NYC Multi Family home owners. Is being a landlord worth it? (Putnam: rent, credit check)

[NJ Brazen_3133]

It is a hell of a lot better than being the restauranteur, bodega owner, who pays rent to landlord. And probably a lot better than being a person that has to depend on welfare just to not be homeless.

[shadypinesma]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

i wish my tenants did not pay the rent . i could evict them .. they are stabilized and have become like family members .. in fact we made them a great deal on the apartments if they want to buy the last two at .50 cents on the dollar , we will finance for 10 years and no money down ..

we hope they default if they take the offer ...

Honestly, can you make me the offer? I'll buy. lol

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by shadypinesma

Honestly, can you make me the offer? I'll buy. lol

i can offer you the same 50 cents on the dollar ..but it is unlikely you will do it and i will tell you why .

the reason these 2 apartments are left is they came in a package of 9 plus a 10% stake in the commercial lease rights ... we paid very little for them 15 years ago . selling just one apartment paid for the entire package the way it worked .

7 out of 9 took lease buyout offers over the years for 100k except the 2 left .

one apartment is at a slight profit and one at a slight loss so together they are a wash .

the one at a loss has an older couple and a 26 year old son with succession rights .

we have the offer on the table for investor groups but they want only the one without the 26 year old . we won't sell that one alone as it supports the other .

so the deal on the table for investors is they need 1 million in cash for both apartments which is 50 cents on the dollar , because no banks will finance and you would have to wait for these apartments to end up being empty to sell .

to us we don't care because we made our money . if we gave these away free it would still be an amazing deal we got . so we don't mind sitting on such valuable apartments . our kids or grand kids will eventually benefit . but for someone coming in at this point not a deal most want to wait for .

it is a very prestigious building , it is in the 200 central park south building which is world famous .

so for us we basically scratched them off even our net worth sheet at this point . until they can be sold we don't even count them as assets for anything , they just exist .

but i can tell you this . if i ever got another deal like this total package was , i would take it in a heart beat it was so profitable . not only did we get the 9 apartments but we got a 10% stake in the commercial lease rights in the building .

they spun off a fabulous income . but our senior partner in the lease rights portion bernie spitzer , decided to sell them to an investor group right before he died .

it was one of the largest lease rights sales in nyc real estate history . the 20 year lease rights sold for more than 18 million dollars . bernie got them when they had 50 years left as he owned the building when it was a rental prior to conversion .

so this is an example of the money that can be made in unorthodox real estate situations in nyc . unlike the traditional buy a rental and collect rent and hope you see appreciation , these deals are a bit riskier time wise but come front end loaded with your profits . any additional appreciation while waiting is a bonus .

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by BBMW

Can you still find units to buy? Coop conversions are a relic of the past. I'm sure there are still a fair amount of stabilized apartments in coops, but are they still trading?

they are always for sale through brokers in manhattan but you need all cash for most if not all of them as banks will not touch them . it is a waiting game and you can wait a long time for your pay off .

[Cida]

I can't answer your question directly, but I can tell you this: In all the awful stories I've heard, I generally have the impression that the LL was lazy about vetting the tenants. I think people are slapdash, probably just looking at credit reports.

I think there would be far fewer problems if people required a hefty security department, and spent at least an hour interviewing prospective renters.

[livingsinglenyc]

Originally Posted by shadypinesma

Honestly, can you make me the offer? I'll buy. lol

They are in the building I dreamed of living since I was a little girl. When I win the lottery I'm buying there. I'd say every few months I research what's currently available and the prices. I couldn't believe when Math said what building it was a few years ago on another thread. I was like hey that's my future building

[mathjak107]

that is funny ....... it is a beautiful building ... i think our tenants are crazy not to take advantage of the deal if they can afford it , but they still may not be able to afford it at 1/2 price . they are in those apartments since the building was a rental before the co-op conversion more than 30 years ago .

[BlakeJones]

Originally Posted by ThatCareerGuy

I've read a myriad of stories about tenants who won't move out when the owners sell their properties, tenants who just stop paying rent and evictions that drag out for months.

For those of you who purchased a Multi-Family home here in the city or maybe Westchester and Dutchess (I know they are different beasts), would you do it all over again? Are you happy with your purchase?

Depends on your personality and work ethic. Being a landlord isn't a social arrangement, it's a BUSINESS arrangement. You have to treat is as a business and take care of all the details. That includes properly vetting tenants, documenting everything including notices to the tenants, and not giving any more leeway than a very small courtesy on things. Keep things cordial but always completely FIRM on house rules and especially rent payments. You should start eviction proceedings if rent isn't paid within 20 days of due date just to get the ball rolling

[ThatCareerGuy]

Originally Posted by BlakeJones

Depends on your personality and work ethic. Being a landlord isn't a social arrangement, it's a BUSINESS arrangement. You have to treat is as a business and take care of all the details. That includes properly vetting tenants, documenting everything including notices to the tenants, and not giving any more leeway than a very small courtesy on things. Keep things cordial but always completely FIRM on house rules and especially rent payments. You should start eviction proceedings if rent isn't paid within 20 days of due date just to get the ball rolling

Naive question - Properly vetting. Where is the line between "Vetting" and discrimination? i.e. If someone's personality was more say, street than professional? Strictly credit based?

[BlakeJones]

Originally Posted by ThatCareerGuy

Naive question - Properly vetting. Where is the line between "Vetting" and discrimination? i.e. If someone's personality was more say, street than professional? Strictly credit based?

Doesn't matter what their personality is as long as they're responsible and have the means to pay their rent. The better the means the better chance you will not have problems. That includes a full credit check and references, and criminal background check