All Forum Posts by: Randy Gutierrez

It sounds like a total gut, you are looking at some nice coin. Is this going to be your primary residence or are you flipping? What's your goal for the property? It could be as low as 50k to as high as 100k.

Syndication or being a private lender is probably your best bet. Lend to house flippers, you can fund the entire thing for say 50% of the profits and they do all the work, or a deal of similar type. You can try Airbnb but that only becomes passive once you have your systems in place.

Allentown is the third largest city in PA, you will find everything from Mc' mansions to affordable housing. Allentown center city will net you the best numbers investment wise but the tenant pool isn't the greatest. You can still however find honest and decent working people as tenants. Tenant screening is probably one of the most important things you should focus on in this area. Income check, credit check, background check, vibe check. They must pass all 4, at times this might have to be done collectively. Speaking spanish will also help as a good portion of the population are hispanics.

I think every house in Long Island has a basement bath built with no permit. Technically speaking you do need permits but there is really no enforcement. However when it comes time to sell the house it will be excluded and only the bathrooms with proper permits will be listed on the sites. So instead of it being listed as a 3/3 it will be listed as a 3/2 which may hurt you when it comes time to sell. In your case you will have an entire kitchen excluded. You are not screwed but you are not necessarily doing yourself any favors either. Personally, for a full kitchen I probably would have pulled permits to resell it properly in the future.

"Only the strong can help the weak". I think if you put yourself in a position where you can be of help without it being a detriment to yourself, that is the best route. I don't know all the details of your situation but if your parents can withhold retiring for another 2-5 years while you invest in yourself and your business. You in turn can provide them a rental unit to live in for free in the future or be in a better position to subsidize their living.

I have a friend who purchased a triplex, rents the top floor, lives in the main floor, and has his parents living in the basement for free. He is obviously not making money on this property but can cover the mortgage easier with the rental income. The parents help in matters that you can't really put a price on such as babysitting, cooking, cleaning, being available 24/7 etc. He was able to achieve this by investing in himself early on which later put him in a position to purchase a triplex.

In theory if you had purchased a property 2 years ago like you were originally thinking, that property would have soared in value today. You could have easily refinanced today and use that cash out refinance to buy them a home. Your indecision is costing money but more importantly time. However it is never too late, start today!

In most places the interior temperature is required to be at least 65-68 degrees if the outside temperature is below a certain temperature like 55 degrees. If it's above the 65-68 degrees then you are in the clear. Refer to your local codes.

Since he is playing hardball I would head to the unit with a thermostat and start taking pictures and document temperature readings in each room if need be. Retain all the receipts for insulation and HVAC repair.

If the unit is indeed up to livable standards then show him proof and part ways. A tenant like such will typically nitpick about everything and anything from my experience. 

Once unit is vacated, for good measure you can look for window and door gaps within the panels and frames and fill in those gaps accordingly with caulk/silicone or a gap filler. Door sweepers will help too. These areas tend to be overlooked in regards to heat retention. Lastly encourage the new tenants to put in curtains or blinds. I have one corner unit that has 10 windows and I spined it by saying something like "this unit looks beautiful with the amount of natural light coming in a result of all these extra windows. I definitely would put curtains to help with your energy savings." Something along those lines, just paint the negative as a positive. 

I have both, % wise I'm probably getting 1-2 points more CoC with SFH. Expenses like lawn care/snow removal you can pass on much easier to the tenants. When it comes to repairs and maintenance you don't have to worry about coordinating with multiple tenants in the event certain utilities are not split. You also don't have to worry about common areas and any maintenance associated with them.

On multi-families you tend to have better appreciation. Having multiple tenants under 1 roof is kind of a double edge sword.

Ultimately I would buy either as long as the numbers work out, they both have their pros and cons.

@Rob Kishi @Jason Kudo How exactly are you invested in crypto? What is the best way?

I've had issues in the past connecting bank accounts with Stessa. Shortly after Roofstock acquired them I have seen improvements and haven't had issues with bank account connectivity.  

I live in Nassau County and have a few units in the Lehigh Valley, it is a highly competitive area, plenty room for cashflow and appreciation if you shop right. What makes you think closing costs are high?