All Forum Posts by: Amy Kellogg

Aly, the property is near Bridgewater, NJ.

BTW friends, looks like I won't close afterall.

We had the inspection done a few days back. There are a A LOT of structural issues I did not realize it had. Part of the structure is apparently crumbling with termite damage. Anyway, I am glad I did the inspection carefully.

Another issue that put me off was that they never told me that one unit is owner occupied. So, they were really collecting only 1/2 the rent they claimed they were collecting + even that tenat is vacating+ there is no lease - all oral and month to month.

A lot of lessons learned here (at the cost of couple of thousand) - never trust anything the current owner says unless you verify it.

Well on with the property hunting again.

AK

Thanks Mike. One of the things that worried me was that I believe one of the tenants (it is a Duplex) bid on the property (according to my agent). So, my concern is that they may be bitter and try to cause issues.

But, I cannot worry about them now - as long as I take reasonable precautions.

I will ask for the tenant file.

thanks,

AK

Friends:

Thanks to some great info on this site (Mike OH etc), I finally am taking the plunge. I will close on my first investment property in the next 3 weeks.

I have many questions:

The rental is currently occupied. But, the lease expires in June. I am planning on renewing their leases - they indicated their desire to do so.

Do I do a credit check, make them fill out an application form etc. as a standard procedure?

What are the other watchouts - things I need to do to stay out of trouble - with law and financially. I live in NJ.

I know I need to open new back accounts for the deposits. Other than that I am pretty clueless right now.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

thanks,

Amy