All Forum Posts by: Jarrod Kohl

 In most states you don't have the option to renegotiate a lease that is still inforce when taking over the property. (rather you could re-negotiate, but the tenant does not have to).

Cash for keys might be an option...but I would rather go for the send them to collections for back rent and then offer to forgive that if they get out now...aka if you think you can maybe pay them $5k to leave, they would maybe take it (make sure they are out before you give them any money btw) but you may be better off letting them know that they owe $12,234 (making numbers up) in back rent, and possible property damages which is getting sent to collections. You need to get an eviction lawyer working on this, let them know that even with the non-eviction protections they still have to pay the rent. A lot of renters don't understand this and will be surprised when their wages start getting garnished in the future.

 Living in Boston now and would be open to Cambridge (where I am leaning) though the Boston properties that I am looking at are in Southie and one down by roxbury(ish) which both have pretty good stats.

What do you like about Waltham/watertown over Boston? Im not against them, just curious.

Good call on Somerville STR. I had looked up Boston and Cambridge....Somerville is way more restrictive. Boston and Cambridge allow much more leeway if you are living in the building. I have also seen some rents go for $500+ under what it was listed for as well, so I think any numbers I ran would be very conservative.

 Why would you go to that same broker for an agent, that is a terrible idea.

Second, is this agent/office also the property manager or owner is the agent the owner? That should be known, and a big reason that I would use a local buyers agent if buying out of town. 

The security deposit doesn't make sense, "paying out of her own pocket" is not how security deposits work. If they funds are intermingled then she is in serious trouble (the broker too). You 100% would be responsible for the security deposit if the lease is still in force when you take over ownership. Typically, you would have the previous owner/manager transfer you the deposit (with some documentation) otherwise it would end up with you (the new owner) being responsible for paying the deposit back.

I would be REALLY careful about completing this deal. If she is being this shady to get it sold, what else is she shoving under the rug? With her double ending the deal she certainly does not have your interests in mind, she has hers first and seems desperate to make a buck. If you got numbers from her, I would double check them. There are plenty of deals out there to be found....personally I would back out at this point, or at the very least make sure you get your own agent and/or really good RE attorney involved so that you can protect yourself.

Hello BP community!

So I have been around the forums for a while, and have been flipping houses all over Massachusetts, though the last few have been on Cape Cod. I am looking to pause on the flips and sink some money into some more buy and hold. 

Long story short, I have a connection who is open to selling some of their multifamily properties (they have a big portfolio) and although I am used to doing more value add investment these are all a lot more turnkey, which is probably a plus for the family and they have nice finishes.

One concern is that rents in parts of Boston have dropped 12% and I have seen individual rentals going for way under asking. To mitigate that, I have narrowed my choices down to about 3 properties which are mostly fully rented, but with 1 unit available. (aka 2/3 full) The big risk is with rents being as unstable as they are, how would you price them for forecasting. The benefit of the idea of house hacking is that I could take on more risk than normal assuming that even at way under current rents, I could still be "cashflowing"

The other benefit of doing it this way in Boston or Cambridge is to benefit from the new(ish) rules about Airbnb. The caveat with STR in MA is that as an owner occupier you have a lot more leeway to rent out the other units in your building. Though it has been hard to find something like this, now that I have a few to choose from I feel some analysis paralysis.

So the question is: Should I focus on the mostly full with one vacant? Or just look for the best overall deal and worry about renting the other units either STR or long term later?

Welcome! I didnt grow up around here and I also think its funny that all those friends in College who were "From Boston" were from as far away as Greenfield! I live and work in Boston (Beacon Hill) and have been doing most of my personal investment properties on the Cape. 

Sounds like we would have a lot in common and I would be happy to connect sometime. I get the idea of 'dream home' for first home, but I would advise against it. Sure there are a lot of RE reasons not to do it, but a big reason is just that you don't always know what you want until you actually live in it, and even then once you get kids, its a whole different set of wants/needs. 

Besides with the construction and interior design stuff you guys should love to take on a fixer upper. Remember, you don't make money when you sell, you make money when you buy.

Hit me up and lets grab coffee or a beer sometime.

You are not wrong. It is hard to find those properties (and basicilly impossible on MLS/Zillow) in Boston and other 'high end markets" there are other advantages to buying properties (MF or SF) in a market like Boston, but just looking for cashflow it is probably not the best option.

You can either find something that you could BRRRR (buy rehab rent out) that will then cash flow, or find something that is stabilized and barely cashflows (if at all) and just bank on staying level and making money off the appreciation or selling in a few years.

It gets back to cap rates. Looking in Boston 4-6% cap rate is 'great' around here. However, if I was going to buy a multifamily out in Ohio I wouldn't even consider a 6% cap rate and can expect to find 10-15% cap rates in some markets which will cash flow nicely. This is why you see so many people from major coastal cities (Boston, NYC, LA) buying in Ohio, Iowa, TN, etc. I have family real estate connections in Ohio and where we get "Foreign money" in Boston from China and other places, Ohio gets "foreign money' from LA or NYC haha.

@Joseph Porter

I am more in the Boston area, but would agree that prices and values are weird in downtown markets right now. Suburbs are rising in price quickly. But there are still deals to be found in Both markets.

From what you are looking for let me know if you want me to connect you to some of my Worcester area rei and agent friends

 Boston is very much the center of the east coast "silicon valley" and has been for years. There is plenty of research to support it. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft all have a huge presence here as does a ton of other tech firms. Seaport? Maybe, but look at Kendall Square and downtown (office-wise) and you will see plenty of big names and big footprints. There is also the advantage of not being beholden to one mega company as well.

Wholesaling is ALWAYS tough. You can do that but IMO you are better off getting your RE license and working that hard on the phone to find listings and deals instead of trying to find contracts to wholesale, but hey some people have success at it. Mostly though it seems to be a 'coaching goldmine' where they get people to assume that they can start making $10k, $24k etc for "one phone call" when in reality you are calling hundreds of people a day and or door knocking and driving all day. 

So I would say either become an agent, and spend all those cold calls looking for actual listings, or call up one of those "we buy houses for cash' signs and ask if they are looking to hire a hard worker. Depending on where you are located you can also get a job for a construction company as most of the ones I know are always looking for quality help right now. You may not know carpentry (or masonry w/e) but if you show up on time and follow directions you are a step ahead already. 

Stuff like "postmates" and uber and all that is just a trap. You will never make enough money with those services to buy an investment property, and connections? Nobody is going to invest with someone they met who was their uber driver.