All Forum Posts by: John M Chludzinski

Well, most towns do not want multiple detached dwelling structures on one lot, so finding an empty lot with zoning that permits multifamily, with no town objection to detached dwellings will be kind of like finding a unicorn.  But in the denser cities (shore towns, Newark, Patterson, Trenton, etc.) there are bigger houses that have accessory dwellings on the rear of the lot.  

I have noticed this and posted about this in the past.  The forum is not properly arranged, and is so hard to navigate that the usefulness of it is lost.

In Central Jersey where the majority of our sales activity is, the towns vary widely in enforcement of this.  For now, we just contact the city/township construction department to ask about pre-sale or pre-rental requirements and follow along.  For landlords, my best advice is to make the effort to have your units inspected in the hopes that you will find them to be "lead free" and get that certificate.  Then you will not need to ever test or inspect that unit again.  If in fact there is lead paint present, then on your next renovation, remove the lead paint from the unit, have it tested and certified lead free, then you never need to test or inspect again.  For example, if you are doing a bathroom over and the window and window trim has lead paint underneath, it is only a few hundred bucks to replace that window and trim in connection with the rehab.  It could save you thousands of dollars of expense and time in the long run avoiding testing every two years.

I'd go further than the last comment - your desire to base your investment strategy on hoped-for future price appreciation is a flawed strategy, in my opinion.  That is called speculation.  An investment should have a sound financial foundation - positive cash flow monthly, reasonable financing (20-30% equity, not low down payment levels) and solid rental prospects.  The JC Heights has solid rental prospects, but I too doubt you will find anything cash flow positive in that condo population there.  

Welcome to the community!  I work inn Central NJ and would be happy to connect.  I am a RE broker and investor.

Whoops - a "hard time" finding it...

I have a heard time finding the forum even on a laptop or desktop.  That could be part but not all of the problem.

Thanks for posting this thread, as it will impact many thousands of units in NJ.  Question:  Does your company do the nuclear gun-type tests to determine if lead is present?  if so, how much do you charge for, say a 2 bedroom apartment of 1000 sf? I think this is they way to go - landlords pay once, and if the building is lead-free, have the certificate on file so that future testing is not needed. That is what I am recommending to my landlords.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the NJ discussion is drying up? It used to be so much more active, and the past 6 months have had very few posts.  

Well the update is a bit confusing, since it is harder to find the NJ-specific forum now....