes, I have no problem paying my fair share. I just know that, working for a privately-owned restaurant, my employer will be very upset having to dish out another 300-500 dollars on my behalf. I don't mind paying my extra taxes (and intend to fill out a 9465 or whatever the form was to set up a payment plan with the IRS) so that I don't have to pay it all right up front.

Hey guys,
I'm a 21 year old waiter and my fiance and I are looking to get approved for a mortgage because the market is fantastic and we could afford it. She's got a job that pays 27800 a year and I make about 21000 a year. Unfortunately, I've only got 7000 dollars on my w-2.

The restaurant I work for is a privately owned business and I wasn't told that I was supposed to claim my tips every week so our accountant must have been claiming the minimum for me all year. I've considered asking her to re-issue me a W-2 but in all honesty, I'd worry about my job security if my employer all of the sudden had to dish out another 500-800 dollars in taxes because I wasn't claiming tips all year and all of the sudden want to. I've started claiming my tips on my timecard now to prevent this from being a problem in the future, but that doesn't do me any good right now.

Most mortgage lenders require 2-3 years W-2 + Tax Returns + 1mo Paystubs. I've got one year of work on the books, so I know that already puts me at a disadvantage (not even considering I only have 7500 on that w-2 in the first place), but what I'm thinking might help my case is to show them my paystubs with how much I actually make a week/month. I could say that I've recently been promoted or something along those lines. I think if they see the money that I'm actually pulling in each week they might be more likely to lend.

I'm just wondering what you folks might advise me to do. Thanks a lot for reading this and for any insight you can give me.

I am trying to figure out if I will qualify for a 2nd mortgage on an investment property. I have a mortgage for my home already so I dont know if I can get another one. I have heard that they will count 75% of the rent toward the mortgage, but what if I am buying a pre-foreclosure or some other SFR that isn't currently rented? If I say I am planning on renting it out will they count the potential rental income? I'm thinking no. So, is it even possible for me to get qualified for an investment property?

Thanks for the suggestions so far! I will check out the Pre-foreclosure Property Investor's Kit. Also, I looked for the one by Josh Cantwell, but cant seem to find it anywhere except there is a site for it, which is closed. Keep em coming!

I am trying to figure out if I will qualify for a 2nd mortgage on an investment property. I have a mortgage for my home already so I dont know if I can get another one. I have heard that they will count 75% of the rent toward the mortgage, but what if I am buying a pre-foreclosure or some other SFR that isn't currently rented? If I say I am planning on renting it out will they count the potential rental income? I'm thinking no. So, is it even possible for me to get qualified for an investment property?

I have been doing a lot of reading on this site about Short Sales and have learned a lot. Now I am looking for a book that might be able to give me a comprehensive look at them. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

Thanks Jackie! I have already learned a ton on this site thanks to all the awesome people here.

My name is Jonathan Golon and I am from Albany, NY. I am looking to get into real estate investing locally. I am in the learning process right now and am so happy I found this amazing site. I have been reading online and picked up a few books to get started.

I am interested in a buy and hold strategy (landlording). I have been interested in it since high school. In high school and college I worked doing maintenance/property management for a 65 unit apartment complex and learned a lot about the business so I feel comfortable that I wouldn't have a problem being a landlord.

My goal isnt to get rich quick, but rather slowly build wealth over time to accomplish all my life goals, which include having kids, building my dream house, buying a camp on a lake and a boat, and even possibly retiring early if everything works out.

I graduated college 2 years ago and started working as a Civil Engineer, so I make decent money. I then married my high school sweetheart and bought a house, which I have been doing work on increasing its value.

I am hoping to buy my first investment property by the end of the year/early next year and then continue buying 1-2 properties per year. I lack the people skills that I feel are necessary to do a lot of the deals I see on this website, but I feel my work ethic and ability to learn fast should allow me to succeed in this business (albeit not as lucratively as some as you).

My first thoughts are to look into buying from wholesalers or buying REO's. I am not looking to do complete rehabs at this point, but may in the future.

Thanks for reading and I hope to fit in well here. :D