All Forum Posts by: Jessica Zolotorofe

Hi Karen. Happy to discuss further if you want to message me. I am a major advocate for putting your properties into LLCs. I'm not sure why your lawyer is trying to talk you out of it? Did he or she have any reason? Especially if you are assuming a mortgage and it will be an investment property. Are you going to hold it or is it a rehab and flip? Is it commercial or residential?

Hi Tina Pollard I've done dozens and dozens. Feel free to message me with any questions!

Hi Denise Cook There are lenders that offer 30, but they're typically on properties with very long term national tenant leases. 10 or 20 isn't bad if there is no prepay penalty and you can refi any time. Also, I prefer with commercial to get a loan that amortizes based on 30 yr schedule so you pay less now and refinance the balloon at the end. Keeps costs down while you're getting started and most commercial lenders are ok with it. Good luck!

@Kevin K. Yep... my poor Downtown taxes. My fingers are crossed! Good news is for investors that  rents have shot up so ridiculously high (I couldn't even imagine paying $3,800 for under 500sf in addition to something like $350 a month for each parking space like a friend of mine does in an apartment Downtown), that as long as rent stays that high, it should more than cover a monthly mortgage payment and taxes. Granted, the units will be assessed higher because of that added value, but I still think it should be safe. Especially if you're holding property for a few yrs, your equity should have gone up a ton, so mortgage payment would be low and there should be plenty coming in to pay taxes and maintenance and still end up with decent income. The other good news is that the whole city is under-assessed. So while Downtown has appreciated most quickly, with only a few exceptions, most of the neighborhoods in Jersey City will be worth way more than they were when last assessed and it should even itself out somewhat. I think we'll still take a hit, just hopefully not enough to deter investment. I sort of doubt they'll let that happen. It's so good for the growth of the city, I can't imagine they will do anything to stop that in its tracks.

@Stu Basham Of course.

@Jonathan Greene, some areas will be higher, some way higher in Hudson. Both have their good and bad neighborhoods. Essex taxes do scare me though. Takes a lot, unfortunately, to carry Newark. I love Montclair. When I move back to the suburbs, that's probably my first choice, but taxes are a major consideration. 

Yes, I do. I also live in Jersey City, so I keep close tabs on the tax issue. It's going to unfortunately hit my neighborhood the hardest, I'm guessing, but hopefully they do it right and it won't be terrible.

@Stu Basham Those numbers sound much better. If you're talking about a duplex in JC, I did a quick analysis and about $6,000 in taxes means your assessment should be around $80,195, which means Jersey City has assessed you at a fair market value of approximately $339,000. JC is going to undergo a reval next year, I believe, so things may change quite a bit. If you purchased for well in excess of $339,000, you may want to consider the possibility that taxes can be raised quite a bit in the next couple of years. A lot of Jersey City properties are grossly under-assessed right now because it hasn't been attended to in so so many years, but the general tax rate and equalization ratio for the city will change after the reval, too, so practical impact is unpredictable, though I don't think we'll see too big of a hike in actual tax dollars in certain neighborhoods That is totally just my guess, though, I really have no idea how it will go.

Hi Olivia Williams Do you plan on investing in primarily residential or commercial?

Your accountant can probably give you the best advice. You don't need a business asdress within the state of formation, only a registered agent. There are tons of companies that do it for a small fee.