All Forum Posts by: Brett Baginski

I guess I would describe the most significant points of my path as the following...

1. Bought primary residence with 20% down in 2017.

2. Couldn't imagine working to 65+ years of age relying just on a 401k and W2 job, so I looked for ways to invest for passive income and stumbled on real estate.

3. Started out with the Rod Khleif podcast for a couple months, until I found BP and then I was hooked.  Absorbed all of it over a 9 month period, read books, read the forum, went to a meetup, etc.

4. Took out HELOC on my house. With 20% down, 2.5 years of mortgage payments, and the property appreciating about $20,000 from what I paid, I had enough capital to work with.

5. Formed a team, which was my realtor (from meetup) and lender (from first property purchase) and found a property.  Attorney came into the picture when I needed one to review the contract.

Full disclosure:  Just closed on this property on 10/23 and still have to do some minor improvements and rent it out.  The goal is to have it rented before Thanksgiving.

Hey @Thomas Berardi, welcome!  I lived in Middlesex County, Woodbridge Township area for 27 years, but now I'm down in Tinton Falls.  Let me know if you have any questions on that general area.  Best of luck!

I think it really depends on the area.  I was in a similar situation as you and Rentometer was coming in about $300-400 higher than Zillow.  The property I was analyzing was near a popular beach destination down the NJ shore and I think the comps were not accurate because of that.  There is also a "rich" side of town near the beaches and the numbers were really off.

For me, Zillow was a much better estimate as to what ASKING rents are.  Keep in mind these might not reflect actual market rents if they have been listed for a long time and not renting.

Thank you for all the great advice!  As @David Stumpf mentioned, I do not want to get caught with the rental half renovated and over my allotted timeline, especially if I have to coordinate with showing the house and working my full time job.  Once I am mostly done with the project, I can revisit if it is a good time to market.

I am closing on my first rental property on 10/23, 6 days from today.  The property is in great condition, but I still want to go in and paint a few rooms, do some touch up work, and rip out the carpet in the bedrooms upstairs and lay LVP.  I plan on having this finished in about 2 weeks after closing date.  

When would be a good time to market the rental?  Should I wait until the property is ready to go and take new pictures or try and start marketing it sooner?  I know the screening process can take a couple weeks and would like it rented as soon as possible.  Just wondering what others would do in this scenario.  Also, are you allowed to advertise a rental before you actually close and is this even advisable? 

Thanks in advance!

Welcome @Philip Watts!  You came to the right place.  Sounds like you are much more handy than I am lol.  Next week I'll be painting and attempting to install some flooring on my first rental property, so we'll see how that goes.  I'm also from NJ, but live down in Monmouth County, and investing even further south in Ocean County.  

I'd recommend checking out the Bigger Pockets Real Estate Podcast.  I've learned more listening to that podcast than any book I have read and the stories are great.  Best of luck!

I have been using Zillow and Trulia to get an idea as to what comparable homes are ASKING to be rented out for in my area.  You can enter in the amount of bedrooms and bathrooms to really focus on the results.  Then compare the properties, garage or no garage, central air or units, square footage etc to get even more granular.  I also like to look how long the home has been listed for rent at the asking price.  Might be a sign the price is too high if it has been up for 45+ days.

Rentometer is also a good indicator, but sometimes it can be really off, at least in NJ where I am looking.  The property I am closing on this month is near a popular beach destination and the rentometer comps are about $300-$400 off what is showing on Zillow and Trulia.  It will show you a radius of the comps, so just be mindful of the location.

I just use an online Ally high interest savings account.  You set it up online and it yields 1.90% right now, but was recently as high as 2.10% I think.

Hi Kapil, welcome!  I think you should consult with a lender.  They should be able to run the numbers for each scenario for you.  It will be easier to make the decision when you have both options laid out in front of you.

I think it would really depend what their strategy and goals were. In my situation, I do not plan on selling, but rather rent out my current home when I am ready to move. I didn't really tie up much money either because I took out a HELOC on the equity built up in my house since I put 20% down and my home has increased in value 10% in 2.5 years, then used that HELOC to fund my next purchase. Depending on how you buy, owning a house could be a great opportunity to do a live-in flip over the course of a year or two.