All Forum Posts by: Michael M.

What do you NYC people use to determine the value of your property?

Zestimate is way different from realtor.com and redfin.  NYC valuation is always off.  

I figured going off recent sales would be best.  Would you just use zillow to look at this, or is there a better way?

Short of hiring an actual appraiser, what do you use?

Small time landlords out there, when you go away, what do you do?

I have two 2 family houses in the same neighborhood (I live in one), and I want to leave the country for 2 months. 

I don't need a property manager when I'm here... and I'm wondering if I really need one while I am away for two months.  

I have a super that takes out the trash 3X per week, and I'm setting up a camera system.  Rent payment is done electronically and all my tenants pay on time.  I have a handyman who can fix pretty much anything if I give him a day or two notice.  My phone will work while I'm gone, so my tenants can get in touch with me if they need to and I can call repairmen from abroad if necessary.

Am I forgetting about anything major?  I'm always imagining that I need to be near my properties for them to function, but in reality I really don't need to do much very often.

In a situation like this, would you spring for a property manager for two months, or would you just wing it and hope for the best?

Thanks @Pedro Sena I will look him up!

I am looking to DIY finish a basement in my house (level floors, sheetrock walls, add a half bath).  The house was built in 1905, and there are what appears to be tree trunks supporting the main beam of the house in a few places.  One of these trees has been partially enclosed in a cinderblock wall.  Ideally, I would like to box around these support trunks with sheetrock and get rid of the cinderblocks.  I would like to have an engineer come in and take a look before I start demolishing things that could potentially knock the whole house down.  Anyone have an idea how much a consultation like this would cost?  Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Would like to thank everyone for all the interest and advice on this thread.

@Mike Dorneman I purchased the property with the HELOC as DP, rehabbed, and rented. Next step is refinance. Just to make sure I understand this correctly:

Next I should refinance the investment property.  

I should do a cash-out refinance (there should be the equity of the DP plus whatever extra the house is worth due to my rehab).  Here is the part I want to understand - even if there is no appreciation due to market or repairs, can I still do a cash-out to recoup my down payment (I put down 20% of purchase price)?

With cash-out refi, pay off the HELOC on primary residence. Then I can reuse HELOC funds from primary residence when I find the next deal.

Is this correct?  Am I missing something?  This sounds too easy...  

Thanks!!!

We all know NYC is insane with separation of trash/recycling and loves to issue fines.

How much do people on here pay for trash sorting/ taking to the curb per month for a 2 family?  Basically a super that only takes out trash?

I have been shopping for an umbrella policy, and USLI has come up with more than one broker.  They will do up to a million for around $500, which seems standard.  They are the only insurer that did not make me raise my auto insurance.  

It seems like a few people on BP have mentioned being insured by USLI.  When I look online, they have a C- review on BBB and the internet is full of complaints regarding actually filing a claim or getting refunded after canceling service.

Does anyone here use USLI?  Has anyone filed a claim?  Is it better to just go with one of the big boys (Liberty Mutual, Allstate, etc.)?

I have owned a 2 family in the Bronx (one apartment is mine, the other I rent out) for 5 years and just had basic homeowners insurance through Hyundai. I just purchased another 2 family around the block that will be a rental property. I debated creating an LLC, but after talking to a few different people, it seems that an umbrella policy makes more sense.

What companies have other people used in this scenario?  

Is there a different type of insurance I should be looking at?

Is a big name insurance company better than something I haven't hear of?

Allstate won't cover multifamilies, and Geico won't do it unless I get a really expensive car insurance with them first.

Thanks!

Thats what it seems like is happening in most of these cases.  My worry is that if I purchase one of these properties, then I'm on the hook for these weird violations of code.

I've seen a lot of weird stuff looking at houses in the Bronx.  Lots of strangely steep staircases, 1 families set up as 2 families, weirdly shaped attic rooms that are part of the whole house, doors leading to main building hallways from individual rooms...  Lots and lots and lots of stuff that seems to be not code, but these houses are all around 100 years old, so I have no idea when renovations were done, what is grandfathered in, what is original, etc.  Most houses where I see these things have no records of permits ever being filed for anything.