All Forum Posts by: Joseph Ranola

Hey guys,

I'm a Realtor on Staten Island, NY and I've recently come into two clients at the same time who have big cash reserves and want to flip properties. Naturally they want me to find them properties, they'll rehab them and then I'll be the listing agent to get it sold. One of them is also interested in keeping some for a buy-and-hold along the way. This is exciting to me in multiple ways because I've always wanted to be involved with investors (it's why I got my license), I'll learn as I help them (always wanted to invest in real estate) and, of course, I'll be making commission on both ends from finding them the property and then selling the property- with my first baby on the way as well as purchasing my first home within the month I'm doing all I can to make extra money so this is quite the timing. Just to clarify, they're two completely different clients, I'm working with them separately.

Flipping is not something I ever thought I'd be involved in so I've done nearly zero research on it in all of my time here- it was all spent on buy and holds. I've just purchased a bunch of books on flipping and have been reading, listening and researching all I can on it as well as foreclosures/bank owned properties as I feel they go hand in hand. 

My problem is that all of the books/everything I'm reading is geared towards the person doing the flipping, which makes perfect sense but I'm looking for advice on how to be the Realtor in this situation.

I have a ton of questions, but essentially I'm just looking for tips and tricks from any of you out there that are working for a flipper as well, or if you're a flipper and what you wish your real estate agent would do for you. Let me know anything at all, I'm all ears!

Lastly, as a side note, how does one become an agent that those with foreclosures contact to list for them? I did a lot of research and read all about BPO's, etc, but it doesn't seem like that's a prominent route anymore? Is there any other way? If you're one of these real estate agents I'd LOVE to hear from you!!

Thank you in advance to anyone that helps out!

No problem. I wouldn't suggest staying away because you can't blanket the whole area as being bad, there are PLENTY of nice areas. Just definitely be more careful in your selection. Like I said, you have a little more forgiveness when you're flipping as opposed to buy and hold, but still at the end of the day you are going to have to sell the property. What really surprised me is that I took my investor to look at a property on a block off of Jersey Street, which is a pretty notorious street for violence. To my surprise, the home that we went to look at...literally 20 steps away from Jersey Street...was situated on a beautiful, tree lined street surrounded by many well-kept homes AND, at the top of the block, there were 4 new-construction homes being built with price tags of $650-750,000!  I wouldn't suggest staying away from any one area, I would just suggest having someone on your team that knows the ins and outs. My plus is that I'm also a police officer in a specialized unit that covers the entire island, so I see it all and from multiple perspectives lol. 

Hello,

Flipping can be done here, just need to know what you're doing/getting into like anything else. I'm actually currently working with a cash investor who's looking to purchase bank-owned homes or anything of the sort, rehab them and flip them so I've been actively searching the MLS for anything that may work. It's tough to find something that will work, especially on the MLS, but there's definitely deals out there! This is my first time working with someone looking to do this as well so I'm learning a ton as I do it- I was never even interested in flips as I always wanted to buy and hold, but I've seen the light that everyone's talking about- flip homes, make quick money, use some of that to buy rentals and keep flipping as well! I'm the Realtor in my current situation so I'm not the one actually doing the flips, but nonetheless I'd like to get started after saving the commission from helping the investor on a deal or two.

A huge lesson I learned this week is that HOA's can kill a deal before you even get started- we were all set to close on a house I had found them (next Friday was going to be closing!) Nice cash deal, getting the bank-owned home for cheap, it looked to be about a month's work for the contractor and a healthy profit for the owner once it was sold. After re-reviewing everything, the attorney and I had found out that the HOA in this development doesn't allow you to sell or even rent out any home that you buy within one year of purchase- thank God we triple checked and found that!! Needless to say, my investor doesn't want to keep their money tied up for a year while accruing carrying costs so that deal is dead. Lesson learned- always look at HOA's bylaws BEFORE I even pass the listing on to the investor.

Like anywhere else there are great areas and there are really, really rough ones. Everyone is stuck on the "St. George Boom", the area that the Ferry is in and that they're doing all of these huge projects (Empire Outlets, Lighthouse Point, etc). Could some properties still work as a flip there? Sure. Does the fact that even people in Nebraska know about this mean that we probably missed the boat? I think so. Either way, it can be done with the right property- just watch out because in this area specific blocks come into play. One block could be absolutely beautiful and quiet, and the next block over could be a war zone or so infested with drugs that you'd think you're driving through a Walking Dead set. 

With that being said, my personal opinion is that neighborhoods hold less of a concern when doing flips because you're getting right out of them. Of course you do still need to sell the flip so you can't be completely carefree, but it does take less thought, in my book, than if you were to purchase a rental property because then you'd be dealing with possible disaster scenarios for years.

