All Forum Posts by: Sal Mazzone

Trying to coordinate a meet-up for investors in Westchester County, New York. 

Considering we live in such an expensive area and a hot market I figured it would be beneficial to network and see if there are opportunities to capitalize on everyone's skills, network and experiences.

Date is tentative since they required a date in the forum post.

I'll scope out locations, most likely in the lower Westchester area (white plains, etc) once I get an idea of who would like to attend. 

Comment if interested!

(note this would not be a BP sponsored or affiliated event) 

Originally posted by @Andriy Boychuk:

@Sal Mazzone we will have one in Staten Island soon

 Hi Andriy- I actually grew up in Staten Island! I've been considering investing there as well. I'd be interested in attending that one. Message me with more details. 

I'd like to keep this one specifically for westchester because the issues up here aren't the same in the boroughs. Taxes are much higher up here making cash on cash returns much tighter. 

Would anyone in the westchester county New York area be interested in having an informal meetup to network and just talk about anything from starting in REi to success/failure stories? Considering we live in such an expensive area and a hot market I figured it would be beneficial to network and see if there are opportunities to capitalize on everyone's skills and experiences. If the interest is there I can coordinate something.

I've had the same issues with investing in the lower westchester area. The only way I've found to know if it's what you call a "Danger Zone" is by finding the properties that fit my criteria, then driving to them and assessing the area. Yonkers has a ton of multi family properties, most of them are in depressed areas but the few that aren't would most likely have lower taxes than other westchester towns and it's closer to Manhattan. I live in Tarrytown but have found it almost impossible to find a listed multi family that would cash flow well there- if there is one, you have to bid aggressively as I've lost a few properties by trying to get them for below asking. Most of the deals I analyze in these areas are barely breaking 5% Cash on Cash return.

Thanks @Joel Owens. As I mentioned above, Our strategy is to purchase the home cash, rehab, then refinance them at the ARV.

We want to purchase the home in cash to have the competitive advantage against other buyers, but then eventually refi once we rehab to pull the funds out and move onto the next property.  

I know some of the bigger banks will be harder to qualify with as they just package them up and sell them off to be securitized and those require specific criteria.  I know a bit more about the personal mortgage process, but not the investment side. I was hoping a lender would qualify you based on the investment itself, not the personal income.

I will most certainly reach out to local banks/credit unions.

Me, my brother and father-in-law are just getting started in REI. We have two offers out on properties that we will be buying with cash. Our strategy is to purchase the home cash, rehab, then refinance them at the ARV.

The problem we are running into is my family member (the one providing the cash) does not have any income other than social security.  He has liquid worth and a fully paid for residence, but no stream of income.

The bank would not give him a pre-qualification - any advice on options for long term financing?  If we started a legal entity, would a local bank be more inclined to lend to us if we have a solid business plan and present full analysis on the investments?

Side note- there are 3 of us, however I currently have two mortgages under my name, and my brother has 1, so we may not qualify for much and we'll be close to maxing out our DTI ratio.

I actually need one as well. Hopefully someone comes back with a recommendation. 

I primarily use the MLS. My RE Broker has me on automated emails to alert me of properties that match my criteria (i.e. MF homes < 350k, etc). I get an email if a new property is listed, or even when a property changes the listing price. This platform also allows me to do my own search with the MLS if I want to look at SF homes, or condos, etc.

In regard to the property you mentioned, my suggestion is to call up an agent if you don't already have one and go see for yourself.  You could even drive by before they schedule a showing.  It could be in terrible shape and no investor wants to deal with it, or the location is terrible, etc.  But the best thing to do is find out for yourself.

I'm getting a bit frustrated with listed properties and am going to start looking into direct mailing and wholesalers, but I'll still be watching the MLS closely.

Originally posted by @Ariel Boyle:

Appreciate all the responses! In response to Sal, I so far have been looking at White Plains, Yonkers, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow.  I will also check out Elmsford too thanks for the suggestion.  Probably can't go up to Peekskill just because my commute to the Financial district would be too long.  I know the taxes are high but they were better than when I was looking at places in West New York, NJ surprisingly.

Angel any areas in Yonkers you would recommend or avoid?  I haven't spent time in Yonkers in several years to be honest.

John I thought it was a one time thing. Will definitely have to look into that. That is a game changer.

Any advice on target Cap Rates or ROI when looking at potential investments? I have seen some examples on the website for cheaper areas in the country so curious how you assess places in a more expensive area like this

I would suggest spending a day just driving around those areas.  Yonkers, Tarrytown, Elmsford, White Plains are all close enough to get through in one day.   Westchester town are so diverse and every town has some less desirable areas within so it's great to get familiar with the areas you like and don't to narrow down your property searching.  

I went driving for dollars a few weeks back in Elmsford and the general area is not that appealing.  Semi-industrial and not as nice as the river towns, but just by driving around I was able to find a great subsection that I would certainly invest in.

Awesome!  The time you invested to learn and help others shows people you are in this for the long term and haven't given up.  Great advice and best of luck!