About Bronx County, NY

Bronx homes and Bronx condos for sale by Justin Cruz at Remax Voyage. All areas are different and some areas different renovations and basic maintenance attract higher returns, but I work in the Bronx and this is what gives you the most bang for your buck over here.

First of all if you cant do the work yourself then you will need a good contractor in the Bronx to work on your home. Sure you can look in the yellow pages, but better than that call me! I have contractors who I work with for many years that offer the best quality work at very reasonable prices and these are people who are local and have either done work for me or someone I know.

Second is the renovation for your own personal taste or leisure because that can also change your bang for buck. Not everybody may like your renovation and therefore not see it as an improvement. Some things are also just basic maintenance and normal upkeep of a home, a new roof and new boiler. You should have a roof that doesnt leak and a boiler that works. People expect this already, but if you dont have this in working order then your offers will be less.

You should always start on the outside (curb appeal), a quick powerwash, brick pointing, mow the grass, fix that broken mailbox, move those ugly garbage cans, oil that squeaky front door. here is where you see the biggest return, FRESH PAINT. Ahhh there is nothing like walking into a freshly painted home with nice warm colors.

A nice updated kitchen is a great idea, but you dont have to go crazy with the high end appliances or granite. Buyers love a new spiced up kitchen with plenty of storage so try to get the most out of the space you have and use tasteful color and material combinations.

Energy saving ideas rank high on the list, tankless water heaters are nice and heated ceiling fans can provide supplemental heat to a cold room.

This is the Bronx and if you have a home or condo in the Bronx before you do anything to your home call Justin Cruz at Remax Voyage.

To view all homes and condos for sale in the Bronx visit my site: www.BronxHomesRealtor.com

Many of my friends own apartment buildings in the Bronx. I also owned a building there several years ago. If you're unfamiliar with the area, you're probably saying to yourself "Now why would anyone want to buy a building in the Bronx!"

Well, if you're a real estate investor and live in the NYC area, then buildings in the Bronx technically qualify as real estate. Like anywhere else, the Bronx has a wide variety of real estate including warehouses, office buildings, retail centers, private homes, coops, condos and my favorite, apartment buildings.

This was the building that I once owned. It's a 5 story walk-up building with 19 apartments, 2 stores and as you can see from the photo, 2 billboards. Though a little too small, it was a great building to own. I do regret selling it, but at that time, my circumstances were such that I needed to sell it.

So, what do you think so far? Still think I'm crazy? In all honesty, owning and managing apartment buildings in the Bronx is not easy. I guess you have to be a little nutty to want to do this. Yet from another perspective, it could be very rewarding both personally and financially.

When you own an apartment building, you are housing many families, how could this not be personally rewarding? I don't make it a habit to be best friends with my tenants, but I always maintained good relations with them. For the time that I owned the building, I renovated some of the apartments, installed a new intercom system, installed a new boiler, and replaced the roof. Yes, I spent a lot of money, but I had 19 families that needed to stay warm in the winter. They needed the security of an intercom system. Their lives were more fulfilled with a cleaner more well kept building.

But this is a business, not a charity!

Yes, I spent a lot of money and time upgrading and managing the building, but I had 22 paying tenants. The money I spent came from them (at least from those who did pay their rent). These improvements made them happy to pay their rent, which in turn allowed me to make a profit.

The tenants were happy, the building was upgraded and kept clean and I was making a profit. How else can I view this, other than personally and financially rewarding?

Over the past few years, my circumstances changed, once again allowing me to own and manage apartment buildings in the Bronx. I've been looking for some time now, but so far unsuccessful. It seems that over the past few years, the Bronx was infiltrated by large scale investors and REITS. This caused the apartment building market to falsely inflate. Sort of like the rest of the real estate market across the country.

On the surface, it might seem like a good thing, but the problem with this is that many owners are having a hard time selling their buildings at realistic prices. They either sold some properties or knew someone who sold properties at much higher prices a couple of years ago. They can't seem to accept that those prices were unrealistic. For the buyers who bought at those prices, they either have deep pockets or will inevitably have financial problems. For those with deep pockets, they will be able to survive and make it up in the long run.

