All Forum Posts by: Allan Szlafrok

@David Goldberg Flippers and Funders meets tonight at McLoone’s Boathouse 9 Cherry Ln West Orange. That’s a good one in Essex county

@Abigail K. Are you sure this isn’t just for a section 8 voucher? I don’t think there are any other kind of restrictions as k to who can live where.

@Robert Fritsche Unpredictable HOA fees are one of the reasons people stay away from condos. Another is because it's hard to evaluate the financial strength of an HOA and therefore hard to predict wether fees will be stable or repairs and maintenance performed. Additionally a lot of HOAs have strict rental caps and a lot of time people wind up buying thinking they can rent it out and then they can't. I've always felt that condos are a good investment after a market crash when there is a huge glut of new construction on the market and developers start giving them away. Beyond that they are hard to get good cash flow on and tend to be a more volatile investment than SFH.

@Tim G. I would take a shot at selling it. Cash flow is king in this business and I’m fairly certain you can find a better opportunity out there.

@Jessica Beard You can transfer to an LLC later if you want to. Ask an attorney (I'm not one and not giving legal advice) if opening an LLC in another state would still trigger that California LLC fee. A lot of people go with Delaware LLCs although most of those people couldn't tell you why they just heard it's a good idea. Personally I'm on team "always buy with an LLC" but ask a CPA if that makes sense for you.

@Jossi S. Get rid of it and then make a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation so you don’t feel guilty : ) You want the areas that close to your foundations neat and sloping away from the foundation. As it happens a tree was the source of water problems we were having in my own home so I can tell you from experience you should get rid of it and maybe plant a sapling somewhere else.

@Kyle Neiswender I had a similar situation happen in NJ a while back where the bank accepted my offer, signed and all, and then it turned out that we couldn't close because there was a deed restriction on the property and it couldn't be transferred for another year . Instead of staying in contract for a year and them holding onto my deposit we cancelled the contract and I wound up buying it a year later. I'm assuming this is an REO property and the seller jumped the gun on listing it before having all the proper paperwork filed. It happens once in a while. If the realtor has any ethics at all he won't be entertaining other offers because at this time you don't have an accepted offer and aren't in contract. It's probably not the realtors fault it's the sellers for trying to sell a house they didn't exactly own yet. Hopefully they resolve it soon and you get the property.

@Roger Verastegui Personally I get my appliances from a company called AJ Madison but they’d because my cousin works there and he takes care of me. Otherwise I like Lowe’s for appliances there’s usually a sale on something there and i occasionally stock up on extra appliances if I have where to store them and know I’ll need them. I’m also a Lowe’s For Pros member and they have deals for that too. I usually go with stainless steel appliances because I think that that and some higher quality countertops make a big difference in attracting renters. The stainless steel package is usually only a couple of hundred dollars more and if the appliances last me even 5 years I confident I’ve made a good return in investment by renting quick.

@Yinna Wang Make sure whoever wrote the policy knows that one unit is being rented because there may be additional requirements. I doubt its a problem because if you told them a duplex im sure they assume you will be living in one and renting the other but its better to check. I have some great insurance people if you are looking for help. And if you have to cancel a policy for this you usually get the pro rated premium back so it pays to check and change it if you have to.

Tough to get a good deal in JC these days. Thats a pretty decent area so you really couldn't have gotten away with a cheap reno job. Buyers expect more than just the basics in that area. Looks great from the outside im sure its just as nice inside. Good job and congratulations on a successful first flip!