All Forum Posts by: Jason Timmerman

I've found that NJ tenants are fine as long as you are in the better areas.  Avoid the bad NJ cities (Newark, Trenton, Elizabeth, Paterson, Camden, etc.) and you'll be fine.  I think the problem is that a lot of investors are looking to rent low cost properties so you are getting a LOT of low class tenants.  Look more to the suburbs and you'll have very few issues with tenants.  There are areas in Monmouth and Middlesex counties where rent is $1800-$2000 a month for a two bedroom and you'll get 20-30 tenant applications within a week of listing it.  At least 10 of those tenants will have 750+ credit scores and a combined $130,000+ income.  A lot of young lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.  None of them want to ruin their credit scores.  They just need to rent a place for two or three years while they save money to buy. 

Mark Y.,

A pre-occupancy walkthrough with an independent party (such as an attorney/notary) who will certify to the condition of the property and the occupancy status and also photograph the property on the date of occupancy is what you should do.  It's a very minor cost in the long run and you can increase the rent proportionately to cover it if you want.  You just include terms in the contract that the tenant must submit to this pre-inspection and hopefully always cover yourself against this kind of behavior. 

Are there just some areas where wholesaling is not possible?  I am marketing heavily in an area and of the phone calls I've received only a handful were legitimate leads and none of them were willing to sell their houses at what would be a competitive wholesale price.  What is the best way to find a motivated seller?

If you don't want to rent and you bought it right, look to wholesale it quickly.  It all depends on what your goals are and under what type of business model you would like to operate.  Some properties are more suited and buy and hold rentals, some are more suited as flips and some can be wholesaled for a quick profit. 

I wouldn't immediately run to the rent route unless you've got a decent amount of capital and can afford to risk it.  Renters are so tricky to deal with.  All of a sudden you have someone not paying rent it will take you months to get them out and in the meantime you are paying taxes and a mortgage on a second home. 

Thanks everyone.  I have tried the OPRA approach a few times.  I was told that no such list exists and that I have to request individual properties.  That certainly isn't going to work.

As for the tax delinquent sale approach, my goal is to try and contact these homeowners before the property goes to auction so that I can be the only bidder and get the property for less money than I would at auction. 

I keep hitting these roadblocks.  I don't understand how no master list can exist, but apparently it doesn't.  I know that OPRA does not require public employees to compile a list that doesn't already exist so I guess that's what happ

Seller lives in another state and hasn't been to the property in four years. 

Seller is not helpful but I think I will take you up on the simple knock and ask approach.  Can't hurt.  Thanks.

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has purchased an occupied property and if so, how do you gain access to the property to inspect the premises during the due diligence period? I am confident in the ARV numbers and the market, but without seeing the interior, I can't really estimate the renovation cost and I want to get in there or I'm going to back out.

The biggest problem with the home owners is that, even though they are underwater, they aren't motivate to sell because the foreclosure process has averaged around 3-5 years.  After failing to pay a mortgage for five years, these homeowners are so far underwater that trying to lowball the property from them is fruitless.  They need twice what you are offering.  When the bank finally moves to foreclose, the owner is $300k in debt on a property assessed at around $250k.  The foreclosure process in NJ is so screwed right now that it is not profitable to hunt for deals most of the time.  The people who bought in 05-07 have no equity whatsoever and owe more than the house is worth. 

Hello,

Does anyone working the New Jersey markets know how to find the tax delinquent lists or the municipal code violation lists.  I have been looking everywhere and most towns I have spoken with say no such list exist or that I have to look up each property one by one to see its tax status.  That would obviously take years and wouldn't be fruitful.  I went to the County Clerk's office and found the probate and foreclosure list easily.  I really want that tax delinquent list though.  Anyone know where to find it?