All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Makovsky

Phenomenal post here @Brandon Turner! 

Ironically, last night at a local landlord association meetup there was a Fair Housing specialist attorney speaking and this issue came up. Unfortunately, he did not offer any clear guidance on defending against it.

@Jay Hinrichs, Rejecting based on size, weight, or breed restriction is a violation of fair housing for service/emotional animals (scroll down link about 60% and it answers question quite specifically: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tip...). 

@Julie O., very clever to say "changing insurance companies" is not a reasonable accommodation. Any precedent here?

(Would love to hear a Fair Housing specialist on a BP podcast to discuss this and other potential tenant hazards.)

October 26th Connecticut Real Estate Investor Meet-Up

Date: The October Fairfield Real Estate Investor Meet-Up is on Wednesday, Oct. 26th! (last Wednesday of every month - so please mark your calendars).

Place: Anna Liffey's (an awesome Irish pub) located at 1494 Post Rd, Fairfield CT 06824 NOTE: We are in the back room (http://annaliffeys.com)

Time: 7PM mingle. At 7:30pm we go around room to introduce everyone so you can let everyone know what you do and who you would like to meet at the event (brokers, lenders, wholesalers, investors, attorneys, insurance agents, and more.)

No Cost: It's FREE! Okay it's almost free - please buy drink(s) and food from the bar.

['Important' Side Note]: There is a Happy Hour from 4pm - 7pm before the event starts. I think it's half-off most drinks ($3 craft beers).

Happy investing!

(Calling all investors from Stamford, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, Woodbridge, Milford, Meriden, Middletown, Westport, Weston, Ridgefield, Norwalk, Stratford, Shelton, Trumbull, New Canaan, Darien, Newtown, Greenwich, Easton, and more.)

Thanks all Connecticut folks! Last reminder about the meet-up tomorrow evening:

Time of Event: 09/28/2016 at 07:00PM
Location: Anna Liffey's: 1494 Old Post Rd, Fairfield CT 06824
Fee to Attend: Free

(See first post above with all the info.)

@Christopher Reid Welcome to the party, sorry I'm late to the game. Look forward to seeing you around!

Hi Hartford/New Britain (even New Haven folks),

Do you have any driveway repair recommendations? If yes, can you please let me know? Thanks so much in advance.

Looking forward to seeing you @Nathan Reid jr!!

Bump to the Fairfield, CT meet-up this Wednesday - please post if you can make it and where in Connecticut you invest (it helps bring other people to our meet-up and makes it more vibrant).

Sept. 28th Connecticut Real Estate Investor Meet-Up

Date: The September Fairfield Real Estate Investor Meet-Up is on Wednesday, Sept. 28th! (last Wednesday of every month - so please mark your calendars).

Place: Anna Liffey's (an awesome Irish pub) located at 1494 Post Rd, Fairfield CT 06824 NOTE: We are in the back room (http://annaliffeys.com)

Time: 7PM mingle. At 7:30pm we go around room to introduce everyone so you can let everyone know what you do and who you would like to meet at the event (brokers, lenders, wholesalers, investors, attorneys, insurance agents, and more.)

No Cost: It's FREE! Okay it's almost free - please buy drink(s) and food from the bar.

[Important Side Note]: There is a Happy Hour from 4pm - 7pm before the event starts. I think it's half-off most drinks ($3 craft beers).

Happy investing!

@Gene D. thank you very much for posting! 

I love reading these kind-of articles, but sometimes I find the articles are more click-bait than substance. I am not suggesting this one is, but one thing in particular caught my attention which is #21 on the list, Hartford (Connecticut). 

There's a saying: "Statistics are like bikinis: What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital."

Yes, home prices in Hartford are quite reasonable with the author quoting a "Median Home Value of $215K", but what it leaves out is the exuberantly high taxes that one would need to pay to live there. In a vacuum, the price of a home in Hartford is great - but the taxes are a killer (74.29 mill rate). 

As an example, a home in Hartford that is appraised at $215,000 will pay have the same amount in taxes as a home valued in Greenwich, Conn. for $1.43M (which is one of the richest towns in America: http://time.com/10537/richest-neighborhoods-in-ame...). This is also another reason that the 2% Rule and 50% OpEx Rule can be silly in many locales.

On one more note, I am curious as to how the author of the article got the Cost of Living in Hartford at 32%. Did they include the C-level executives' compensation and bonus at the insurance companies that are based in Hartford? 

My point is not saying that Greenwich is affordable (it's not for many), nor am I saying that one should move where the property taxes are low (since I would love if people started moving to the Greater Hartford area!). My only point is that sometimes these articles can skew the stats to be whatever they want.

Happy investing!! :)

Welcome @Marcus Walker! Lots of great people in CT to help and lots of meet-ups in the area where you can meet investors.

Looking forward to seeing you around.