All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Cramer

I have pavers and they are such a PITA.  Loose stones, grass in-between, pain to shovel etc. Concrete is less of a headache in my opinion.  

My contractor lists what he’s providing vs what I’m providing in my contract. For example,in my kitchen renovation, the cost of the countertop was included in his quote but the knobs/pulls were something I needed to provide.
i actually trust my contractor and I find that if I want a specific product, I’ll let him know (example custom tile) and he’s fine with it. Depending on what it is, I can order or if he has a connection, he will. However, most of the time he has the connection and discount and knows where to steer me. In the case of the countertop, he had an amazing fabricator who had a list of 3 warehouses for me to visit and choose the slab I wanted.  Unless it was grossly expensive/ custom, the material was included in the overall quote. 
For a recent renovation, I specified exactly what floors I wanted and he gave me a separate quote for the floors plus install. When pricing against a local floor store, his price was better. 

@Judith Sullivan Nice! Dming you!

@Min Zhang Got your DM. Thankyou

@Michael Masters Nice to meet a fellow New Yorker! Thank you for the invaluable advice.
Love Boston but prices there have also skyrocketed. Property Management seems to be the the place to start for an out-of-state investor. Love that you made the distinction between "knowing" and "living". For example, I know Atlanta but don't live there which is why it made my initial list :) Finally, ME was removed because it seems to be more of a place for STR but my heart will always belong to NE so NH is one that speaks to the heart, not the head. It's not a bad idea to explore it as it is close and I can see myself owning a second home in and around that region down the line. Thank you!

@Account Closed Thank you. My comment about not caring about being cash flow positive is more in the short-term. Once I get my feet wet, I can take more risk. As to your question,  I imagine I could always do a 1031 exchange in 2 years or pull from other investments if I can make RE work for me. 

@Account Closed Yes!  Learning that property management key!

@Debbie Fales Thank you - agree that NY is tough!

@Matt Brazis I own 2 homes right now and am selling one in the Spring. I don't think house hacking is for m in NYC and paying an exorbitant amount)

@Eric Prescott Yes!  I'm ok with minimal cash flow and long-term appreciation in the short-term. If I don't go syndication, this is where I'm leaning.

@Wilson Pereira De Oliveira Agree about the fear of making mistakes being a big obstacle.  That's why I gave myself a deadline. I started reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and its been very motivating.

@Grady Baltimore Thank you for the recommendation!  Will check it out.

@Jeff Campbell Thank you!  Never thought of Arkansas but not opposed to it.  Appreciate the offer to help.

@Cade Edwards Thank you for the warm welcome. This offers from so many people to help has truly been amazing.  Appreciate it!

@Jordan Schneider Nice to hear from someone local who invests out of state. I looked at your website and will Dm you. 

Thank you all for the continued responses.  I've been busy the last couple of days connecting with all of you both online, via phone and even in person!  Going to try to respond to those I haven't gotten to yet.

@John McKee Passive is right up my alley.Researching syndication now vs SFH LTR. Will reach out with questions

@Joel Owens Thank you for the advice.I work with all types of salespeople so totally understand and appreciate the warning.Doing my due diligence and researching as much as I can. First investment will most likely be conservative but hoping to learn time/experience.

@Michael Dolak Thank you. PA is not on the list (yet) but will reach out as I eliminate other places/investing options

@Susan Kimbrough Thank you!  Its tough and I hate being the newbie.  Hopefully we can learn together.

@Dan Rowley Agree on all fronts.  Thank you!

@Christopher Slowey Agree! Thanks!

@Teresa F. Thank you. If I go down the LTR route, the property manager will be key.  @Brad S. said it in his post and after reading and speaking to some folks, the property manager seems key if I go down the LTR route.

@Brad S. Really appreciate the thoughtful advice and have started to go down that route.  So far, I've spoken to a couple of companies that manage syndications, some realtors, a property manager and  more "turnkey" companies (some more turnkey than others).  Since time and distance are my biggest hurdles, syndication or more "turnkey" might be the way to go for my first property with the later option giving me more of an opportunity to learn. So far, this group has been invaluable.  Thank you for the encouragement and advice! 

@Jack Lander Thanks for the offer to help.  The goal is to start slow with the hope of transitioning to full time in the next 5-10 years.  I'll probably look back to this post in a few years and laugh at my naivete :) Risk tolerance is low now but once I get my feet wet, it won't be! 

@Stephanie Meeks Thank you for the links - have bookmarked them so I can add to my arsenal.  I didn't think of Augusta but will look into it.  Should have thought of it as I go to the Masters almost very year!

I can't make this either but am definitely interested in attending the next event.  

 DM'd you.thanks

Thanks again for the advice and warning. Syndication was not an option  before I started this thread but it's now in the consideration set. To your point, my time and experience are both limited which puts me at a disadvantage. Appreciate the warning about partnerships, Finding people to trust is hard.  I was talking to someone  in the business yesterday and they told me to "trust no one"  I thought it stemmed from the fact that the is from NYC but he made some very good points!  

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@Kiernan LaFaver - I'm familiar with the area as I went to school about an hour away.  Happy to connect.

@Jim Pfeifer As I'm reading through all the information, your point about RE not really being passive is hitting hard. Someone I recently spoke to brought up syndications which is really interesting.  To be honest, it wasn't something I considered until I started reading through the various responses and talking to some folks that I scheduled time with.  That will be my next research project!

@Jay Hinrichs Love the idea of a MTR but the time commitment might be too much for me.  Not opposed but might be something for when I have more time on my hands

@Alyssa Holbrook Wow!!  Appreciate the response and all the very helpful links.  You gave me a lot of helpful resources that would have taken me forever to fine.  Really appreciate it.

@Taz Zettergren Thank you  - will PM you for turnkey operators

@Eric Fernwood - wow - very helpful! Thanks for the wealth of information.  Trying to go through each post and read through all the links.  This is fantastic - will sure I'll have questions so may PM you! Thank you

@Stacy Hinton Thank you!

@Jen Gao Thank you!

@Ariana DeStefano If you're close to NYC, maybe we can connect over cofee.  Happy to chat with fellow forum members close by

@Joel Owens This thread has given me lots of food for thought. I thought I was only narrowing down to the states but I'll admit that my mind has opened up to a wealth of other possibilities (including syndication)  Net/net, I have until Feb to make a decision.  Sure, I can take longer but also don't want to suffer from analysis/paralysis so the deadline is more "self imposed". I may reach out to chat more.