Hi Guys,
Have things changed in Buffalo USA.
As far as the numbers go It still looks like a great investment.
Any positive experiences?
Regards
FrankMate I started studing this market 18 months ago Im yet to hear a good story , my opion stay away
We buy properties cash fast settlements no fees no fuss. contact me on 0408 355568
[email protected]We have a few properties in Buffalo and so far it has been a fair return. Not as good as expected or as hoped, but nevertheless worth it.
We have had appraisals done recently after about 1 year and the prices have gone up probably 10% on average with the best being 23%! A couple of others actually went down a bit so it depends on tha area the houses are in.
Problems – A lot of vacancies as the tentants seem to move on regularly. One got trashed after 3 months.
Property management – It is tough to get a good one.
Financing – Still a tough nut to crack and the rates tend to be high.
Definitely not a horror story, but yes, caution required.
Cheers
JJ&Jo
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the feed back.
Is it worth still looking at?
What about other areas of New York, any suggestions?Regards
FrankHi Frank,
I’ve been investing in Buffalo for just over a year now and currently have 5 properties there.Buffalo is certainly not for the faint hearted it is not a buy and forget area.I”m currently on the phone and email to the property managers there at least 2 a week following up problems.I’ve evicted I think at last count 3 tenants,one other came very,very,very close.Fees associated with eviction is $300 legals, lost rent=approx2-3 months rent,finding a new tenant 1 months rent,clean up and repair costs?.At present I’m probably just breaking even in regards to money but the hassles my wife and I have gone through has made me not recommend Buffalo to others.As for capital growth there has been some small gains (according to valuations done by a RE agent)but a property is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.
Goog luck on what you decide to do.
MartinThere are 3 types of people:1. People who make things happen.
2. People who watch what happens.
3. People who wondered what happened.Hey guys,
Has Buffalo changed lately?I would say no.
In my experience their my opinions have changed to the more negative side being so far away ,
I believe if i was living in the area there are deals to be done in Buffalo.
Positives :Some streets increase in value as they get rehabbed
Rehabs cheap if chosen well and can get on the ground to repair them
Cheap rental propertys
low cash outlay
High cashflow
no stamp duty
Negatives:
The time difference
Unreliable Tenants,property managers,Realtors,Mortgage brokers,
contractors.Dishonest PMs,
Slack PMs
poor communicationHad money stolen by mortgage broker
High mortgage costs make them not worth while
Very hard to get there to manage problems yrself if needed(OS)
Slack insurance agent (when calling them to let them know i had suffered damage to my property (weeks after contacting them specifically to notify them that my property was vacant) that my property policy doesnt cover the house if untenanted)
break ins and shootings common
6 different Realtors wouldnt get back to me regarding valuing/selling my house(after trying many times with each.)
High sale cost for propertys (generally $3500-4000)(on $25 to 40K props is a lot)
Paid for repairs that were not done
Quoted by the most popular Pm company over there 10 times more than a job was worth .I got it done for 10% of the quote by another company
Tenants leave and trash the house then lose 3+months rent (vacancy)and I have to pay to rebuild the house and get rid of heaps of trash
Then have to pay another months rent to pm to try again with new tenantsHigh heating bills ,huge county and city taxes, sewer taxes,(ongoing of course even while you are getting rid of tenants or have no tenants) It adds up.
high maintenance houses as are v old,Eg,roof,heaters,plumbing and electrical
prices propertys get valued/estimated at are often very different to what they can sell for to the local market
some streets can go down in value if crime increases
difficulty knowing who is trustworthy and finding them.Often finding the people who say all the right things are not all they appear after u test them for a period of time.
Luke Taylor | Hope Property Investing
http://hopepropertyinvesting.com
Email MeProperty Support,Strategist and Buyers Agent
I have been extremely lucky in finding a reliable contact and now a good friend in Buffalo to do rehabs with. He lives there and does it for a living. Locals who know what they are doing are making a good living out of it. My friend pretty much only does it for himself, that being buy, rehab and sell. The odd one in the good areas he does keep and rent them out. So yeah the only deals I am doing in Buffalo are with him and we are simply rehabbing and selling. If it wasn’t for that relationship- (which is really now a good friendship) I wouldn’t be doing it.
That is why although I am active there I haven’t advertised it as part of my business any longer because I don’t think it works living overseas. If you are prepared to relocate there for some time, I think you would do very well.
One of the best people to learn from are the locals. Like my friend and many other locals in this game..”THEY MANAGE THERE OWN PROPERTIES”. WHY? Because there isn’t anyone reliable enough to do it. And those that do are making money out of you by overcharging..thats a fact.
We got a quote (my friend who is a local) on one of our homes to rehab, one of the more well known companies who I wont mention gave us a quote which was $10k dearer than the people we actually got to do the work.
My only property that I currently have as a hold property is currently on the market. I must say though that our tenants have been there all this time and have never missed a payment so I have been extremely fortunate and lucky there. I am still selling it though mainly because I can do better in Texas right now.
So if you are looking at Buffalo as a buy and hold strategy I would honestly say stay away. Its a market where I believe you have to be on the ground and really know what you are doing. Again I count myself to be extremely lucky to have found the people I am working with and my friend and business partner in Buffalo has been wonderful to me. Basically I am investing/doing things as a local which is the only reason things have worked out there for me.
Our properties are being sold mainly to locals and they are just about all of the time owner occupiers.
So for those with properties there good luck with them as it is definately a challenge. The phone bill cant be to good either.
By the way..off the topic a little but if your relationships/people you are dealing with over there is a good one, why not ask them to download skype at http://www.skype.com and arrange times to chat with them on that for free. I do it with my U.S contacts and it saves me some dollars for it costs me nothing to talk to them.Regards
Chad
Providing Turnkey Real Estate Investments In The USA.
We also provide Owner Finance in a new emerging market.E-mail:[email protected]
web: http://www.gr8realestateinvestments.comNo marketing please …
I’ve had no problems with the two I own in Buffalo.
One went up by $7K in value and the other went down by $3K in value from the Bank’s valuer.
I’ve been the owner for over one year and the figures are stacking up as advertised.
I think it’s all about Property Management and building good relationships.
Allow 10% vacancy and 10% repairs and 10% PM fees and I think you’re pretty close to the mark.
Never invest in Western New York if you don’t have an excellent property manager, otherwise you’ll definitely regret it.
It’s a really nice city actually, don’t ever think that the Crips, Bloods or MC13 are on every street corner.
Remember that people the world over all want the same basics in life.
Best of Luck,
Wiley[cigar]
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