All Forum Posts by: Robert Chen

Hi Leyanne. I am in a very similar situation but my reason for investing in CT is because I recently moved from Providence to CT. If you are still in RI, I'd say Providence is definitely a better market right now. Providence population and jobs are growing quite well and having multiple universities, including Brown and RISD makes it a very attractive rental market. There are still areas in Providence where the cash flow compares with Bridgeport and I definitely see more positive trends in Providence. 

When I moved to Providence in 2012, the first thing I noticed was the rent to price ratio in Providence was too high. Other than the fact there are just so many multi-families and also a lot of landlords with many units in Providence, I couldn't really see a reason for this. This is why with the first bit of money saved up from my first job I bought a multi in Providence. Now the price is spiking up and the ratio in good areas are catching up to some secondary and maybe even primary markets. There are still some areas  where the ratio is high. However, Providence is historically fast on the decline but slow on the incline so with where we are in the market cycle, be careful of investing in areas with the ratio that seem too good to be true because they are typically the first ones to fall and last to get back up. 

I lived near that area and probably know which property you are talking about. I wouldn't depend on student rental there because it is largely dominated by a few blocks of housing on Eaton St. and Oakland Ave. A lot of students would rather live there because that's where all the friends are. I would just use numbers based on regular long-term rentals and if you can still get $200 cash flow maybe that's good enough but really make sure you find the right tenants.

Hey @Fan Bi this was in the neighborhood called "Valley". 

@Fan Bi Not at all. Insurance broker doesn't deal with this at all. Which ever insurance company you actually have will assign their own adjuster to appraise what the cost of repairs would be. Property manager got there to turn off the water and fix the burst pipe with his plumber. After that I got the public adjuster who suggested a water remediation company that I used. Throughout this I basically had to coordinate a lot of things. Public adjuster helped deal with all the insurance company things but coordinating the remediation and the repairs I had to do myself. I don't have enough leverage with my property manager to take care of the property. 

Alright, probably the last post here. 2 months after the initial incident, looks like insurance is finally settled and the check will be out soon. Thanks for everyone's feedback and also suggestion to use a public adjuster. It worked out great. The payout will cover 80% of the cost to repair so it's not that bad. Plus I will get some new flooring, walls and ceiling so it's a small renovation at a large discount. 

Another thing I learned was that your mortgage company is actually also on the check that insurance will write. Make sure you contact the mortgage company as well when something like this happens. Often the lender will have policies regarding how the repair is to be handled. For example mine would had to over see the repairs (check contractor license, inspection throughout work progress..) if the assessed damage is more than 20K. Thank god for me it wasn't that much so the mortgage company will just sign the check so that I can cash it. 

From the frantic first couple of days to now, definitely a lot more appreciation for real estate investing and ever more excited to keep going!

@Bogdan Constantin Stefanide. Definitely!

Hi BiggerPockets CT Community.

I recently moved from Rhode Island to work at a company in Trumbull CT. I own 2 rental properties in RI with OK returns but the time it takes to recoup the down payment for rentals is just so long and I want to grow faster. I have been really looking into flipping near where I work so that I can check on it easily. 

Looking at the different ways to recoup investment and grow faster, I think flipping is the right strategy. I am currently pretty tight with cash on hand but I was surprised I could pull in investors and could possibly put together 100k. Could someone suggest me some loan officers that could work with me on flips? 

Also, in your opinion, what is the type of product most popular in near the Trumbull area? 

Thanks for any feedback!

Thanks for everyone's support and sympathy. Just a little update since the pipe-burst that happened 1 month ago. The insurance payout is still pending. The day after the pipe-burst I contacted a public adjuster and he took on the case. So far, I think this is the right move as at the minimum he is taking care of putting together a full list of damages and also dealing with all calls and meetings with the insurance company. I also got a restorer that the public adjuster suggested so that they can work together better. 

Things I have learned so far: 

A public adjuster should be consulted as you start a rental business. Although hopefully you won't be dealing with them too much, they are very knowledgeable about exactly what to look out for in the insurance paperwork and also what type of insurance is common and available. I got my landlord policy as a Actual-Cash-Value because the insurance company says it was their corporate policy to do ACV for landlord policies. However, after talking to the adjuster, I find out that there are many other companies that do Replacement for landlord as well and I would have been much better covered in this situation. 

It will be OK. Although the week after the incident was a nightmare of stress and worry, now it has become an opportunity for improvement.The restorer needed to take the walls and ceilings down anyways so I might as well improve the property now to offer better housing for the next tenant. 

Even though I am not out of the hole yet but I am optimistic. I will provide more updates as things come and as I learn throughout this experience!

Hi Eder. Congrats on the purchase and it sounds like a great deal! I would really caution against adding a unit because usually the city is very strict with unapproved living dwellings. Also if anything were to happen, insurance will definitely not cover anything if this was done without letting them know. Cashflow is nice but so is sleeping at night!