All Forum Posts by: Steve B.

@Kelly Jacobson Albany really has a law that says that? I've never heard of that but I wouldn't be surprised, they have a lot of weird laws that only apply within the city. The joys and challenges of investing in our area, each town, city, and county has different rules, laws, and building code. So if the copper is gone you have to replace with copper and not another material? 

 @Jim Mullen Welcome to BP! I am down the Northway from you in Schenectady and wholesaling. I've talked with a few other wholesalers up there and they are also using bandit sings, I guess the local town doesn't care about them? Down here I rarely see them except right after a guru "boot camp." Mine are being shipped, I'm willing to try it out at least to get the phone ringing. 

What list are you targeting for your mail? Have you done any deals yet?

$1200 is a lot of money to spend on something that can be done by yourself for a few hundred, depending on your state. Spend the rest of the that money on marketing to get deals. 

It really depends on the situation though. If I had partners and complicated deal structure I would have an attorney do it up. A brand new investor without any real estate holdings in a single-member LLC, do it yourself. I consulted with an attorney before doing mine and thats what he told me. NY makes it easy all the forms are online, fill it out and just pay the state filing fee. Know the rules of forming an LLC in your state though, in NY we have to print a notice of incorporation in the newspaper for 6 weeks like people still read the newspaper.

I just read this blog post and it was very good, this should motivate all of us. We may have a hard time finding sellers right now but finding buyers should be easy. Also remember guys are still getting deals in the much more competitive markets than us in areas like Dallas and Denver so we have no excuse.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2016/05/0...

@Greg B. Its not just you, I have noticed the same thing in the Albany market. Inventory is pretty low here. Everyone I talk to around here is having the same problem finding deals. Most of the highly motivated calls I get right now are in the higher taxed and lower valued homes in the cities. If its a decent house on the MLS in one of the A or B school districts its getting an offer pretty quick. I hardly ever get motivated callers from Saratoga county, things are on fire up there, people are getting multiple full price offers for their home. Just have to keep grinding and get create with your marketing, no matter what the market is there will always be people that need to sell fast for cash!

Marci where upstate is it located?

@Tim Brann Let me be the first to welcome you to biggerpockets! I'm also Upstate down the thruway from you in the Albany area. I lived in Watertown for 3 years and had a rental there until a year ago. Lets just say I'm glad I sold the rental in Watertown as the rental market is even worse now. I also wouldn't invest in Oswego as the nuclear plant closing will affect the town. 

House hacking is the way to go, if I were you I would find a place in Syracuse. I've always felt like Syracuse University is the glue that keeps the multi family market together there and I don't think that will ever change since its a top rated school. When they made the final four this year they out sold all the other schools for merchandise, even more than the Tar Heels! In fact the Orange sold more stuff in the week leading up to the final four than any other school in history. Needless to say they will never have a shortage of applicants, and those kids need a place to live. Like most college cities in the northeast, they really are not building anything more so a multi family purchase there would be solid for you. Remember you make your money when you buy since appreciation is pretty flat.

Yes taxes are high in NY but hopefully you can find a deal and grieve the taxes. Another problem to account for is most of these homes are 100 years old, budget at least 15% for maintenance and capex. Also run your numbers for cash flow as if you will not be living there as I'm sure you don't want to live there forever. $100/door I have always felt is tight in Upstate mainly because of the taxes and maintenance, try to get $150-200.

Jordan, I agree with Rich on this. Also the taxes seem low for that price, check the last time the property was assessed you could be in for a big surprise. Beacon is on fire right now, might want to go further up the Hudson to bring the price down.

@Ryan Spinola Just go to the activity or copilot tab and click right on the phone number that called you. A popup will have you put in your cell phone or whatever phone you want to use to make the call and callrail will ring your phone. Once you answer the call you will press 1 to connect to the seller, and the seller will see your tracking number for the caller ID. If they don't answer I tell them to call my "private line" which is really a google voice number that I use as a main contact for my business. 

I would use a local number for the market you are working. Even when I see ads or websites targeting my local market with an out of area phone number I don't take them seriously, I imagine sellers feel the same way. 

 I use call rail and I can call a seller back using my cell phone but the seller sees the number that was on the letter I sent them. They are far more likely to answer the phone if they already recognize the number and it's local.