All Forum Posts by: Michael K Gallagher

@Sabir Foux are you looking for acquisition guides? if so its not really a guide per say but its a hell of a book and its the classic...."crushing it" its got everything you need to understand what it really takes to invest and manage those assets.  after that brian helped write another couple books through BP wtih Brandon on apartment investing that are decent reads, but candidly crushing it is just about all you need to know to get an idea of where you want to start.

If you just want the functionality of a garage then what you are describing will likely work.  My questions would be if you would be permitted to do the work and legally get the credit for it to be called a garage after you were done.  If you've seen these conversions already happening in the areas then thats a good chance its something "doable" from a permitting perspective.  but obviously that's a question you'll need to dig into the local codes to understand ifyou're doing it yourself.

I would think it is really strategy, use case and goal dependent.  Likely has much to do with the specific market you are in also.  Generally most investors I work with tend to end up somewhere in the middle or on the spectrum of price, schools, class, and market rents.  taxes also play a pretty big roll in general for those A class areas so there are certainly trade offs and its goals specific.

@Alan Asriants thanks for putting this together, I totally agree with the messaging.  putting a down payment on a credit card does seem boarderline predatory, can't imagine the person giving that advise in these adds is licensed to give advice like that regardless.

the longer I hang in this industry the more I prove to myself that its the consistent actions that win out and stack on each other and it never gets proven wrong.  

Thanks for Sharing @Jonathan Styer I don't do too many deals in the MTR space so this is valuable perspective, I appreciate you sharing.

Any particular areas or anchor points seem to be performing better than others for you? 

Yeah would 1 up what everyone here is saying, the number 1 best way to get going especially in your position in my mind is the house hack, even if you move to a different market to do it, its the way to go.  pays dividends for years.

@Ryan Spath have not used this before and don't have anything specifically against this company specifically but I have had negative experiences with similar "self showing" type models.  More specifically Open Door.  long story but basically it is fairly easy for these homes to get hijacked, locks changed, and "rented out" as a scam to get deposits.  So my number 1 question or DD item if considering them as a service would be security and what intervals do they get eyes on the property?

@Benny Weksler welcome to the forums, BP continues to be the best place to knowlege and incredible connections out there.  Don't forget to check for meetups in your area.

Yesterday was a reminder that the basics and fundamentals put in place early continue to pay dividends in the long run.

The water meter and shut off valve to the main service to out duplex "popped off" the main service line so I had a building with no water, and a main water line running unimpeded into the basement.

Turns out the hardest task of the day in repairing this was the fire department finding the shut off at the street.  The city was little to no help.

Things That I Did Well - reacted quickly, confirmed the city didn't have any issues in the area, and determined it was isolated to the building.

- Called not only the city but the local fire station to get two solutions going for the street shut off.

- Had a clear and working floor drain in the property - really never had more than a stream of water because of this. no standing water at all.

- Had an electronic deadbolt on the unit to get access when the tenant was not there, and to give anyone access that had needed it to repair.

Things I will be putting in place after this - 

- Having a go to plumber with emergency capabilities.  I have relationships with plumbers but no one working mother's day.  while small local relationships are great, I also need a larger "emergency" company in my pocket also. 

-  will be seeing if there is some kind of "alarm" or "alert" to not rely on tenants to determine if there's an issue.  Either high flow or no flow are both issues it appears.

@Yveson Laurore I'm not operating in this market, so what I'm about to say could be totally wrong but if this is actually in NYC, that's a pretty densely populated area I'd think anyone in that general area would be "OK" living in the vicinity of the correction center.  how it would impact the bottom line I couldn't speak to, but if you were offering a high quality product at a reasonable price its likely to outweigh the proximity in my mind.