All Forum Posts by: Alan Asriants

Hey Ed,
I'd be happy to connect you with my team of lenders, insurance agents, etc. Feel free to reach out anytime

I havent had any complaints with the water heaters, but I would recommend upgrading all of your panels and putting in new breakers for the extra loads of AC and Water heater - consult with an electrician. 

Once I had the contractors there, the demo job didnt cost me much more. Maybe an additional $500. As I once heard: breaking isn't building. Feel free to reach out with any questions. 

Absolutely, numbers and figures are important when analyzing real estate, but actually seeing the property is crucial. It's why people always say that the most important thing in real estate is location, location, location. A lender might be able to tell you what the property is worth based on their formulas and algorithms, but if they haven't seen the property in person, I wouldn't always take their word for it.

That's where a good agent comes in. A good agent can spot these things and figure out the property's best use. In on of my cases, my client had a property that had been appraised and valued by a lender for a refinance, and I had done a CMA to justify the price based on various factors such as sq ft, condition, location, etc. However, despite the numbers adding up, the property wasn't selling.

After some time on the market with no real feedback from agents, I decided to take a closer look and realized that the issue was the property's location, but not just because it was on a busier street. By walking the block and talking to the neighbors, I discovered that the building across the street was a drug rehab clinic and that one lady had purchased all the homes next door, on both sides of my client's property, and converted them into triplexes or even illegal quadplexes, renting them out to section 8 tenants.

After discovering the issues with the property's location, we knew we had to adjust the listing price. We started the listing at $520k, which was lower than the lender's and appraiser's estimate, but still within the range of the CMA. However, even with the adjusted price, we couldn't generate any offers. We continued to lower the price, eventually dropping it down to $420k, which was significantly lower than the initial estimate.

This was a tough pill to swallow for both my client and myself, as we knew that the property was worth more than what it was currently being listed for. However, we had to be realistic about the situation and understand that the market demand wasn't there due to the location and neighboring properties.

This information was crucial in understanding why a large family would not want to move into this home. It was hard for a potential buyer to justify paying over half a million dollars to live next to section 8 rentals and across a rehab facility. The interesting part was when I first saw the property records, I saw that it was zoned for a duplex by right. Had the owner realized this when they first purchased the property and turned it into a duplex or triplex instead of completely renovating it into a large single-family home, they would have been able to get that $535k, maybe even more.

An investor agent could have figure out the property's best use and recommended to the client to rehab the property into a Duplex. This would have save my client a lot of trouble had he known this information.

To be honest it really depends where in Philly. The outskirts/suburb market is going crazy. I have lost out on 5 offers with an all cash no inspection buyers. The supply is so low in those areas. Also the rental market I think has been tamed a bit and landlords are no longer getting top dollar for not so top dollar renovations. Closer to the city I havent seen as much appreciation and rental market has higher supply. I'm weary on flips and would only go for something with enough room, not confident in the market short term (3-6 months)

Hey james, welcome to the BP community. I agree with what many have already said here. House hacking is a great way to get started. The market you live in, is usually the one you know best. House hacking will give you plenty of experience in: dealing with tenants, solving maintenance issues, day to day management, rehabbing, etc all in your backyard. 

I know northern jersey is a tough market to get started with since multi fam price points are so high. Using 3.5% down to get a MF IMO is a a great way to start. I think if you go further south into jersey you can find those multi fam deals. But if you're househacking, you have to enjoy where you are living.

Another point on house hack and quality of living is if you're buying a SF home and planning on renting out the rooms, consider that you are not getting tenants, but roommates. that means sharing the fridge, the thermostat, daily routines, etc. If youre comfortable with that, it can be lucrative, but personally I would try to find a 3.5% FHA multi fam house hack to start.

My belief is to do it right the first time, especially if it is vacant now. It will cost you less to complete a larger renovation now than doing it later unit by unit. Optimizing space for the water heaters is a good idea. Also updating your electrical and plumbing is strongly recommended.
I removed my chimney and it created a lot more space in the home for additional closets and hallway space. I ended up putting high efficiency units and electric water heaters eliminating the use of venting an gas appliances through a chimney. Good idea.

for the tile, I would just lay LVP over existing subfloor with a pad. Make sure your surface is level, otherwise youll start to see it cracking in the future. A thin 4x8 wood sheet and pad should help level the floor. 

if youre already putting in duct work you might as well run Central air to the unit. will increase your value and tenants prefer central air over window units. 

demo --> frame --> plumbing --> ductwork --> electrical --> sheetrock

@Ryan Thomson

877-CASH-NOW!

For me this would be slight dilemma. On the one hand I don't like the idea of waiting too long and on the other hand I don't like condos lol. I understand that your market might be very tough to find a SFH or Multi with that down payment. I know plenty of people who invest in condos and do just fine. Like someone said here: do your due diligence and make sure rental are allowed in the association.

 Now I understand the confusion. I put two thoughts into 1. Yes obviously if you don't own the property you aren't necessarily losing, but you are missing out on income. My main point was that renting to a tenant that is qualified for $50/m less today is more cost effective than waiting 3 months to rent it out for $50/m more. I should have put this point into a different post. 

I created a list of rules and regulation to all my properties. They sign and initial each page. As you get more experience you add or remove certain things to your R&R. But have a visual reminder is not a terrible idea. I think it depends on your tenant base, do they keep breaking simple rules? I wouldn't put one in my properties just yet since they have been following everything. No right or wrong answers here, but I do recommend a R&R.