All Forum Posts by: Richard M.

@John Hickey Thanks again for the tip. I really do appreciate it. I have heard a similar tip on BP podcasts about going to Home Depot at 6am and asking around because those are the guys who are really on top of their game. 

Congrats on nearly finishing what appears to be a home run rehab job! Not sure how you're pulling that off with a full time job; that's pretty impressive.  

@John Hickey I agree that your creative approach is definitely the way to go; it's ultimately where I'd like to be in terms of skill set and ability to execute, but I have to learn out to walk before I can run!

I have a decent handle on the deal analytics but I really lack even the most basic rehab skills. Here's where I could have really used a partner with a good handle on estimating rehab costs + rehab execution. Until I scale that learning curve, I think I'm going to have to stick to near rent ready properties, which is going to severely limit the pool of potential deals available to me.

I walked away from this recent Bed-Stuy REO opportunity because I couldn't afford to both overpay for renovations (which I assumed is the cost of learning for a bootstrapping newbie) AND submit a competitive bid... the returns just aren't there. 

The other reason is because it's a block from the projects (this is on the southeast edge of Bed-Stuy) and the area has one of the highest crime rates in the city. 

In any case, keep us posted on this project! 

thanks for the tip John. 

Sharpened my pencil on the REO property and initial estimates have it at 4% cap rate after major rehab work. The 203k GC that I found said they were busy for the next few months.

This is how inflated the brooklyn bubble has gotten. 

I would really appreciate any referrals for 203(k) general contractors who operate in Brooklyn area of New York City. 

Thanks very much in advance!

Rich

That makes sense. Thanks a ton Wayne. You're the man. 

Honestly would not know what I'd do if I didn't have the support of this community. 

God bless BP. 

Stupid question of the day:

What are the considerations for whether or not to use a broker for bidding on a Homepath REO property? I do own property but haven't ever been through any type of REO process.

Am I better positioned as a buyer with no broker since the listing agent would be able to keep both sides of the commission? 

Thanks in advance for the help!!!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a New York City based broker with experience working with Homepath REO properties? Putting together a bid in the next week. Any and all help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks all for the welcoming responses!

I definitely want to spearhead a local BP meet up in New York City in the near future. I realize, as New Yorkers, we're all super busy and therefore would want to make sure any meet up is done right so let's connect and stay tuned. 

I feel like our market is so unique and it's so easy to get discouraged when just starting out because of pie in the sky valuations and insane amounts of old/new/foreign money flowing in. 

One encouraging bit of news is that Brooklyn made RealtyTrac's best SFR markets for 2016 (I suspect because of rental growth and not gross yield, which is ~11% below the best performer: Flint Michigan). What's interesting is that median Brooklyn home price is the second highest on the list after Santa Cruz.

What markets are people focused on or excited about? 

http://www.realtytrac.com/news/real-estate-investing/realtytrac-q1-2016-single-family-rental-market-report/

Hey all!

I'm a New York native and I'm super excited to join the BP community to expand my RE network and to hopefully contribute something meaningful to others in the process. 

I'm a bit of an accidental landlord having bought a condo that was too big for my needs because it was a special situation (pre-construction) and EVERYTHING else in the neighborhood was even more overpriced. 

Currently I'm scoping out markets to focus on and am most interested in multi-family rentals. I'm quickly realizing that finding a deal in this market especially in NYC is a real challenge, but I tend to perform well under pressure. 

My hobbies include inventing cocktails, petting random dogs and real estate porn (one of my favs: http://streeteasy.com/blog/bathtub-in-kitchen/)

Anyway, I'd love to connect with like minded investors in or around my markets. 

Cheers!

Richie