All Forum Posts by: Michael Wagner

 Thanks so much Susan! I will be in touch as the day nears.  Its going to be pretty informal but there will be some Registration type stuff that needs to be done so I just might take you up on your offer. 

@Lucas Cullen

@Susan Clark

@Chris C.

Good News! This meet up is now confirmed.  It will be on March 8th (and the second Wednesday of each month thereater) at The Finger Lakes Hotel located just off exit 44 of the NYS THruway.  There is no cost but we do ask that you register before hand as seating will be limited. Check out www.tricountyreia.com and let me know if you have any questions.  I hope to see you all there and look forward to meeting you in person.

About the Event:

This will be a Networking Event for anyone who actively invests in Real Estate or has a desire to learn more about doing so. There is no charge for the event but we do ask you to consider buying a drink or a bite to eat to help offset the cost of the Venue.
All are Welcome!

Agenda:

6:00 Registration Opens/Informal Networking
6:30 Meeting Starts-Introductions (around the room)
7:30 Discuss Mission/Vision of Group
8:00 Discuss Best Ways for Group to
Add Value to Members
8:30 Close Meeting/Introduce Meeting #2
8:45-??? Networking

About the Organizer:

So who am I? And, more importantly, what qualified me to start TriCountyREIA of WNY?

My name is Mike Wagner. I live in Farmington, NY with my wife and two young children. I have been investing in real estate since 2007 (full time since 2011). I began investing in multi-family houses in Rochester and have since transitioned to focusing mostly on Self Storage Investing.

My wife and I support our two young children working a combined 10-15 hours per week on our Storage Businesses. Neither of us have traditional jobs and we LOVE being a "stay-at-home" couple. Our most recent endeavor, TriCounty REIA of WNY, is designed to help others use real estate as a way to improve their lives.

My goal is to bring like minded folks together in an environment that fosters education, growth and the development of meaningful relationships around a common interest in Real Estate.

Because seating is limited, Registration is Required.  Please go to www.tricountyreia.com to register.

How do the rates differ from short to long term? If a shorter term gives you a considerably lower rate then you might better stomach the decrease in cash flow for the improved lifetime profitability. If, you have a strong DCR, the short term pinch of cashflow shouldnt put you at too much risk. If your DCR is only modest, then it might be wise to go with a longer amortization with lower payments to give you more wiggle room. You can always pay extra to principle (find out when a prepayment penalty might kick in if you pay too much too fast) to shorten the amortization thereafter. In that case you just view a slightly higher interest rate as a "insurance" policy against unforeseen issues....assuming you escrow a portion of your savings gained via the lower payments for a bit before accelerating the debt paydown. Good Luck! Storage Rocks!!!!

 Awesome Chris, Stay tuned as I have been very encouraged with the feedback I have gotten here as well as elsewhere!  We are targeting March 8th for the first meet up.  I will confirm as soon as I am able.

Thanks so much for the offer Susan.  I may very well take you up on that.  In the meantime, please spread the word that there will be a Investor Meet up of some sort starting soon.  I'm looking to have the first meeting in Early march.  Will probably be pretty informal to start but I think I am going to target Wayne, Ontario and any Monroe County investors that want to supplement the Value the get at FFREIA! Stay Tuned....

 I Love FFREIA and would never think of competing with their Thursday night meetings:) I do see a need for a venue where us "outlying" investors can network.  I've got my eye on Canandaigua, Farmington and Victor as potential meeting spots and will keep you posted.

 Glad to hear it Lucas.  I will post information here on this thread as I make progress.  I am currently trying to nail down a place and hope to get regular monthly meetings set up by March!

 Storage has been great to us.  You can check out my blog here on BP "All Things Self Storage"  It has a couple case studies that might be a bit dated by now but will give a good idea.  Very roughly speaking, we cash flow, after expenses and debt service, about $100K per year working 10-15 hours per week on our two facilities combined.  Our total out of Pocket to purchase the two was $66,000 ($40K in 2011 and another $26K in 2014) and they are now valued at roughly $2.8 Million.  We do carry about 1.4M in debt on them right now. 

While your concerns about customer churn is understandable, it does not play out that way in the real world that way.  As long as you purchase/build in a healthy market that is not oversuppllied, decades of historical data shows that you can be reasonably certain to "sell your service." Market research is critical of course but the opportunities in storage are truly incredible.

 Will do!