What is disturbing to me, is those who don't have deep pockets. Their financial problems will become personal problems for the many families that they are housing in their buildings. There is no need for this. The frenzy that lead them to overpaying, is causing problems for everyone including for those of us who are ready to buy.

Properly managing a building in the Bronx takes a lot of work, but overpaying makes it virtually impossible.

Here are a few suggestions on what to look for:

•Ø Get a clear understanding of the income and expenses.

•Ø Know the condition and location of the building

•Ø Plan to spend more time than you think it will take

•Ø Plan to make less money than you think you will make

Over the past 15+ years, I've owned and managed apartment buildings which allowed me to gain a lot of invaluable experience. In addition, I've created spread sheets which allow me to evaluate an apartment building in just a few minutes. I also learned to forecast property values, income, expenses and long term growth with excellent precision. My intention is to use this for my benefit as well as the benefits of dozens maybe hundreds or thousands of families.

Bronx homes and condos for sale from Justin Cruz at Remax Voyage. We have many homes in The Bronx for sale in areas like: Throggs Neck, Morris Park, Pelham Bay, Country Club, Pelham Parkway, Allerton and many other fine Bronx neighborhoods. The Bronx also has affordable Condos and luxury Condos for sale in many great areas. There are waterfront luxury condos available in Throggs Neck and there are affordable spacious new condos in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx. Remax Voyage is the #1 Residential Real Estate office serving the Bronx. To view homes or condos for sale in the Bronx call Remax Voyage, Justin Cruz 917 304-3710.

This is a really affordable property for sale in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx:

2833 Collis pl. Bronx, NY 10465

2 family home features a 1 bedroom over a 1 bedroom plus finished basement, yard and parking.

Asking only $360,000. Call me: Justin Cruz 917304-3710

Remax Voyage

This is the latest issue of my ad in the Real Estate book for the Bronx

Extra large 3BR Condo, very good condition, fully renovated and Great location, you have many choices for shopping and dinning out, such as Macy’s, Dress Barn, Pizza Uno, Starbucks and much more. Parkchester offers Express bus Service and is an express stop on the # 6 line train, it’s a commuter dream; this amazing three bedroom will not last forever. To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/new-york-buy-condo-townhome-co-op-home-11647818.html

In 1994, I bought my first building in the Bronx, a 21 unit 5 story walk-up. I really didn't know what to expect, I had never owned a building before. I remember one night speaking with my wife just before we bought the building. She had said to me "you can teach me how to manage the building, and I'll manage it." I turned and said to her "that's a really good idea, but who's going to teach me?"

As it turned out, I tought myself. Continued to manage the building for several years. The building was mismanaged and needed a lot of attention besides the normal management of a properly managed building. In addition, dealing with city agencies, rent stabilization laws and tenant non-payment/collections seemed to be an ongoing problem.

It literally seemed that the entire process was geared towards making building ownership fail.

Though it was very difficult, it was also very rewarding both personally and financially. After several years, I was able to clean up the building and do many renovations and improvements. I then wound up selling the building for a nice profit.

Using the IRS 1031 exchange, I bought 2 smaller, 7 family buildings in Westchester County. I quickly realized how much easier it was to manage these buildings over the Bronx building and vowed that I would never buy another building in the Bronx. Over the years though, it wasn't that I would never buy another building in the Bronx, but that it seemed prohibitive to own less than a certain amount of apartments. If I were able to buy a building or buildings with 200 apartments, it would be more than worth owning them. This seems to be a minimal number to offset all the negatives and turn building ownership and management into a positive experience for me as well as the tenants.

Do you own an apartment building in the Bronx and are looking to sell it? I am looking to buy 200 apartments in the Bronx. Ideally it would be 2 - 100 unit buildings or 3 - 70 unit buildings. I am willing to pay as much as 8% CAP Rate for a good building.

Give me a call or email me.

Peter Nikic 914-804-0037