An activist wants to make sure local residents are better prepared to compete against seasoned real estate investors at Buffalo's upcoming property auction. As WBFO's Mark Scott reports, a workshop will be held Tuesday night with tips on how to make a bid.
Ahmad Nieves is a novice real estate investor who has been holding these workshops the past couple of years. He wants local residents interested in making a bid for property at the auction to be better prepared. Nieves says that starts with visiting various sites they're interested in...
"I advise people to do a walkby of neighborhoods. And if they have a property in mind - walk by the property - look at things like roof conditions, siding, window conditions, foundations, things like that."
Nieves also cautions potential investors to consider the unknown costs inside the home, such as missing plumbing and mold. He says another issue is that local residents trying to invest in their neighborhoods are often competing at auction against out-of-towners...
"We're seeing people come in with deep pockets. They're coming from New York City, they're coming from other countries, they're coming from Canada. And they're coming in and they're buying up all these properties."
And that, says Nieves, has caused some local residents to be priced out. As a result, Nieves is distributing a petition that asks city government to give local residents first shot at buying properties. His auction workshopis Tuesday at the Isais Gonzalez-Soto branch library on Porter Avenue, starting at 6pm.