All Forum Posts by: Anthony Angotti
Anthony Angotti has started 64 posts and replied 1482 times.
Post: Recommendation for reliable and cost efficient plumbing companies
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Amber Imam:
Hi everyone,
I'm an out of state investor, investing in the greater Pittsburgh, PA area. I own 13 doors and most of my properties are on the older side...about 100 years old. One of my properties recently suffered a sewage backflow and I was told by my property manager that the house trap needs to be replaced. She quoted me an estimate of $3750 to fix it. Since this is on the more expensive side of things I wanted to get some additional quotes from reputable plumbers in the area.
Has anyone had to replace the house trap in their rental properties in Pittsburgh? I would also appreciate any recommendations of plumbing companies in general that BPers have had good experience with.
Thanks in advance!
~Amber
Post: New investor in the Pittsburgh area.
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Travis Headding:
Hello everyone! First off let me say I am very happy to to be here and excited for the relationships that may form, and to be apart of this community. Being new to BiggerPockets I wanted to introduce myself and share my ideas and goals for my path in becoming a real estate investor. 5 Months ago I bought my first house as a fixer upper with the intent to flip, as I am a contractor and work in construction I do all of the work myself. Originally, as stated I intended to flip the house, but since I have decided to rent the property out after updating and modernizing it (FHA requires I live here for 2 years :(.) In the mean time I am looking at the possibilities of Owner Carry Contracts to get a Duplex in my investment portfolio. After 2 years I plan to house hack and obtain another duplex to renovate as well. My long term goal is to create a real estate portfolio consisting of a variety of 2, 3, and 4 door units, mobile home parks, and single family homes in order to move closer to achieving my goal of financial freedom. I have spent the last 9 months educating myself through podcasts, as well as reading 2 - 3 real estate investment books per week. Any advice will always be greatly appreciated by those whose footsteps have paved the way for rookies like myself! In advance, thank you all for being here for the newbies like myself!
After growing from house hacking to over 150 units I will say that the most knowledge you will gain comes from doing. Keep doing deals, as a contractor work with investors, and participate in the actual doing of real estate. I know that being an agent and working with other people on their deals gave me so much more experience than if I had only bought my own because I was involved in so many projects that way. As a contractor you can do the same. It really is a contact sport.
At the beginning especially focus on one asset class. 1-4 unit buildings are probably the most straightforward. Continue doing that and sticking to it for a while. Eventually your self education will give you what you need to master that area, and then (and only then) look at new asset classes. Don't get shiny object syndrome. At the beginning everything is exciting, but if you focus on everything you focus on nothing.
Obviously continue to read and listen, but be mindful of what people are selling you. Most of the "education" out there is littered with "selling the sizzle, butnot the steak". Then they sell you a whole cow afterwards that you don't have the tools to butcher and turn into steak. But you never really do get that steak. I ramble, but maybe you get that haha.
Eventually the practical information from podcasts, books, etc, starts to repeat itself. Real Estate Investing really isn't that complicated (though RE education companies want it to seem that way so they can sell you more stuff), but it is hard work. Your persistence and ability to deal with BS will serve you better than anything you read in a book or hear on a podcast. It helps to be smart, but it's not a required ability for RE Investing haha. Just learn the basics from that stuff and when it starts to repeat itself move on to learning about small business. In the end that's what real estate investing is, small business. If you grow large enough you're managing people. If you don't do that you won't grow.
Hope that helps. If you want to talk 1 on 1 I'm happy to meet up at some point or have a quick chat on the phone. I'm in South Hills.
Post: Triplex in the suburbs
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Lisa Vu:
Can someone let me know if this is a good deal?
Triplex located in the suburb of Pittsburgh. The neighborhood is pretty good. There’s plenty of restaurants and grocery stores around. Property is priced around $300,000 with the following units:
2 2 bd 1 bathroom $1,250 monthly
1 1bd 1bathroom $800 monthly
I would also be hiring a property management company that would take 10% of profit to take care of the property.
Have you run a deal analysis on it with the calculator?
Perhaps if you attach that we could help analyze.
Post: Looking for your favorite investor-friendly title company in Pitt
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Daniel DiGiacomo:
Hi there! We're buying single-family rentals in Pittsburgh and looking for recommendations for your favorite investor-friendly title company in town. Looking forward to hearing your feedback!
