All Forum Posts by: Steve B.

@Kyle Gendron Did you try Chuck Rosenstein over in Colonie? All he does is real estate and works with a lot of investors in the area. There are not a lot of attorney's in our area that only do real estate AND will work with investors to do these kind of non-traditional transactions. Good luck, let me know if I can be of further help.

@Jean Smith Greg is right, you are not getting the entire story. Sounds like a classic case of bad communication between agent and client. In our area the counter is close to an average of 90% of the list price, unless its been on the market for a long time. Also watch for a price reduction every 30 days, not sure if all markets are like this but in our market its like clockwork. If you want to put an offer on a house and its been active for 28-29 days, wait for the price reduction then offer around 90% net to HUD of the reduced price, chances are you'll get it. PM me if you need any help or have questions, what town/city was the house in?

@Zahrah McFadgen You will definetly want to talk to a local real estate attorney that knows about wholesaling.  Most of the information pertaining to wholesaling pitched by the gurus doesn't apply around here. Check out the AIN group there are some attorney's there that are very knowledgable on this subject matter.

@Calvin Thomas Agreed with what everyone is saying. Forgot about the ROP's in Cohoes, and they do go after absentee landlords that aren't following the rules. No matter where you are you never want to be on the bad side of code enforcement.

I can't speak for Cohoes personally but I know in Schenectady they run an audit every so often on every multi family in the city to verify the permits are on file. You might get away with it for awhile but once they catch on they can make your life miserable. Send an inspector out and cite you for chipped paint on the porch for example. They look at the tax rolls and see an address down in NYC they know its harder for you to take care of things like that. 

Honestly this stuff is annoying to deal with but its the way it is. Too many slumlords ruined it for the good ones. You just have to factor that in to your expenses and if the numbers make sense then buy the property.

@Michael Charles Don't overlook the Albany area as well to invest in. Only 2.5-3 hour drive from NYC to take care of business, strong economy compared to the rest of Upstate, very high student population, and very low vacancy rates across the region. 

PM me if you want to chat about the area, in just the past year I have seen a large uptick of investors from NYC that are investing up here and getting good returns so you are not the only one.

@Calvin Thomas  Cohoes has good price points with stable rents and lower property taxes than the surrounding bigger cities. Demand for quality rentals is still very high throughout the Capital District and I see no signs of that slowing down. Most of the large apartment complexes being built are not affordable for many people in the area. If you buy a small multi and rent out a 2 bed for $800-$900 per month you will have your choice of applicants and little vacancy. Cohoes is a great option for many people to live because its a convenient location to commute to Troy or Albany and the public schools are better. 

PM me if you want more information or are ever in the area and would like to see some properties in person.

@Charlene Isoh If you want to do student housing your best bet is in the cities of Albany or Troy. Check out https://rpi.jumpoffcampus.com/ for where most student rentals are in Troy. Albany has pockets of student housing but I recommend Troy over Albany these days. Politics are better, taxes are a little lower, more pro landlord, less party kids.

Getting anything under $50k around those areas through the MLS is difficult unless you want a total gut job (add 30-50k rehab). Off-market is the way to go or tax auction. Cash is king in these situations, mortgages under $50k don't really exist. Best bet is to partner up with someone. I know another investor over there who just purchased a Troy house for around $35k, put about $10k into it and will rent each bedroom for $550/month. He did all the work himself though and lives right around the corner.

David, I just went through the whole process myself so I'll tell you what I did. I took the classroom course over at Manfred and I highly recommend it. They have a nights and weekend course and a daytime course. The best part about taking it in the classroom is the instructors will make the course less boring than online and will give tons of advice to Jumpstart your career. It's also great to network with other new agents. 

I never heard anything about having to wait 60 days. Setup an Eaccess account through the NY Dept of State website. This is how you will schedule your real estate exam for the state. When you pass the test you can then immediately apply for your license online, and once your broker approves it you will be ready to go!

Hope that helps, if you have any more questions PM me, good luck.

Michael I like to keep everything local now so I focus on the Capital Region. With good marketing for your rentals you shouldn't have any problems. Something that the big property managers up there could learn. Fort Drum will be your largest pool of renters and realtor clients there, contact the base housing office and form a relationship with someone in the office so that you will get referrals.