Posted by camgere on August 21, 2010 at 22:34:39:
Goto Google and type in “Frank Chin” and search.
click on advanced search and in search within a site or domain type (or paste) in
http://www.creonline.com/wwwboard
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Living in New York City What Do I Do? - Posted by brian
Posted by brian on August 21, 2010 at 16:17:22:
Hi, I want to get into real estate investing. I live in
Manhattan, and there aren’t a lot of houses here. Mostly
there are high rise apartment buildings, condos, and other
real estate valued in the millions of dollars. I have
friends who make $150,000 per year as teachers and they
can’t even touch anything in Manhattan with the idea of
buying something, so they rent for more than a mortgage
payment for a nice home would be in other parts of the
country.
I don’t have a car because one isn’t needed where I live.
The possibility of running some kind of campaign say 50
miles away would be challenging. What do you recommend I
do? Do you recommend any courses?
What about the Five Boroughs? - Posted by DJ-nyc
Posted by DJ-nyc on August 28, 2010 at 16:50:32:
I’m in nyc; I invest in Bklyn. Manhattan is over my budget. The members gave you alot of good suggestions, rent a car, go upstate NY where the prices are lower, etc. My suggestion is to join a REIA (Real Estate Investment Association)group. I can give you a couple that i know and you can meet other investors that may help you get started on your way.
Good luck,
DJ-nyc
Re: Living in New York City What Do I Do? - Posted by Henry Melair
Posted by Henry Melair on August 24, 2010 at 09:01:33:
Without a car you also have pretty quick access (of course, depending upon time of day and traffic) by bus and train to areas of New Jersey along the Hudson.
When I was in the area several years ago (Staten Island - a NYC borough) someone told me about a Jersey town called Bayonne that is connected to Staten Island by a bridge. It is served by buses from the Port Authority and some sort of commuter train(s). I was told that it’s pricing was lower because it was further from NYC than Jersey City and Hoboken - but not too far. I took the time to drive through it and it seemed like an OK town with the “normal” mix of neighborhoods - low, mid, high. I haven’t had a chance to follow it since then (I’m in the midwest) but it (and maybe other Jersey towns) probably should be looked at on the chance it’s a sleeper ready to blossom (if there is such a thing in this economy).
Re: Living in New York City What Do I Do? - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on August 24, 2010 at 07:25:31:
Brian:
You asked a very general question, with some specific parameters, you don’t have a car, so I’ll answer it generally, with this in mine. As was mentioned, I started in investing in NYC, not in Manhattan, for many years, though in the last several, realizing a bubble was upon on, managed to take my profits.
First, I don’t know how much you know about real estate. The first thing is education, and for the NYC area, I found the NYU School of Real Estate to be a good start. Here is the link:
I know there are quite a number of courses sold out there, but many of them are orientated towards techniques for buying homes, or techniques for quickly reselling them. The courses offered at NYU gives you a good overall foundation upon which to analyze the various techniques.
Beyond knowledge, you have to develop a game plan. Over the years, I found this has a lot to do with a person’s personality as well as finances. I’ll go into the reasons why.
Many techniques to acquire homes involve seeking out owners, are comfortable and be able to talk to them, and assuming you have a plan, you make your pitch. However, some people without a sales background have a problem doing that. Also, if someone is painfully shy, it is a hard thing to pull off.
I partnered with a Century 21 sales agent, Larry, and we discussed this very issue. He managed to find many rehab homes in his area, knowledgeable about the whole neighborhood in general, and after got to know him well enough after a while, asked him how he did it.
He said one of his boss’ requirements is go through the neighborhood, ringing doorbells, introducing himself, or alternatively, send postcards and then following up. Being a bit shy initially, he found back then, a Century 21 blazer, shirt and tie would open some doors for him. Showing up unannounced with T Shirt and jeans definitely would not do it.
He tells me, it?s not quick bucks. He was at it for about 2 to 3 years, getting his name out there, and it took a while for people to get to call him. He himself tried to specialize in the rehab niche, so the other part of the game plan is to find a monied partner, to acquire the properties.
I had a good finance/IT job then, I was not a ?salesman type go getter type?, so I told him, why don?t you go find the stuff, I?ll put the money in, and we?ll do these rehabs 50/50, and that?s how it got started. I became his money man
So what I?m getting to, is you can go in as the ?dealmaker?, or the ?financier?, getting started. One depends on personality, the other on money.
Now, we all read stories about immigrants coming here, and in a few short years, accumulated enough, and then going into business. For these, scraping, and saving like no American can propels them into their dreams.
