All Forum Posts by: Kiernan LaFaver

Hey Dwight! I have a few I can recommend as well, for the city and suburbs. Send me a DM and I'll send them over

As others suggested, I would recommend house hacking (roommates) or house hopping (buying a new primary residence then living in it for a few years, then moving). This will likely be one of the only ways to obtain a smaller down payment as investment loans typically start at 15-25% down in my experience. I would definitely recommend going slow, and making sure you have solid financials on each property compared to trying to get as many as possible in a short amount of time; no need to put yourself in financial stress. HELOCs can be tricky with repayment periods and variable interests

From what I'm seeing, it looks like (and should continue to look like) the clay, Cicero, and Liverpool areas are expected to get some of the higher appreciation in the coming years due to close proximity to Micron (Zip Codes 13039, 13041, 13088, 13090). Also in close proximity to micron are more rural areas, like Phoenix (13135) and Lysander that could likely be targets of development in the coming decade. Similar neighborhoods/suburbs to Clay/cicero would be in the east side of Syracuse, like DeWitt, Fayetteville, and Manlius. I've noticed quite a few price drops in SFH in these areas in the past few weeks due to shifting market conditions. All of these areas have relatively stable rent prices and notable appreciation rates

Has anybody used BP business membership to generate leads for their business? I’m an agent and am considering purchasing, but would love feedback if anybody has used this feature/has results yet. TIA!

Hey Reza! I’m in the Syracuse area and work with quite a few investors! There’s definitely some things to be wary of, particularly the Rental Registry within the Syracuse City Limits. Rents are mostly at market rate, and are for the most part, fairly consistent around the city. The suburbs of Syracuse also present many opportunities, with most municipalities having lesser restrictions for rental properties. I’d be happy to chat with you/answer any questions you may have about the Syracuse/Central NY region!

Quote from @Elizabeth Nolan:

Quote from @Kiernan LaFaver:

As far as ROI, there are a few givens that will always give the majority or even dollar for dollar back, such as landscaping, flooring, updated kitchen and bathrooms, and security systems. Those are always a huge YES. In my personal opinion, I wouldn't be as worried with some of the niche items, like a surround sound system, smart features, sauna. I work with a lot of buyers and most of the times they do not care about these items. I've noticed some demographics, such as older generations, don't necessarily care for all of the bells and whistles. I do agree that mechanical upgrades are a good idea if necessary, those are almost always a safe bet for ROI and resale-ability. It seems like landscaping/exterior is a large aspect of this property, so in that case I would put a good chunk of my efforts there

Thank you for the feedback. I can especially see older buyers not necessarily valuing or even wanting the smart features. It’s interesting you list security systems … is there a type you recommend? In the house I live in with my family we have a Ring system and it never gets turned on. How about motion sensors on a long driveway with a chime in the house?

ADT is pretty easy to work with, I have contacts that I recommend to my clients when they close on a new home. I do like Ring as well, but to my knowledge their product line is fairly limited compared to other whole home security systems. I would primarily be focused on the main areas…gate, doorway, front/backyard, and garage if that applies 

As far as ROI, there are a few givens that will always give the majority or even dollar for dollar back, such as landscaping, flooring, updated kitchen and bathrooms, and security systems. Those are always a huge YES. In my personal opinion, I wouldn't be as worried with some of the niche items, like a surround sound system, smart features, sauna. I work with a lot of buyers and most of the times they do not care about these items. I've noticed some demographics, such as older generations, don't necessarily care for all of the bells and whistles. I do agree that mechanical upgrades are a good idea if necessary, those are almost always a safe bet for ROI and resale-ability. It seems like landscaping/exterior is a large aspect of this property, so in that case I would put a good chunk of my efforts there

I have heard good things about PMA, Property Management Alliance. I work with a colleague that used to be a manager type prior to getting into Sales and assured me they are reputable!

Syracuse NY for sure! Fairly consistent rents for properties spanning realistically in the 100-250 range, with a healthy mix of SFH and MFH. Mattydale (a suburb of the area) was recently named one of the most "affordable" places in the country that young people are moving to. Additionally, once micron (a large microchip processing plant) is up and running (construction is underway) there are expected to be nearly 50,000 additional jobs created in the immediate areas. Happy to chat more about this market as a possibility.

Same kind of deal in the Syracuse area as well, about an hour-ish south! Watertown is most known for Fort Drum, a military base that the city is largely built around. With there being a base there, there is always a good amount of tenant turnover from contract workers stationed there. I agree with Joe, I do think that micron will be felt in the Watertown area as well, maybe not quite to the extent that the greater Syracuse area will but still. I’m not as familiar with the tenant market up that way, but if you’re interested in the Syracuse area, multi families are endless possibilities!