All Forum Posts by: Allan Szlafrok

@Alyssa K. I’m not sure what the laws are where you live but we generally don’t accept partial payments because it complicates a potential eviction. We ask for full payment or the tenant is in default and late fees are applied. Sometimes we waive the late fees if there are extenuating circumstances for the late payment such as a hospital stay or being out of the country. Sometimes. But as a rule we don’t accept partial payment and that’s probably a good policy.

@Taryk Baylor once you’ve chosen how you are going to advertise I recommend getting professional pictures with virtual staging. I pay around $250 depending on how many pictures I want to stage but it really does get people’s attention and helps you stand out from the crowd.

@Kenneth Moerschel For new construction there's a good chance you will be pricing out section 8 tenants as those units command a real premium in the area. Rental demand is incredibly high in Newark but you need to do really good and careful screening to place tenants who won't give you problems. I would just look for the best tenant regardless of wether or not they have a voucher. If you insist on going section 8 you can contact the housing department because they have other programs for which they are trying to place tenants. I know the VA has a program for housing veterans for example.

@Kim Durst quickbooks is great and I also recommend Stessa which is free and can help you track your income and expenses as well as having all your property data in one place. Worth taking the time to set up an account if you have more than a couple of properties.

@David Xu I would consider buying a few small properties in Jersey City with that money. Under 4 units are not currently subject to rent control so if you find a deal with below market rents you can increase ROI significantly. There has been a crazy amount of appreciation there over the last few years but a few areas still have room to run. Plus you could self manage from queens or hire a competent manager of which there are many. Just stay near the rail lines as you will increase the likelihood of getting a tenant with a high paying NYC job who is priced out of the NYC markets. Most people who look to rent from me in JC are coming from NYC these days.

@Judy P. That’s absurd. That’s like a basic service call for a plumber. What town was that in?

@Heather Nguyen I assumed you were going to do that anyway so you could just use the same sewer stack and water pipes. It’s still an extensive job because you still need to run a lot of pipes behind walls and there will likely be some demolition involved. Regarding just renting out the rooms without a kitchen, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to live like that. And the type of person who just wants to rent out a bedroom and share a bathroom isn’t going to be the kind of person you would want as a tenant. Also I’m not sure if that wouldn’t constitute an illegal rooming house. It seems to me (and I could be wrong) that you have underestimated the repair costs by a large margin. It happens. If I were you I would try to find a way out of the contract or negotiate a much lower price because it sounds like you haven’t budgeted enough money to the repairs the right way and won’t be able to maximize your investment. Talk to your lawyer and see if there’s a way out. Use the inspection contingency maybe. But it’s starting to sound to me like this is a way bigger job than you anticipated and I don’t want to see you get hurt.

@Heather Nguyen Mind you if you plan on converting this to a 2 family from a 1 family you will need a zoning application as well. It’s gonna be a while before they gets done. If you add a kitchen to the second floor without it being zoned as a 2 family you will fail your CO inspection. So the first thing you need to do is get that application into the zoning board unless it’s already zoned as 2 family which is possible. Sometimes people convert a 2 fam to a 1 fam without making a zoning change. Check with the town for the zoning for that specific property to make sure you don’t need a zoning change. If the area is zoned for 2 family you’ll likely get the change but it will be a hassle. The permits for all that work will likely run you a few grand at least it does in neighboring towns and the plans and survey another couple of thousand. 12k for frame out, wire, pipe, tile, and fixtures sounds pretty reasonable actually.

I agree with @Jessica Zolotorofe the West side of JC is getting hot now but there are still some good deals to be had. I picked up a duplex this month up the block from the train station which is a huge amenity for renters. The best advice is to stick within walking distance of mass transit as you have a better chance of attracting people with good NYC jobs in tech and finance who are simply priced out of the rental market over there. Additionally the commute is roughly the same (or shorter in many cases) from JC to the city than it would be if you lived in Brooklyn or the other boroughs. Lots of big new development coming to the west side including luxury apartments and retail so that area is definitely on the way up and offers better value than most of Hudson County.

@Jarred Lustgarten Ok because you said tax sale and that’s not the same thing as owning the property outright. You may have purchased a tax deed which means you don’t actually own the property yetbecause the previous owner still has a chance to redeem it from you for your purchase price plus interest. That’s a very different animal. The first thing I would do is figure out exactly what kind of a deed you now own. A lawyer can answer that. If you own the property outright maybe have a broker drive by and take a look and get you an estimate of value. Then you can figure out what you want to do with it ie: rent it/fix and flip/ or sell it to someone wholesale for a better price than you paid.