This story I told before. I followed a discussion on a Vietnamese immigrant, came here with his wife penniless. He got to know the owner of a local donut store, who offered him and his wife a minimum wage job. As part of the deal, they get to sleep in the back of the store at night, and avoid renting an apartment, and as you?ll note, they don?t need a car to commute to work either. After two years of saving, they managed to put down $90,000 to buy the donut shop, and his boss retired.
Americans are amazed, saying ?how did they manage that so quickly??? Well, I?m from a recent immigrant family myself, and I know of a number of people choosing to sleep in a friend?s basement in exchange for maintaining the property, or sleeping in their cars to get started. Then, these are the same people who drops $100,000 to buy a property two to three years after they arrived in America, to buy real estate.
Now, what you mentioned ?how school teachers making $150,000 can?t manage to live in Manhattan?. Lets put it this way. This is a lifestyle choice, so if they choose to spend their whole income living in a cramped apartment in the East side, then go for it.
Now, let?s go back to my thesis on issues of personality and finances.
Obviously, a Vietnamese immigrant, who recently came off the farm, does not possess the personality or language to ring doorbells, cannot pitch a sale to an American family, to pull off a flip, or a no money down deal. However, these folks have no problems sleeping in the back of stores, a friend?s basement etc., so that?s their ticket.
If the above is not for you, then you can go the route of the dealmaker. Keep in mind though, my partner Larry tells me this is not a quick route to riches either, because it really took him two years to lay the groundwork. Oh, he said it was important that he get to meet Title companies, good real estate lawyers, closers etc. I asked him how he managed to do all that.
He told me that his boss hires dozens of real estate agents, and closing is pay day, where the real estate agent has to show up and pick up the commission check, and surprisingly found many agents consider it to be a pain in the @ss. I thought it was funny when I first heard it, but I guess this is the American culture. What does Larry do about it?? He volunteers to go down for all the ?too busy? agents at his agency, and that?s almost everybody in his office, and picks up the Agency?s commission check at all the closings, to get to meet the Title company, closers, and see Real Estate lawyers in action. That?s where you find these people, and watch how they work, right??
What am I getting to??
My friend Larry chose the route of the dealmaker, I first met him 25 years ago, and more recently makes steady income as a ?closer? for a title company, and allow him the flexibility of going around, and making deals. Now, title company guys, lawyers he know pitches deals to him, so he?s getting somewhere.
I, on the other hand, had a good IT job, so I became the financier. I am not the ringing the doorbell. ?hi, I?m Frank, type?.
But what?s the rub. These strategies all take time to develop, two to three years at least, so it is not a quick road to riches. Knowledge helps. At least Larry slept in his girlfriends apartment while he?s not making any commissions picking up commission checks and ringing doorbells.
Are there other ways to make money in Manhattan??
Sure. Paul Kempner, ( I believe he retired now) who taught one a real estate deal making course at NYU considers Triple Net leasing to be the ?no money down? method for starting out in Manhattan, which is how he got started. However, that?s another long discussion, for another day.
Apparently, Paul made millions on it, as there is a plaque hanging on the wall in the NYU School of Continuing Education listing all the people who contributed at least $1,000,000 to the school, and his name is listed at the top. I pointed this out to a fellow student who scoffed and said ?those who teaches, can?t, and those can, don?t teach?. I told my friend, “you can see Paul made at least $1,000,000 in Triple Net leasing, didn’t he”??
What you DO have - Posted by bilyus
Posted by bilyus on August 23, 2010 at 11:31:23:
Let’s take a look at what you do have.
You can get reliable pub-tran to several million houses fairly quickly, w/o having a car or truck, and in that housing mix has got to be a bunch of housing that could be bought cheap but is decent, crime-free and rentable for decent gross income.
Right?
So how about taking a map and start using your off-days by doing some riding and studying your available market to find some bargains that’d work for you?
Re: Living in New York City What Do I Do? - Posted by Ken
Posted by Ken on August 23, 2010 at 07:44:19:
I am in upstate NY and have sold many houses over the years to people who live in New York city.I am in Schenectady and Amsterdam and they hire a property manager and come up on occasion to check on things.You could rent a car once a month and it would be an easy day trip,about 3 hours each way leaves plenty of time to take care of business and get home by the end of the day
Re: Living in New York City What Do I Do? - Posted by Lee@inLa.com
Posted by Lee@inLa.com on August 21, 2010 at 23:50:04:
“Do you recommend any courses?”
Yes!
Read, or buy and read, Anything and Everything avilable, Realestate related.
Post back here in 2030 and tell us how rich you are, We love to hear sucess stories.
Good luck with it!
Lee in La (the state)