I think you can have any other monitoring company monitor your alarm typically for around 50% off ADT prices. ADT is overpriced and unfriendly and I chose not to use them.

Posted by: paspar2 at July 7, 2009 9:22 AM in response to ADT Security "Changeover" fee???

contact info: paspar22 _AT_ gmail.com

Posted by: paspar2 at March 24, 2009 9:52 AM in response to free antique porch columns (2)

I bought a gate that lets you add extensions and made the gate long enough to fit from wall to wall across the hallway in front of the stairs. I mounted the gate hardware to the wall which can be easily patched rather then into post...

Posted by: paspar2 at February 24, 2009 1:26 PM in response to Baby Gates and Brownstone Stairs

Giovanna - you keep post about Rocco's... I actually called him once and he told me he will be there "in a day or 2" called him 2 days later.. got the same answer... waited over a week and called someone else... just FYI.

Posted by: paspar2 at February 13, 2009 8:39 AM in response to Roof repair

Bessie,

whom have you gotten quotes from for weatherproof the drafty front doors? I need to get this done as well and have no idea who handles stuff like that.

thanks

Posted by: paspar2 at February 3, 2009 12:41 PM in response to $600 Gas Bill Normal?

oops 4x 4x10 + 1 4x8

Posted by: paspar2 at January 14, 2009 2:35 PM in response to sheetrock estimate

this cant be right... the space requires 3 sheets of 4x10 rock... 1200 sounds like a lot

Posted by: paspar2 at January 14, 2009 2:34 PM in response to sheetrock estimate

when you invest in a building... its is about the dollar. nothing else.

Posted by: paspar2 at January 8, 2009 2:09 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

HomeSweetstuy, whats Benjamin Levin contact info? thanks

Posted by: paspar2 at January 6, 2009 10:42 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

Im approaching this as a pure long term investment. I will not live in the property - which is an important distinction....

Im trying to read up on this and figure out how to value a property right. There are a lot of conflicting guidelines online so I figured its best to talk to actual landlords.

Those of you who went though the exercise (especially in the last 5or so years): what were your valuation guidelines (multiple of RR, certain CAP etc)? did you expect to have a monthly return early on or were you willing to be flat monthly with the expectation of the property appreciating and growth of your equity?

here is an example property I looked at:

pros: it was in an area Im very familiar with. rents were under market slightly. the building was recently renovated with new kitchens/baths/furnace/roof. Tenants were there a while..

cons NOI was 1% above the debt service (25% down and 6% 30yr fixed) with a decent maintenance cushion. price is 12.5 times RR. The cash return on this one was basically nil and the return would be increased equity and appreciation.

feel free to email me at paspar22 at gmail

also, Im looking for online forums where discussions such as this are welcome but have yet to find any. Suggestions?

thanks

Posted by: paspar2 at January 6, 2009 10:41 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

Landlord, would you mind if i emailed you directly?

Posted by: paspar2 at January 5, 2009 3:25 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

if you have any 8' + fir 4x4 or larger - I'd love to pick them up.

Posted by: paspar2 at January 5, 2009 10:43 AM in response to Free Firewood

OP here (registered now),

has anyone replaced an entire sloped roof on a frame house here? could you post footprint and rough price? I got 2 outlandish quotes: (they seem outlandish to me but who knows) house is 27x40 2.5 floors and quotes are 30k+ to rip/resheet/apply shingles

thanks

Posted by: paspar2 at December 4, 2008 9:59 AM in response to can you rec a roofer?

I have heard the following:

Financing
Over 4 units - commercial. This from more than one lender, and I take it as a standard. The impact in financing is that you have to have more down - on the order of 20 to 25%. This was in more favorable lending environment - last year. (Grimace).

Maintenance / Technical
I have spoken to many an owner. In a 100 year old brownstones - things break. Constantly. So be prepared for repairs (time, money, etc.) Another thing about this... brokers and sellers I've found grossly understate the maintenance issue and the fact that you will always be working on the place. Always.

Economics
This - in my opinion - is perhaps the toughest to get right. I think that the "boom" of the last few years (decades perhaps) seems to have made it look easy. But I get the feeling that prices are kinda high now (read probably over-valued). That said, the good stuff is the good stuff. Prices of those properties seem to me to be resistant to decline (stands to reason I think). But every seller thinks that they have the good stuff. Every seller wants to use the most aggressive comp on the block to price their property. This to me contributes to a generally over-valued market condition.

I've looked at the economics of renovating old properties. Generally, this seemed tough - having to put hundreds of thousands into a property after spending $900k to $1.4M in decent - non-prime neighborhoods. I wouldn't say it was undoable (to do with favorable economic outcome). In fact, cutting and condo-ing seemed at times to show some "room". But still - I echo the statement a previous writer made about risk. I feel it's quite high - in particular to renovate in a manner that's cost effective... But perhaps market flux will improve this situation. Then again, that also affects your opportunity to sell or rent at the number you want in the short term...

