All Forum Posts by: Lloyd Preece

NYC is tough to make work, but couple of things. “Anywhere in the US has cash flowing rental properties within 2 hour drive” is something Brandon used to say years ago on the pod. If you’re looking for a pure rental you need to go north or west. Out to CT you’ll find cashflow in the New Haven area and out to PA you’ll find cash flow in the Lehigh Valley. You can do 2-4 unit MF in either market with the capital you mentioned.

If you want to house hack and still be in a reasonable distance to commute to Manhattan look at Hudson county. I HH’d a 2 bed condo in Weehawken (10 min bus to city) and it saves me a lot of cash Vs renting in Manhattan. If you want to “properly” HH a multi, look at Union City, JC heights, or even further out towards Montclair/Bloomfield. Good luck!

Hi team, question regarding how to incorporate Property Value Appreciation into Net Worth number and Performance Numbers..

When I do my monthly/annual net worth spreadsheets and when I review individual property performance, one of the thing I always struggle with is inputting a number for current property value. Obviously calculating metrics such as realized cash on cash returns, loan paydown and ROI (Ex Appreciation) is easy to do since the profit/loss is visible and felt. However, as we all know Appreciation oftentimes tends to be the biggest driver of wealth building and is up to interpretation when youre homes aren't on the market, especially in this changing environment.

When you all review your property performance and net worth numbers, how do you incorporate Appreciation of your RE assets? 
A few methods I've considered:
1) Getting properties appraised once per year and using that number
2) Taking regional %change stats and applying them to my purchase price since date of initial investment
3) Looking at comps in the area and applying an average
4) Asking RE agent to give their estimate of what it is worth today
5) Not accounting for Appreciation at all in my performance numbers and simply treating it as icing

What do you guys do? Any thoughts/methods welcome!

1) Excel sheet - 1 tab per property summarising income and expenses. Set yourself a monthly reminder in your phone to update it in the first week of each month.
2) Capital One 360 Account: Allows you to open up to 20 checking accounts under one master debit card. Makes life really easy for opening up one account per property and keeping everything separate

Good call last night. looking fwd to next one!
www.linkedin.com/lloyd-preece

Depends on your goals. IMO the LV is a great buy and hold long term market given the price to rent ratios and high demand of tenants, amount of employment in the area etc. Poconos strikes me as more of a STR market but I'm sure there's plenty of other options too.

Mike I looked into the new build RTR thing in Florida too. My advice would be to find investors on BP that have actually done it and arrange calls with them to understand their experience. Some of the deals look great on paper but I do think speaking with those who have done it will help you decide either way. People are very receptive to doing so and there’s plenty of RTR forums on here.

What you're describing is an appreciation Vs cashflow question. Personally (only my opinion) for your first rental I'd err on the side of buying a cash flowing asset that will teach you the ropes with leas on the line, then after you've done a couple of those and understand the full lifecycle of buying rental properties go and look at more complex strategies like new construction, BRRRR etc.

Also work in NY, decided to invest in PA (specifically Lehigh valley) as the landlord tenant laws are friendlier than NY/NJ and price point was much more manageable. Also is a 90 minute drive. As a Brit expat in the US I have no connection to PA. First step was choosing a market within driving distance based on macroeconomic factors. Set your parameters such as budget, distance to your location, employment factors and come up with a shortlist. Visit those markets, find and investor friendly agent on BP and go from there.

When it comes to the market, within reason after doing your initial macro research and you’ve whittled down a few markets, it’s sometimes not so important what you decide, more important that you decide.

are these meetups still happening?

Im in the market again, definitely noticing DoM are increasing and sellers dont seem to be getting the crazy multi-offers they did 6-18 months ago. last year every property went to highest and best, not really seeing that anymore. 20% conventional buy and hold Single Family isn't cashflowing much at these rates really, a few break even but its not like it was when rates were 3%. However its less competitive, so "date the rate, marry the price" and you could find something decent at a better price point that is refinanceable later. If youre looking for good cashflow straight out the gates and not doing a full project/brrrr/str/other creative strategies then perhaps look elsewhere.

Sorry i forgot to circle back on this. Yes i closed on a SFR in Bethlehem in February, cash flows pretty nicely but its an older house like most in the area so will likely come with some expenses as i continue ownership
Tips work would be:
- Bethlehem inventory is few and far between, you have to be quick. If you want more choice then look to Allentown if youre willing to go there. My initial price point of <$200K wont get you MF in Bethlehem unless v run down, you will find 2 units in Allentown for that price though or SFH in Bethlehem.
- Cash flow is better in South Bethlehem than North, but North is nicer (pretty standard practise)
- My agent was great and v diligent, would highly rec and ill use him again
- I went with Cassidon as my PM, would also highly rec them
- Unit was filled around 1 month following closing, but i was advertising in Feb/March. Ended up with a handful of applications.