All Forum Posts by: Michael Wallimann

This is exciting! I'll be around in March so I will be looking forward to meeting all you lovely people then. Thank you for putting this together @Allison Keib!!

@Donald DiBuono Honestly I haven't met any good wholesalers in the area but I'm definitely game to find some in the future. It's been MLS, cold calls and the occasional gem from my broker so far. Best of luck in finding a great wholesaler and feel free to keep me in mind if he has anything that you're not interested in!

@Pat Murphy If there is any question about sealant being applied or not I would just hire someone else or go out there yourself and apply it. Sealant is somewhat cheap and simple to apply. Better safe than sorry with rotted would on a new deck. I would recommend reapplying sealant every year to the entire deck if it is all wood.

@Edwin De leon I invest in upstate NY as well and I will keep this brief but if you like the market I would not worry about the tenant friendly nature of NY state. I grew up in the Capital District and Troy is going through a big revitalization where there could be many good deals to be had. Many states are tenant friendly and sometimes that just one of many factors we deal with as investors. My thought on this is first and foremost thoroughly screen your tenants!!! It starts with 6 questions my property manager asks them. If their answers match what we are looking for then we move on to proof of income verification. If they meet income requirements then they can schedule a showing. If they like it and my property manager likes them he calls their previous landlords and references. If that goes well they pay for a credit and background check. If that comes back meeting our criteria we can sign a lease. Don't be scared, just do your homework, put the right people in your building and invest where it makes sense to you!

Welcome @Souhimbou Kone! As a fellow Capital District native (Schenectady/Albany) and upstate investor I am glad to see you are in the right place. Bigger Pockets is an amazing community with infinite wisdom, advice and answers. Feel free to reach out anytime if you have any thoughts or questions about investing in Albany and further north. There are a couple rock star brokers, agents and lenders in my circle there. Best of luck to you in all of your future endeavors!!

Welcome @Jarvis L Cloud and congratulations on the early stages of your real estate journey! You are certainly in the right place and on the right path. Feel free to reach out anytime and best of luck to you in all of your future endeavors!!

Merry Christmas @Leona Usaty. I hope you have a most prosperous 2023!!!

Partnership deals are something I have not done since that lesson learned. There was a little bit of scar tissue from the experience but I am certainly open to partnerships again now however it will definitely be clearly structured and fully in writing through an attorney. Live, learn, grow and get better like a fine wine!

Hello @Michael Fung! You might want to start with contacting as many contractors as you can and simply asking them if they have any availability to take on a rehab project in the near future. You could give them the square footage and a rough punch list of what will need to be done and see if it is something they would have time for. Start asking your broker, lender and anyone you know in real estate if they have any recommendations. As someone who used to build houses and has done multiple rehabs I would say that taking on a major renovation project as a beginner is something you will not want to jump into alone. However, if you can find a well recommended contractor, honest contractor who can fit you into their schedule in a relatively reasonable time frame and the deal makes sense after your due diligence and underwriting I would say there is no time like the present. You may also want to consider finding another experienced investor who has done similar projects and forming a (well documented by an attorney) partnership. As we all saw a couple years ago situations could change quickly. Personally I'm not a fan of waiting for conditions to become ideal because no matter what they will never be perfect. I am however a proponent of doing thorough research and taking calculated action towards your goals and dreams. Hope this helps a little. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!

This response won't be too in depth or technical but I had always heard to get everything in writing as well, but failed to heed the warning on my first deal. Without going into too much detail on how the deal was structured I'll just say that I put up all the money and a close family member put title in their name so that it could be bought with a lower percentage down payment. This was going to be a 50/50 split. Nothing was in writing because I trusted this person wholeheartedly. In the end that came back to bite me. They kept the property (which is 3,000 miles away from me) and never gave me any of the rental income or the money that I provided for the down payment. They simply just stopped returning my calls,texts and emails. Long story short I recommend getting an attorney to draw everything up. All plans, splits, arraignments, everything. No matter who it is just tell them it's nothing personal, it's only business. Best of luck to you @Tina Tsysh!!