All Forum Posts by: Chow Ahmed

@Dennis Soto at first glance, the cost to potential gains look good based on this: https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/d...

But maybe I'm not looking deep enough, but it does look like @David M. shared some of his notes I'll have to dive into :)

I am on the same road, from everything I can tell, get a license is absolutely beneficial if for nothing else but access to MLS.

Thank you for the tip! I'll be sure to think about these points.

Hi BP Community,

What are some of the main criteria's you look for when researching a market you are not familiar with? In your experience, especially early on, what were some of the mistakes you made/failed to take into consideration when doing your research?

My background: I am a new to real estate/BP and looking to score my first owner occupied rental in a highly competitive market (Northern Jersey). I'm currently narrowing down my Townships and trying to scour data/street views/physically walking + driving through prospective towns.

Look forward to reading some of the responses, I especially want to learn from your mistakes!

:)

 Awesome, I'll check them out. Thanks!

I am early enough on my adventure that I don't have a lender yet :) (or a Realtor although I started dialogue with one).

I am open to recommendations if you or anyone can offer. I was planning on spray/pray different options and shop around soon.

Dang, that's what I was worried about. So really the only alternative is 20% and I think the first time home buyer conventional loans also have similar limitations, right?

Believe with conventional, anything under 20% down, you pay the PMI until the LTV reaches 80% but FHA the PMI is there for the lifetime of the loan unless you refi - which is the original reason I wasn't too crazy about an FHA. I'll be sure to push for a conventional, the extra 1.5% certainly won't break the bank.

Thanks for your responses, very helpful!

I am definitely open to a 5% conventional for a duplex, I've been thinking in terms of FHA because the requirements are more clear when I Google around than a 5% conventional. I have pretty solid DTI and credit score, so if it's available I would think I should be eligible either way. I haven't shopped around for lenders yet, but when the time comes, I am hoping a few of them offer low dp conventionals.

Hi All,

I am a first time poster and first time buyer. I have been listening to BP podcasts, Googling acronyms, reading forums, and searching Zillow/Redfin/Realtor/etc for about a month now. I am searching the Northern Jersey area - so far I've specifically been looking from West New York down to south Weehawken/Union City, then out west from Carlstadt down to northern Lyndhurst.

My criteria is as follows -

1. <$600k - min 2 units at least 1 bed/1 bath
2. Turnkey or close to it
3. Low crime
4. Commute to port authority 1 hour MAX
5. Able to walk everywhere - I will not have a car. Open to biking around.
6. Some semblance of a downtown area within a couple miles
7. We are a couple - enjoy nature, going out to eat/drink maybe once or twice a month.

As of now, I plan to do a 30 year FHA owner occupied - after 1 year I will move out so all units will be rented out and I should be cashflow positive around $500 or so. For that one year, I am willing to pay up to $1k (PMI, tax, mortgage, repairs, etc.) and the tenant rent should be able to cover the rest. So if the average rent is between $1.6k and 2.2k, I can probably get away with between total cost per month @$2.6k and $3.2k.

With all this being said - my favorite town is East Rutherford which seems to hit all of my criteria (+low property taxes) based on my initial internet research. I plan to do a drive-by this weekend and walk around to get a better feel. However, I wanted to ask you, BP NJ community, can you 1) let me know if my thought process and criteria's sound reasonable - I am hoping to get my first deal ASAP, but not before my due diligence and 2) can you offer what other towns may fall within my criteria?

Thanks a ton!!!