All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Greene

You can't forget about yourself when you decide where to live next. Is your work mobile? Where do you want to live next if outside of Shreveport. Too many investors are just looking for a hot market, but if everyone is already onto a market, the best deals are gone. You are in the second or third wave of deals, still making money, but why go there if it's already hot? I think if you have mobility your choice of where to go next should focus in on what will be good for you personally and also what the trajectory of that market is. Finding the next markets around the hotter big city is what I think will make more money and find better deals over the short- and long-term.

In big markets like Tucson I don't see a ton of value in mailing for listings. It's a shot in the dark and if someone else is paying I would slot up to 7 years owned. I would also develop a sub-list for owners that own more than one property in the county and for OOS owners, those coupled with the years will generate actual sellers. But in big markets almost everyone knows an agent so if you do send mailers for listings you have to hit your value proposition right up front for it to have any chance. What makes you different that the rest of the listing agents calling the same basic lists?

@Jackie Comitino I suggest doing some research on open source sites like Zillow until you get there. You will want to make friends with a local real estate agent who also invests and they can be found at local REI meetups. Too many people rush to know an area or rely on others and miss the better deals. Some of the markets discussed above are good investment areas, but they are already pretty hot. I have always found that taking the time to find the next one is a better long-term plan and lower price point for new investors, but you have to be able to see and know the areas to do it correctly.

@Jackie Comitino From another forum post I wrote about the same topic, but this is not for OOS investing unless you are traveling there: I think the easiest way to find the next up and coming market is to find the hottest market in your area first. Then, track each next neighborhood to the E, W, N and S. See if those numbers are growing year-over-year, in sales at the same pace. Drive the areas to see where there are more renovations happening. Then when you think you've identified the next hot market where renovations are going on, move to the next one. That is the one where you will find upward growth longer-term, especially if you factor in the sites everyone talked about above. But I think it's safer to see and touch the areas and know for yourself why it's coming up. If you find out a Starbucks or Whole Foods is going into an area that isn't up yet, that market is ripe.

@Amul Sutaria Paramus is a good market, but you have some decisions to make. For homes that have been held by the same owner for 35 years, sometimes it is easier to get them moved out, clean them head to toe and just put it on the market like that and get the most you can for an older house that someone else will do all the work on. This also maximizes the chance you get a cash offer that will close quickly. This assumes your parents have a place to go.

If you choose to flip it or upgrade, you need to know what things you need to do to maximize your profit. Your money is best spent in bathrooms and kitchens and in creating an en suite Master if you can, but again, this may not be worth it. Old homes with one owner are just too much work if you have never done it before. Often times someone in this spot would choose the wrong finishes and upgrades and not make the money they want to.

Paramus is a market where people will buy to invest and flip and the better the presentation, the better price you will get. If you give more info about the current layout, I can give you some more feedback on what fits the market.

@Eric Wallet Everything you said is sketchy on their behalf. I couldn't tell if they asked for the money, but there is no question at all that the money goes to title to hold to secure the deal. All contracts and assignment agreements must have everything filled out, most importantly the price. As the end seller you are entitled to know the original price the wholesaler paid as that should be part of the assignment agreement. Nothing sounds right. If you are in an attorney close state (or not), you should have an attorney review it to protect yourself and just to make sure it goes smoothly.

@Andrew Alpsteg That's not too bad for a worst blunder of the year.

Legally is way more difficult than you might think for multiple reasons. For a basement to be able to be lived in takes a certain window height to allow escape, but codes are only the first hurdle. Most towns do not want a basement unit to be rented unless it is sanctioned as a mother-daughter type. I would check with the town first, but know that once you do they will come check later. If you are in Hudson, you can definitely do AirBnb, but you would need access to towns pretty quickly. You also have to find out if the making the area accessible as a finished basement will add to your taxes.

My first question is are you trying to build a legal, rentable unit or one on the DL from the town. If this is a basement of the house you live in, there will be several issues with the township. What is the current entry/exit to the unit and what is the plan if it's changing? What is the window situation in the basement? Most towns have different requirements for basements if someone will be sleeping down there.

AirBnb vs. full-time rental depends on where you are. Is it a place where people would consistently rent via AirBnb? If so, your remodel might be a bit different for AirBnb, but nothing major. I think if you give us some more details on what kind of house, if you are living there, and more it might help you get better answers.

My only comment would be that a place that is hot right now and people know about it means you are too late. I would try to find the town next to the town that is hot right now, the one that hasn't peaked because that is usually next in line after the hot and now town gets full. You can still do well on a hot town, but if you find the next soon-to-be hot town by tracking the hot ones, you will make more money.