All Forum Posts by: Jacob Plocinski

Hey Nicholas I'm actually a Realtor in this area, as well as doing my own live in flip. You are correct, there aren't any real estate groups locally. I was going to try to put something together pre-COVID, and it's been on the back burner for now.

What market are you attempting to buy in? This area is generally categorized by School District. The top 3 school districts would be Lewisburg, Central and Danville. Home's in these markets tend to carry a bit more of a price tag due to the school district. 

Danville can be a tough market to purchase in, as we have a 3 year cycle of doctors coming in at Geisinger. Due to great financing they will purchase at any price because they know they won't be here for the long haul. However, Danville does have a great working class neighborhoods as well.

@Jake Arnold the SFR market around here has been crazy, inventory is low. We have Geisinger/Bloomsburg Uni/Bucknell Uni as well as a ton of blue collar work around 80. Geisinger has a 3 year rotation with new doctors moving into the area. With the recent COVID we've had a decent influx of people from bigger cities looking to move more rural. The only problem with our area is you don't have crazy price appreciation plays, but great cash flow.

Hey @Jake Arnold I'm a local Realtor and the student housing is definitely niche. However, this area does have a decent rental market outside of Student Housing. I'm personally not a huge fan of the student housing market because all the properties carry a significant price hike because of the potential student income. However, in the current environment, it's rough. 

In our area the Berwick area is great cash flow, as long as you properly qualify your clients it can be great, I wouldn't expect a ton of appreciation.

Danville & Lewisburg have great rental markets, but the price for homes are generally higher. However, the potential rental income is higher as well. 

Hopefully some of this information helps!  

I have not worked personally with any flippers in Danville. However, I know of about 3 or 4 properties that have been flipped in the last 3-6 months. There are cash flow properties in Danville, but a lot of the SFR are hard to cash flow because property value is higher. Average sale price in Danville was 225k over last year vs Bloomsburg 168k. Even Bloomsburg is a mixed bag because Central School District which is half of Bloomsburg avg sale price was 206k. Berwick is the easiest cash flow, but I wouldn't expect the same types of appreciation or even increased sale value after a flip. Send me a message about more specifics and I can take a look at current inventory and recent sales to give you a better idea.

Hey Collin, I'm a Realtor in this market. Are you interested in residential/multifamily or school rentals? 

I work full-time and have a side gig as a Realtor. I will probably only turn over about 6-10 transactions a year, equating to $14,000 to $24,000 gross additional income. I've read through the Self-Employment tax documents. In future preparation should I be making the quarterly payments on that estimation? Or wait until near the end of the quarter and make payments based on the actual income I've made. 

What type of penalties could I expect if I wait until end of year to complete tax computation? Thanks for you help in advance. 

I know for one just in PA you'll have to pay a Transfer Tax of 1% if you're transferring the deed. Usually closing costs if going a traditional finance route will be about 5% + Down-Payment. 

I'm a Realtor in this area. What type of deal are you looking to do? Flip or Rental? I could pull you some comps? 

Hey Eric,

Where did you get the figure for 2k in closing costs? That just seems far to little based on my experience. I know currently Bloomsburg Student rentals are going about 30-35k a student. 

I would plan for the the absolute worst and if you can live with that I would move forward. I know people often put in best case scenario numbers and don't think about the downside. 

Hey @Benjamin Houghton welcome to BP! I am Realtor in Danville/Bloomsburg area, but have access to your local MLS (West Branch Valley Association of Realtor). Have you set up a criteria yet for what type of properties you would like to invest?