All Forum Posts by: Vince Scipione

Welcome to the forums!

If I was in your shoes, I would find it really hard to give up that entire brokerage account. That is a great nest egg to build upon, and it diversifies your wealth. I would also find it hard to want to sell a property that has an estimated $155k in equity this early on. If you HELOC/Cashout the townhouse, obviously the property will no longer break even/cashflow. What if you keep the property the way it is, use it as an equity builder.. You didn't mention the interest rates but 3 years ago, I am going to assume it was much better than it is now. Keep the property clean, updated and rented to good tenants. Rents will keep raising in most markets so bank on that for additional cash flow in the upcoming years. I would reinvest future cash flow from increasing rents to the principal to pay it down faster. Think 10-15 years for wealth building.

Short Picture: Instead of dumping 300K out of a brokerage account all at once, how about you find another investment you are comfortable with, multifamily specifically, and only withdraw the needed funds for the down payment on it from your brokerage account. Find a lender that works with a lot of investors in your market and have a conversation with him. Explain your goals. It sounds like you want cash flow and to scale, in this time and most markets you need to find a deal where you can add value. Underwrite a multifamily deal, find the ugliest house in the best neighborhood if possible. Use the brokerage account to fund the downpayment and repairs to bring it up to the comps in the area. From there you will hopefully have a multifamily that you have equity and cash flow in. From here analyze how you can then leverage this new equity and cashflow to scale.  

There are people here with WAY more experience than me. But overall, with a young family, I would be cautious about gambling the whole farm (Brokerage account) on RE investments. Take your time! 

It sounds like you are in a really good spot right now and have a lot of options, I hope some of this info helps, or gives you a different perspective perhaps, I wish you all the best! 

Yes, they are a popular choice where I live and work, however with the ever fluctuating cost of oil heat, many people have swapped over their boilers/furnaces to what is called a "Propane Gun" essentially it is a device that is affixed to the front of the furnace/boiler that injects the propane and ignites it. It is a simple and effective way to make your HVAC utilize propane. Propane is seemingly less expensive in most areas and provides good heat. Most propane suppliers will offer a discount if you purchase your own tanks outright, I save around $1.00 per gallon. It isn't a very expensive upgrade. I wouldn't let the idea of purchasing a home that has oil heat deter you. Call some local HVAC/Mechanical companies and ask what the average cost would be for this upgrade! 

Hope this information helps Trace, and if you have any more questions reach out to me! 

I work in Scranton, and have done a lot of business here. Something you need to consider is the unique 3.7% Property Transfer Tax. 

Going to preface this with, I am a Realtor with 12 years in the business, the last 6 working with investors. I am not soliciting my services but wish to offer insight. 

I would start with the bigger pockets agent finder tool. Read their reviews, look at the forum posts and go from there. 

Setup a phone consult, ask about their experience with your situation, jot down your questions, analyze their answers. Ask for examples when they accomplished something like what you desire. You should be able to conclude fairly quickly their competency. Most agents do not understand investments. 

At this point, ask what they charge for their services. An experienced agent 9 times out of 10 wont cut their commission. I wont unless it is family. Especially since you are asking for off market deals which most agents have 0 access to, or have no idea how to get paid from that. Agents cannot always guarentee a commission from a seller on an off market deal, and you may be required to provide compensation to them for this service, asking for a cut off their commission will cost you more in the end then finding an agent who can market and sell your sinking asset then turn around and sell you a lucrative off market deal. You also dont need to use an agent for any of this. But you are paying for their experience, knowledge and network. 

I hope this helped and best of luck in your situation!

Comps, vrbo/airbnb and finally pinterest is your friend. Find the style that people are doing in the area then find equivalent options for materials at local supply houses. It helps to make connections with your local flooring, tile, kitchen design studios depending on how high end you want to make your flip depending if it is in a HCOL neighborhood. You usually cant go wrong with modern / contemporary. Extreme large format tiles, Quartzite/quartz counters. Neutral paints, accent walls. Stay away from grey LVP pick warmer colors if possible, choose hard surfaces for common areas and soft for bedrooms. Hope this helps! 

Kitchens 100%. In my area, there are many 3 bed 1 bath homes. If you are able to add an additional full bath, it sets you apart in the market big time! 

Hi Terry and Welcome to this awesome community. 

The easiest way to find and connect with wholesalers is either bigger pockets or by googling "sell my house fast in (town name)" although that may cost them a click for google ads. Do you ever see signage near the road that says "we buy houses" call that number and have a conversation! They will surely be happy to add you to their buyers list! 

In order to find, agents and lenders. Use the BP agent or lender finder tool! Highly recommend. Hope all this helps!

Hi and Welcome, this is an awesome community with a lot of support. Ask lots of questions and you will receive great insight from professionals! I am not in your area, but wish you the best of luck on this new journey! 

Kaleb, 

Welcome! 

Upstate NY can obviously be a challenge. However. I am but a short drive in the pocono mountains / scranton area. We have a great mix of LTRs Multifamily in the metro area, and a great opportunity for STR in the mountains and lakes of the poconos. We should connect!

I always prefer to use a CPA who works with other investors and Realtors such as myself. I started off with the standard turbo tax for 1099s and it felt limited. However my CPA always seem to find some really good tax write-offs I would miss otherwise, and for my situation. The cost is worth the savings to me and my situation. Good luck!