All Forum Posts by: Marianna Osipenko

@Mason Hickman so sorry for the delay. I have not been on BiggerPockets for a while. I am ideally looking for at least a 3/2 house that needs some work in Mashpee or Falmouth, at least biking distance to the beach. The goal is to use the property as my family's personal vacation spot for a few weeks a Summer, and then STR the rest of the time. The property has to at least break even, so needs to be a decent value-add play. Would love to hear about your expletive with Airbnb on the cape, and see if you happen to have any properties in mind?

@Mike Fitzgibbons I would love to chat. Looking at picking up a vacation rental on the cape now. Thanks.

@Dawn Brenengen I would love to connect with you, but BP is not giving me that option. Can you connect to me so I can PM you? Thanks!

Hi!

Congrats on locating two potential deals!

Have you seen the financials on both of the properties? If so, does that not help with a decision? 

The larger building might have deferred maintanence since it is owned by an elderly couple. Would you need a PM company for both building? Does either currently have a PM company, or would you need to find one (a major factor in an out of state investment). What kind of population trends are happening in both of the communities? In other words, how easy is it to find tenants? Happy to continue thinking out loud with you, but these few questions should get you started. Do you mind my asking how you find these properties? I am looking out of state now to, not sure what the best appraoch is. 

@An Duong I am pretty open as to the specific area, although ideally wanted to be within an hour or so of my house in Medway. As you know, prices here are beyond high now, and I am looking for immediate cash flow. Where do you invest? I have been considering out of state perhaps, but a little afraid to start out so far from home. Thanks!

@Robert Schumacher thanks so much for sharing your incredible success story. Congratulations! I am really hoping to find a multi-family value add opportunity so I can build equity quickly. The market in Boston is quite hot (much like CA), so all great deals end up having bidding wars. My criteria is that the deal has to cash flow immediately, while I think many investors are ok breaking even as they are betting on future appreciation. Do you happen to have any tips on locating deals? Do you invest in any area as long as the numbers work, or do you prefer “better“ neighborhoods? I am seeing some great cap rates in the more depressed areas of MA, but am concerned that findIng and keeping tenants there will be a challenge (not to mention the safety concerns)... Don’t want my quest for cash flow to lead me to fools gold... My other question to you is if you have any words of encouragement about scaling. Everyone keeps talking about how the first deal is the hardest, and that momentum builds after that, but my fear is that the cash flow in my first property will not be enough to enable a purchase of a second for a while, and I really want to be able to scale quickly... Hence my attempt to purchase a value add first property, but I want to take action, and that search might take a while, and I don’t want to spend another 1-2 years on the hunt... thanks again Robert! So appreciate your insights and suggestions!

Hello BP,
I have concluded that the market in MA is just way too active to be able to get a decent deal on a multi-family property that's on the market. I am looking to buy my first property, and would love any/all advice for direct mail marketing (looking at 8-15 or so units). What has worked for you? Did you send letters/postcards? Did you include a business card? Is it better to seem more "professional/bigger", or be more personal (like mention that my family and I are looking to acquire our first property)? I know a cash deal is ideal when marketing, but I cannot do that...
Really appreciate your advice!

@Robert Schumacher, thank you for the reply, and for validating my opinion! Were you able to start out with the larger buildings right away? Was financing more challenging since you had no multi-family experience?  Have you found that a specific way of screening tenants produces the best results? I know credit checks are key, but is there anything else that you have found is very helpful? Thanks so much! 

@Brian Pawl, thanks! Where in Chicago are you? I was just there - lots of family in IL, stayed with cousins in Northbrook. I am hopeful that I can get my mentor to participate in my first deal so I can skip the 2-4 family, and jump to a 10-15 unit right away. Prices here are insane, and anything under 8-10 units produces negligible cash flow. Thanks again!

@Nancy DeSocio, thanks! So niche to see someone fairly local! Let me know if you ever have time to grab a coffee - I am happy to drive to you. Would love to hear about your experience going from a 4 to 9 family. Are you managing it yourself? What’s next for you? Looking forward to connecting!