A quick breakdown of Staten Island:

North Shore- The part closer to you as you'll be right there when getting off the Verrazzano. It's more urban, it's more rough in certain areas, it has more going on and is more likely to have the "NYC feel". The Empire Outlets, which just opened up and are nowhere near fully operational yet, are surprisingly beautiful and really cool. Perfect views of the city, cool restaurants and such coming. Sadly, just a few blocks away are one of those Walking Dead sets I was talking about. Time will tell if all of this nice stuff coming will push out the bad. It's an older area of SI because obviously it was the first part to be inhabited by those coming over on ferries from Manhattan and BK, which is also why it's more urban. 

Mid Island- Pretty much broken up into 2 parts, the west shore which is where the mall and what not is, and the east shore which is the boardwalk, beaches and Hylan Boulevard. Most of this is more residential with some neighborhoody feels like New Dorp- for most of New Dorp you'd swear you're in a part of Brooklyn. A lot of properties in this area are from the 1960's and 70's because of the huge boom when the Verrazzano opened in 1964. Older homes, a lot of two families. Bungalows down in New Dorp beach/South Beach. Annoying to get anywhere on the east shore because they're not serviced by any highway whatsoever, just Hylan Boulevard. It keeps most of this area in their own little bubble, luckily they're getting "The Boulevard" at the end of this year, which is a beautiful Main-Street format shopping center with a ton of cool offerings over in New Dorp. Over on the West Shore they're very easily accessible due to all of the highways being there. South Avenue is a big corporate hub and they keep building more buildings to take jobs away from Manhattan and keep people right here on SI. 

South Shore- Typically the "newest" part of the island as it was the last part to be inhabited by other NYers, except for Tottenville which is the southernmost neighborhood and could feel very Brooklyn-ish in parts. Mostly newer homes, a couple of proposed projects like the Galleria, which will be a waterfront esplanade type of shopping center. Very accessible via the highways as well, and just minutes from NJ. The 123 Precinct, which covers the South Shore, has (I believe, don't quote me) the safest statistics in all of NYC. In contrast, the 120 which covers the North Shore, is consistently one of the most dangerous in all of NYC via their crime statistics. 

Anyway, deals are definitely out there, you just need to know what you're doing to mitigate your risk! If I can ever help you, let me know. A lot of people frown upon finding deals on the MLS but Mark Ferguson, who is very active here, has done hundreds of flips and authored several great books, swears by using the MLS. Speak to you soon!

@adam scheetz

I’m here on SI (south shore). Where do you invest/what do you invest in? 

I'm a Realtor in Staten Island and I agree that it can be very tough to find a buy and hold here. Houses are typically far cheaper on the North Shore but there are some real bad pockets up there as you said. I can put you in touch with a great Realtor/Investor in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania that has been working with a lot of people I know. Let me know if you're interested! If you ever want to take a look at some properties out here let me know as well. Don't forget that while houses are expensive here, rents are nothing to scoff at either. If you do end up finding the right place you can have a lot of cash flow coming your way. 

Hey, 

I’m a Realtor in Staten Island- there’s plenty of multi family homes near the bridge (on the SI side) that could work for a house hack and don’t cost an arm and a leg. Getting this done in Brooklyn would be far tougher as prices are insane (they’re insane everywhere in our market but especially Brooklyn) and, if you do find something reasonably priced, it may be in a very, very bad area. I’m a police officer out here as well so I see a lot of things first hand- there are some neighborhoods in Brooklyn (SI too) that are riddled with so much crime, drugs and violence that I wouldn’t take a house in even if it was free. 

Just a few minutes out from the Verazzano on Staten Island I’ve seen some 2 families and such over the last few months that were very reasonably priced and not located in a bad neighborhood. Of course it would be nice to avoid that traffic altogether, but a comparable property in Brooklyn would be double or even triple in cost so it’s something to think about. 

Reach out to me on here if you’d like to discuss further.

Good luck! 

As a police officer here in SI, I can definitely say that I’ve responded to my fair share of landlord/tenant disputes. I’ve seen plenty of cases where the tenant hasn’t paid a dime in, just like you said, about a year. Scary! With NJ having similar laws (to my understanding), that plus the taxes could make it scary. But the outrageous prices here plus these laws could make SI scary as well. Either way, if you want to invest in SI or NJ you need to have the stomach for it! Good luck and let me know if I can help. 

See you there!

Whatever you do, just make something happen!! I’m 10 years older than you- if I would’ve started at your age I’d be 10 years in, imagine the amount of properties I’d have! Use your age to your advantage and make it happen! 

@Travis Wylie Thank you! I will be attending one ASAP!