Post: What are some good career choices for real estate investors
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Ryan Cleary:
Our sailing adventure is ending in a few months. We plan on moving to a different (investor friendly) state and continue house hacking. It’s almost as if we are starting life over with the benefit of having a decent portfolio and about 150k cash.
My fiancée and I plan on getting our realtor licenses but starting out I was going to find a W2 for security and ease of underwriting.
Thought it would be fun to ask the community what career paths they recommend for investors
Use your license to rent apartments for other investors. Quick money with not a lot of input until you start selling houses.
Get a contractor license and do minor handyman work. You can even get little jobs like hanging pictures for people and putting together ikea furniture.
Don’t get a W2 unless you just needed it for insurance. Plenty of ways to make money on a flexible schedule that will help your investing.
Or get one just long enough to buy a property to house hack. That’s how you should be starting in a market anyway so that you can save cash faster.
Post: Considering my first property - is my thinking here reasonable?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Aaron W.:
I am likely to be gifted a very small SFH in a small city in a rural area, 2/1, 780 sqft with a large garage/outbuilding. Population is roughly 60,000 in a 10-mile radius with a similar community next to it, 30-minute drive away. The town has been slowly growing as the commercial center of the region for some years and is in construction on a sports-tourism complex and a casino-hotel.
I would finance the needed rehab with the equity, inspectors and contractors have already been through it for a prior offer and given the needed work a thumbs-up. The lot is in a new TIF district which is likely to see some considerable reinvestment in the next 10-20 years and steer the city's (slow, but real) growth through the neighborhood. I also have personal interest in visiting the area more often, so travel to inspect and manage the property suits me.
I anticipate this property will have a stronger resale value at some future time and that extracting cash from the rehab before sale makes sense. (The new kitchen and electrical will be far more up-to-date in 5, 10, or even 20 years than what is there now.) As a small LTR with above-average upgrades and an outbuilding for storage/workshop, I would anticipate a minimum rent of $800/mo. For STRs, occupancy is strong and I could see $120/night, but demand is very erratic during the off-season, I'm less confident in putting numbers on it. (AirDNA suggests revPAR of $66, but the data set is extremely limited.)
So I'm interested in MTR as a possible sweet-spot to minimize turnover and seasonal slowdowns. The property is walkable to a hospital, 2 and 5 miles from two others, and 15 miles from the region's level 2 trauma center. Job listings show steady and diverse demand for travel nurses in the region, and there are some other angles that might generate leads for furnished housing, including several small-medium light manufacturing employers within two miles of the property and a university in the neighboring city.
Aside from the AirBnbs - most of which are larger - the other options in the city itself are 2-star extended stay motels at $100/night that are in poor condition. Most of the (few) listings on FurnishedFinder are for more rural properties and are asking $1,500/mo, where this is one mile from a gym with a pool, a supermarket, and beauty shop, and very close to hiking, golf, and other recreation. It has a fenced-in yard and a quiet street. To my mind, it seems very desirable and convenient for traveling professionals, as well as large enough for remote workers visiting family in the area with a spouse. If needed, I would also be able to pull a vacation rental permit to help fill it as an STR in the summer months to take advantage of the steadier seasonal occupancy and higher rates on that front. Failing all of that, I would convert back to LTR and take a modest hit on the furnishings.
There's more investigation to do, but I thought I would run this by the board as I've learned a lot here over the last few years. Am I overlooking any major and obvious considerations?
Well just having managed rentals for a long time if you aren’t local I’d say long term rental is the least headache. With normal yearly leases. unless you want to hire a company (if there is one in town) to handle the turnover between even medium term tenants.
I think the extra income from a STR or MTR when you don't live in the area just isn't worth the hands on management you will need.
Post: House hacking anywhere in the US - Where would you go?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Leo R.:
Quote from @Chelsea M.:
Quote from @Leo R.:
@Chelsea M. as @Anthony Angotti mentioned, it's worth looking into Pittsburgh.
Always ranked as one of America's "most livable cities", great amenities, charming neighborhoods, interesting topography, diverse economy, good arts, food & & culture, great sports, relatively protected from natural disasters...it has winters, but not nearly as bad as some more northern cities.
Arguably the most underrated city in the U.S., in my opinion!
Good luck out there!
