All Forum Posts by: Jason Lee

Photograph the first property for free??? I'm sure he'll get tons of work and get booked solid... and make no money. What other service business (he is running a business) does work for free to get clients? Horrible idea. Sorry, had to say it.

I would speak to each of your happy past clients and let them know you're really trying to grow your business and would appreciate their spreading the word at their respective brokerages and offer a discount to agents at those firms for 10-15% off.

Study what your competitors are doing in your area. Do they offer x amount of photos at x price? Offer x + 2 for the same amount. Do they charge for retouching? Maybe throw in the retouching. How about offering an agent head shot with any order. 

Maybe offer to host a workshop at the brokerage on best practices for prepping, setting up and photographing real estate. Maybe partner up with a stager. You need to be able to impart some wisdom. Maybe you can show before and afters (if you have them (like stagers do) showing how a listing that wasn't professionally shot languished but then sold right after you photographed it. Bring coffee and donuts or sandwiches.

There are a bunch of services that will email blast agents or will sell agent lists. Most of those emails I get are from agents announcing new listings and deals, but there are a bunch of vendors that use the service to reach agents too (contractors, photographers, home inspectors, etc).

Do good work. Good luck!

No, it's not under RC unless you purchased it with a RC tenant in place. 

YOY median sales prices are for the most part flat or down in prime Brooklyn. Selling now while prices are at or near peak sounds like a pretty good idea. Almost anywhere you go will provide better cash flow than NYC. I'd first figure out how active or passive you want to be and go from there.

The rent control rules in UC were changed earlier this year so that you can no longer owner occupy 5 units and more and take it out of rent control. You can still owner occupy a 3-4 unit and take it out of rent control. Even with 3-4 units you would need the lease for the current RC tenant to end before you can place a market rate tenant.

Something doesn't add up here. Did the original agent leave the brokerage you had the exclusive with? You just say another agent at the same brokerage made the sale. You need specifics. And where is your broker in all of this? If you're a salesperson then the referral fee goes to your broker. He/she is the one that should be contacting the other broker.

There is no code violation. It's just poor design to have the side of any appliance exposed. Same goes for the microwave. At the very least it'd be nice to have a decorative panel that covers the side of the wall cabinet and microwave. But again, that's an aesthetic and budget choice. And yes, it'd be nice if the fridge hinged on the left side.

I would probably get it now. Once you move out, your new mortgage payment or rent payment (you have to live somewhere) will probably change your debt-to-income ratio, and you might not be able to get the same LTV you can now.

Look up the town codes and find "establishment of rent control; exemptions." 5 units and above fall under RC. 4 and under could be exempt if you owner occupy. You'll be limited in the rent increases after a tenant vacates. You could possibly get an exemption if you gut renovate when a tenant vacates. I would call the town rent control board to ask specifics. Most of Hudson County has very strict RC laws. Union City for example, has gotten even more strict in the past year.

Welcome to BP! I do work in Queens. PM me if you'd like to discuss the local market. 

@Thomas N. yes MLSLI for eastern Queens and LI. Loopnet for commercial. There are effectively 5/6 MLS's that cover NYC but Streeteasy alone should give you pretty good coverage. Unfortunately, there's no secret site for multi-families with high cap rates/ROI =D

Brokers often come across decent listings that will never hit the market. As an example I'm licensed at 3 firms covering NYC, LI, and north NJ, with over 2000 agents total. I pretty regularly get emailed pocket/whisper listings and they happen to be the type that would probably be most attractive to investors. Those usually never hit the MLS.