All Forum Posts by: Tom Chen

HA! I live in Valley Stream also!

Hey Dustin Cook , I'm actually downstate in Long Island and invest up there in Syracuse. Finally closed on a duplex. As far as a regular BP REI meetings I don't think there is one, however I do know there is an REIA group that meets every 2nd Wednesday at a Denny's. http://www.ocreic.org/default.aspx It's a hike for me to make it up there every month so I'm normally not there.

@Account Closed, I understand the fear, and if banks were as loose as they were nearly a decade ago, there would be cause for concern. Banks aren't loaning money to people who can't prove incomes or don't have a good DTI ratio so the prices of the homes don't really matter.

The people buying these homes are people whose incomes can cover the monthly nut. 

Personally, I don't see it. The 2008-2009 housing bubble was caused by too loose lending practices. I don't see that today...

Will Chamberlin Thank you so much for your generous offer. I did wind up crowdsourcing from friends and family. Now I just need to get a couple of more quotes. Does your roofer offer a guarantee on their work? Larry Brown I won't use this particular home inspector again... Unfortunately, the tree branches must have been sitting on the roof for quite a while because the wood underneath is rotted out entirely. The roof needs to be replaced anyway, so I managed to scrounge up the funds to do it. Hopefully, this will eliminate any more major cap/ex and repairs for the foreseeable future. Edward Kuroiwa Used that for the initial purchase. I expected about $3 - $4k worth of immediate repairs and replacements but this was out of left field for me. Luckily, I managed to scrounge up the resources.

FINALLY closed on the duplex up in Syracuse. $45k 1st floor rented to a family for way below market rate at $600, should be around $750 - $800 2nd floor needs some minor work and should rent for $750 - $800 So apparently, major work needs to be done. New roof - $9,000 Kitchen floors and cabinets - $6,000 Does this sound about right for the Syracuse market in terms of costs? Lastly, and here's the pickle I'm in...I don't have $15,000 laying around for repairs (had enough for 6 months reserves but not repairs since home inspector didn't point out anything major). Does it make sense to take out a short term personal loan for these repairs? Any suggestions?

So here's a question...been researching this a lot but I was wondering if anyone has been able to create a large enough business LOC to help them with purchasing properties? Is there really a reason to do this for B&H investors?

Hi Fadi Mouallem , I finally closed on a duplex in Syracuse. The cash flow should be great. I would suggest making a trip to Syracuse to know some of the better neighborhoods vs some of the disaster areas like the south side. Even the north side (which isn't really that far north, lol) has some good spots and some bad spots. A weekend or two of driving around should help you familiarize yourself with the area.

FINALLY closed on the duplex up in Syracuse. Word of advice...even though HSBC doesn't have the Fannie / Freddie limits on residential loans, their process is SOOOOOO long I almost lost the deal. Anyway, to the deal! $45k 1st floor rented to a family for way below market rate at $600, should be around $750 - $800 2nd floor needs some minor work and should rent for $750 - $800 Unfortunately have to buy new appliances for both floor. 1st floor tenant hasn't had a working refrigerator or stove since last November because the sellers knew they wanted to sell. The roach problem on the first floor is pretty bad so that has to be fixed. All in, I probably will need to spend about $1600 on new appliances for both floors, some work in the kitchen and the exterminator should cost me around $4,000 The place will probably never appreciate to more than $65k...but I'm a buy and hold for the cash flow which this place should. PM says it's not bad, not the greatest because of current tenant rent and the small amount of work needed upstairs. But he's seen a lot worse. I'm pretty stoked.

For me, it's to never have to be solely dependent on a single source of income ever again...a J-O-B.