Posted by: keithan at January 5, 2009 9:57 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

By the way, last post wasn't meant to discourage. I think that the moral of story is: do your homework. I've found it quite tough to find deals that I thought proved to be economically sensible. Also, the market's in flux - I'd be eyeing historic prices quite closely in this environment... I mean pre- massive years long run-up...

Posted by: keithan at January 5, 2009 10:02 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

We bought a 3-family brownstone (owner's duplex + 2 one-brs) about 5 yrs ago and it has been great. We're first time homeowners and were really hesitant about the responsibilities-- in terms of maintenance, economics, plus who-knows-what that goes with having tenants as neighbors. But it's been fantastic for us.

We have had some rocky patches, especially at the beginning, when we had a couple of big maintenance problems and a tenant who didn't leave when he said he was going to. Those were really stressful times, but since then, we have little to complain about. Owning the rental apartments has enabled us to live in a much nicer apartment than we could afford otherwise, and our tenants have been great neighbors & even friends.

For what it's worth, I think that the competitiveness of NYC's rental market for the past few years has helped us a lot. Whenever we have an apartment available, we advertise on craigslist & get dozens of applications for it, and many of those people have good credit and all of that, so we just pick the people with whom we have the most comfortable rapport. I worried at first that that was unfair because it's so subjective, but now I think it's smart-- because, after all, you have to trust your tenants and they have to trust you, too.

Posted by: Isty at January 6, 2009 5:50 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

paspar2 - whats your email address?

Posted by: landlord at January 6, 2009 9:30 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

We have a 5 family and I must tell you it was an absolute bitchto get financing as Lenders evaluate solely on rental income (even if you plan on making it your residence). In addition, there is a significant and painful difference between commercial and residetial loan rates and tax rates. We used Benjamin Levin as our motgage broker and he really helped us navigate.

Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at January 6, 2009 9:37 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

Im approaching this as a pure long term investment. I will not live in the property - which is an important distinction....

Im trying to read up on this and figure out how to value a property right. There are a lot of conflicting guidelines online so I figured its best to talk to actual landlords.

Those of you who went though the exercise (especially in the last 5or so years): what were your valuation guidelines (multiple of RR, certain CAP etc)? did you expect to have a monthly return early on or were you willing to be flat monthly with the expectation of the property appreciating and growth of your equity?

here is an example property I looked at:

pros: it was in an area Im very familiar with. rents were under market slightly. the building was recently renovated with new kitchens/baths/furnace/roof. Tenants were there a while..

cons NOI was 1% above the debt service (25% down and 6% 30yr fixed) with a decent maintenance cushion. price is 12.5 times RR. The cash return on this one was basically nil and the return would be increased equity and appreciation.

feel free to email me at paspar22 at gmail

also, Im looking for online forums where discussions such as this are welcome but have yet to find any. Suggestions?

thanks

Posted by: paspar2 at January 6, 2009 10:41 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

HomeSweetstuy, whats Benjamin Levin contact info? thanks

Posted by: paspar2 at January 6, 2009 10:42 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

I lived for over 20 years in a 16 unit pre-war in Bklyn Hgts. My ex and I were asked to be the on-site superintendents and I did that until i moved. It may pay for you to see if one of the tenants is able to do that. Otherwise you'll be spending a huge amount of time at your investment property. because i lived there, I got calls all hours of the night, but the majority of tenants were good eggs and you can defuse a lot of anger by having a presence there. (Of course we did have a resident nutjob- who was also a lawyer. she made up for all the rest.)

Posted by: bxgrl at January 6, 2009 12:18 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

Well, I don't know if this will help...But remember the equity in the homes right now are not good. The next thing is that 26yrs ago the home I live in now a 2 family when making the payemnts we had to put at least $200 towards the morgage etc.. Morgage was $600... Well u know the house value has more than quadrupled. Now with the 4 family rental the profit is at a plus.Personally I think u need to make a propfit before u purchase a rental. Remember maintenance gas light unforseeable problems etc. Your rentals should be able to cover the unit and try not to take out from yr pocket. We also underestimated the rent that we thought we could get when we first purchased the 4 family. If the apartments are upscale and in the right location near subway close to manhattan you should get a good price for the rental... I don't know if this helps but good luck...

Posted by: PC at January 6, 2009 6:39 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

If you are going into the market now for money forget it. If you are going to buy it and live in it and manage it then you will do fine. Alot of people had too much money bought and then did not want to deal with the day to day problems so they hired managers to do it for them. Now that the water is drying up in the pond they are cutting back on maintance and other need work. Remember being a hom owner requires love and hard work and it is not all about the almighty dollar and being able to tell people I own a building but can't even change a 50 cent light bulb

Posted by: hannible at January 7, 2009 9:12 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props