All Forum Posts by: Shawn Mcenteer

Quote from @Jake Yuskaitis:

Quote from @Shawn Mcenteer:

Quote from @Jake Yuskaitis:

I live in NJ and i honestly would not recommend doing this in NJ. I think you'd be much better off investing in rentals in PA and renting while living in NJ.

will also allow your lifestyle to be flexible to go where the money goes in terms of career trajectory.

 I could not disagree more.  I live in NJ, have been investing for over 10 years, leveraging house hacking strategy for myself and dozens of clients each year.  When doing an apples to apple comparison of what it take to purchase out of state compared to what it cost to house hack in state and advise someone to leave the area they are in and go out of state is wild to me.  From the down payment and owner occupied loan options alone this advice is backwards on top of this you are suggestion they rent in NJ?   

I don't suggest anyone own long term rental in NJ. The laws are not in favor of the landlord.

 I am over 10 years in; I have collected every payment of rent and never had to evict a tenant.  Was the same for my mentors and their mentors.  Of my clients it is extremely rare to run into situation where tenants are the issue or rent is not collected.   

When you truly know and understand the laws in New Jersey, investing becomes very easy with very little hassle. 

Hi @Joseph Hanna strong rental income is a smart way to go.  Cash flow is possible if open to value add or creative rental strategies.  Multi family tends to be best option unless you are open to rent by room or college rental.  

If you have the funds to put 15-20% I would say keep cash, house hack and put down 5% use the remaining cash left over to put into the property.  This will force appreciation, raise rents and ultimately set you up for getting to property number 2 much faster.

Hi @Brian Chaballa great news! House Hacking is how my wife and I got to Fi.  It is hands down in my opinion one of the safest ways to build wealth locally in NJ.  $80K is plenty to start. Both being onboard is huge plus.   The easiest way to break this down is understanding how New Jersey works.  We have the ability to cash flow but the biggest advantage we have is yearly rent increases and appreciation.  Hands down the best advise I give clients is time in the market not timing the market meaning, the longer you own the more advantages come your way. Finding a multifamily where tenants pay the bulk of your mortgage reducing your expenses tends to have a more positive outlook in comparison to staying on sidelines and saving.  If you can incorporate a value add approach the process of owning will compound substantially.  

For example this past weekend I was in a house hack where 1 unit is rent ready and the  other unit needs work.  Property is great becuase my clients will have the potential to collect right away by renting out nice unit and will spend the next few months renovating the unit they live in.  By renovating, a year from now property will increase in value via force appreciation so when they move out there will be huge equity gains and even larger rents being collected.  With that being said there is a good shot they will be able to leverage equity gains to help purchase next house hack. 

To Calebs point god forbid things change.  Last thing I would want to see is you both do all the work and have to sell.   But my guess is you are both committed to house hacking and each other so bit of advice; save money for home (my wife and I put money to house over elaborate wedding) and  ask for renovation tools for wedding gifts  :)

Hi @Justin Marko you sound a bit like me,  I could not stand my work.  Luckily I stayed employed to leverage lending ( I almost quit not knowing better).  I started house hacking around North Jersey, moving property to property with my wife and kids.  I stuck it out in the job but in the process starting getting more properties and better at work.  Fast forward a few years I started liking my work knowing I was not forced to work because of the properties I owned.  The craziest part of all this is today my wife is a co-owner of this business and it is all from leveraging one of our house hacks as collateral.   I do not like many jobs I am forced to do but I love working, real estate investing can give you the freed in many ways.  House hacking is still one of the smartest way to get to Fi.

Hi @Marvin Bracamonte when unit gets turned over CO is required.  If you stays rented for a few years with same tenants CO is not required.  These laws will vary from time to time and town to town so always good to check in with town and ask questions.  Also verify with Belleville what is required,  sometimes are very basic and require just smoke cert other towns may be more in depth. What's most important is taking care of the items you know the town is coming to check so you do not fail.  Talk with your neighbor, he can give you good advice in regards to how town is :)

Hi @Peter Mastrorocco most thought with STR is put into the vacation rental side of things. believe it or not there is huge demand for STR with business professionals. Best part is the demand is year round with low seasonal dips. I have clients that do STR in the right locations that will attract business professionals Sunday-Thursday then peoples escaping NYC Friday and Saturday.

Quote from @Jake Yuskaitis:

I live in NJ and i honestly would not recommend doing this in NJ. I think you'd be much better off investing in rentals in PA and renting while living in NJ.

will also allow your lifestyle to be flexible to go where the money goes in terms of career trajectory.

 I could not disagree more.  I live in NJ, have been investing for over 10 years, leveraging house hacking strategy for myself and dozens of clients each year.  When doing an apples to apple comparison of what it take to purchase out of state compared to what it cost to house hack in state and advise someone to leave the area they are in and go out of state is wild to me.  From the down payment and owner occupied loan options alone this advice is backwards on top of this you are suggestion they rent in NJ?   

Quote from @Michael Carlson:

Quote from @Shawn Mcenteer:

Hi @Michael Carlson are you owner occupying the property?  What City is this in? Do you have proof  60 day notice was given?  Typically best to send by mail and require a signature to receive, other wise tenant can easily say they did not receive notice.  

 I have texts from him confirming this and that he will vacate in August. I was thinking that since he's refusing to pay the full increased rent amount I can start the eviction process with an attorney. This is near Boonton township so there are no rent control laws and the new rent is almost $1000 below SAMR. I am not occupying the property.

Near Boonton Township or In?   In New Jersey there is no state wide rent control laws but when rent is raised over 10% there are ground for judge to consider that unreasonable increase.  Not saying a judge will rule for or against you just let it be know that 10% increase or more tends to be the make or break number if tenant brough you to court.  

Have you been in touch with them? Checking in on how the search is going, they should be able to provide an update that they have a location to move to.

Hi @Michael Carlson are you owner occupying the property?  What City is this in? Do you have proof  60 day notice was given?  Typically best to send by mail and require a signature to receive, other wise tenant can easily say they did not receive notice.  

Quote from @Eric Fernando:

Thank you all for your valued thoughts.

FOR FLOOING- Currently there is carpet. Are there any specific LVP brands to go with or any that I should totally avoid. What is the minimum way layer I should look to install and what other features such as click or gluedown in the LVT should be a must have to keep it tenant friendly? The current subfloor is not totally even, as it is an older house?

FOR SHOWER - I am open to tiling shower walls, but then it would be more cummbersome to maintain. Which Tub brands and shower panels are good? or which ones should I avoid?

Should I look at installing a cast iron tub? I know those are expensive but they last for a long while - thoughts?

Thanks in advance. Much appreciated!

 Yes Flooring makes a huge difference.  Avoid anything Home Depot.  It is either cheap and will not last or they are over charging you for inferior product.  I buy my LVT wholesale direct with distributors at a fraction of the price HD sells it for and the product I use are of much high quality. 

Tub brands once again avoid Home Depot they are essentially a middle man will collect fee to broker the bath fitter.  Photos of bathroom would help, there are more efficient ways of taking care of bathroom.  You may be able to epoxy coat it.

Cast iron is not necessary, just avoid the cheap metal coated tubs.  The first drop of something heavy and the tub with spider and orange rust.  Fiber glass tub for a few hundred more are light and will last longer.