You and & @Anthony Angotti both have me looking into Pittsburg! Cleveland OH was high in our list but the property/income taxes were a little high for our liking, but it looks like Pittsburg has lower tax rates, and possibly less snow? (At least in terms of inches per year). I’ll be doing some more research as y’all have peaked my interest with Pittsburgh. Let me know if you have any other considerations or comparisons to other cities for us to consider!
@Chelsea M. yep--it's a great city. I don't own property there (most of my property is in the Western US), but I grew up in the Pittsburgh area, so I know it pretty well, and I'm considering buying property there....
As for taxes, if I remember correctly, PGH does have an unusual tax related to purchasing property, but I can't remember the details...perhaps a local pro like @Anthony Angotti can fill you in on that...
It does have a stupid way to do property tax based on assessment year and then you pay tax to county, borough, and school district separately.
You can estimate a tax amount here based on the municpality that the property is in (we have over a 100 little boroughs with their own government that people would refer to as "pittsburgh"): https://anytimeestimate.com/pr...
Then if you want a basic estimate take 86% of the purchase price for the new assessment value to base that calculator on. That amount is being challenged in court so with a tax appeal you can get it down lower. But basically every time you buy a new house they will up your assessed value. Then you appeal the taxes and usually get it reduced to at least 86% of the purchase price.
Sometimes less, but you ALWAYS want to appeal.
Post: House hacking anywhere in the US - Where would you go?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Chelsea M.:
Quote from @Leo R.:
@Chelsea M. as @Anthony Angotti mentioned, it's worth looking into Pittsburgh.
Always ranked as one of America's "most livable cities", great amenities, charming neighborhoods, interesting topography, diverse economy, good arts, food & & culture, great sports, relatively protected from natural disasters...it has winters, but not nearly as bad as some more northern cities.
Arguably the most underrated city in the U.S., in my opinion!
Good luck out there!
You and & @Anthony Angotti both have me looking into Pittsburg! Cleveland OH was high in our list but the property/income taxes were a little high for our liking, but it looks like Pittsburg has lower tax rates, and possibly less snow? (At least in terms of inches per year). I’ll be doing some more research as y’all have peaked my interest with Pittsburgh. Let me know if you have any other considerations or comparisons to other cities for us to consider!
The property taxes can actually be a little high because they reassess you when you buy. It’s a longer explanation that this forum but if you Google allegheny county common level ratio property tax you can learn a bit more.
We get snow in Pittsburgh but it’s definitely not that much most years anymore.
Post: House hacking anywhere in the US - Where would you go?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Chelsea M.:
Hello! First time posting, long time lurker.
Within the next 7 months, my partner and I are looking to purchase a duplex or triplex - with a 375k budget (on the high end). We plan on putting 10-20% down. We both work remotely and can go anywhere. We want to consider appreciation rates, income/state taxes, quality of life, and extreme weather. Our goals is to generate cash flow while ideally being in a location that appreciates well.
Areas considered so far:
Cleveland, OH: Great home prices, but the income/state taxes are high, and unsure how we will handle the 4 months of snow every year.
Huston, TX/Tampa, FL: No income states are great, statically better appreciation, but the hot humid weather and hurricanes are holding us back.
Memphis, TN: Another no income state, but high crime/poverty rates, with higher property taxes.
We haven't ruled anything out and are a little overwhelmed with all of the options. We would love some input! Where would you go?
Id consider Pittsburgh. I serial house hacked here for years and it’s one of the most affordable cities in the country if it’s size. I’ve been to all those cities and would rather invest and live in Pittsburgh than all of them. That being said I live and invest here so I’m a bit biased haha!
If you have any specific questions on the city that would help you consider I’m happy to answer any of them.
Post: Window units in apartment buildings
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Quote from @Ryan Dyess:
I am wondering what everyone's experience is with window units in apartment buildings? This 24 unit has window units built into the siding, not secured in the window so they have it as a more permanent solution. What is your experience with longevity, problems, ability to cool effectively (Midwest), etc etc?
It looks awful and when it gets cold they get drafty. When I buy a building like this I always talk them out and close the holes in. With siding that might be tough to match usually I’ve only experienced this on brick. It’s also a pain to try to find someone to replace them when they break.
The majority of the time we are renovating buildings with landlord paid heat that have this and these ACs also, we are separating it to minisplits on the tenants electric which do heating and cooling. That’s a bigger project though so if you don’t want to do that you could roll with these for a time.