All Forum Posts by: John M Chludzinski

There is ALWAYS a market for girlfriend/mistress rentals, or post-divorce housing, no matter how tiny.  In Central NJ I have a landlord client with two such rentals and we ALWAYS get bombed with inquiries - we could rent them many times over. 

Depending on the property configuration, I would take two different courses:  A) reconfigure the utilities - relocate hot water heater, shutoffs, etc. to be under your control or B) Negotiate with the adjoining owners to get a key.  You simply cannot be subjected to their schedules for emergencies - I guarantee you in the event of a gas or water leak, for example, if the adjoining owner is at work or out of town, the gas or water company will turn off gas to the whole building if necessary, without their permission, so they might as well give you access to prevent a whole building shutoff for emergencies. Failing that, sell the unit as you cannot properly manage to protect your investment without controlling your utilities.  Next time, avoid properties without access to your own equipment and utilities. 

Not that this helps you much in your quest to buy an investment property, BUT I would run away.  First, if the "seller" is the agent, and he is the owner (or under contract to become the owner) of the duplex attached to the unit you are considering, there is NO WAY he would want to sell the half he is offering to you as an assignment, unless he is making a profit.  Personally, I would ALWAYS seek to own both halves of a duplex to make my life easier, and thus avoid dealing with (frequently inexperienced, non-professional) strangers that owned the other half of my building. Ask yourself - how much could he make in profit selling you this duplex for $45,000? 10%? 20%? 50%? That means YOU could be overpaying by that amount.  Stay away from self-dealing agents like this, and consider his motives for cashing out.  There is a rule in cards that if you don't know who the patsy is after 20 minutes in the game, the patsy is YOU. 

Well, these explanations are OK as far as they go, but there are some problems with the answers above.  First, NJ is a full disclosure state, with only a very few exceptions, an agent MUST disclose all known defects about the actual property, whether hidden or not to the naked eye.  So, for example, if you tell your listing agent "don't tell the other agent I burried Jimmy Hoffa in the backyard" they MUST disclose that info to the buyer's agent, no matter whether they work for the same company, or a different company, from the listing agency. Agents in a dual-agency situation often get tripped up by this.  In addition, you should be clear, that IF YOUR AGENT and the BUYER"S AGENT work for the same company (the same broker) there is a duty for the agents to treat both fairly, but they cannot be loyal to JUST ONE party, even if there are two agents involved, or one agent plus the broker or manager.  ALL the agents from the listing agency become dual agents if the clients are represented by the same agency. Most ethical agents, and most ethical managers and brokers have developed fair ways to conduct themselves under a dual- agency scenario, and you should feel confident that you will be fine.  HOWEVER, under no circumstances should you share your deepest darkest desires (as in "my bottom line is $x") with the agents in a dual agency situation, as that will give them an ethical challenge, as they might be obligated to share that with the other party. I will never ask my clients "What is the max price you'll pay?"  or "lowest price you will accept" in a dual agency situation, so I cannot tip the scales towards either party.  Unless the client tells me they want me to disclose that.

I find asking the inspector questions starting with the phrase: "Just so I understand exactly what you want here, could you explain again...  (why you want another coat of paint on the living room...what product you want the concrete block walls in the basement painted with... what is missing in this junction box...etc.)  and most inspectors will go over it with you.  
For instance, if the inspector really wants another coat of paint on the already painted walls, ask if it was because he thought the underlying stains or spackle were bleeding through?  You may get additional details that allow you to discuss with the appearance of wanting to comply, not object to his decision. Maybe as a result you can repaint just the bleed-through sections, not the whole room?

Or, you can make friends with the gang that runs the neighborhood protection racket...  just kidding.  Trying to lighten the mood of the forum a little here! 

Since the patient approach is not yielding results, and the lack of effective response by the Association is severely damaging her unit, I recommend commencing a lawsuit immediately, and making a claim on the insurance carrier, as she has an obligation to not let the problem become catastrophic for the building.  The filing of a lis pendens notice about the pending lawsuit may even prevent other owners from being able to sell units in the building, which may get them on her side too, putting pressure on the Association to take corrective action.  I would not wait one more day to commence the nuclear (lawsuit) option, as delay may mean her whole ceiling caves in from the ongoing water damage(winter is coming) making her homeless too! 

Welcome to BP and Middlesex County Investing.  There are some reasonable multifamily properties out there for investment, but the good ones go quickly.  Feel free to reach out to me, even just to have a cup of coffee and explore strategies. We cover Union to Ocean Counties, and are based in East brunswick - the heart of Middlesex County.  We also do property management. 

You will need to notify the tenants 60 days or more before the lease expiration date that you are not renewing the lease because you, the owner, intends to occupy the unit as your primary residence.  The tenant then has until the lease expiration date to move out.  You cannot force them out before the expiration date.

In NJ there are frequently tenant security accounts that are interest bearing, and it is difficult to get to the bank, have them close the account with up to the day interest calculation, and get the proceeds transferred to an account that you can write a check from on the same day.  What happens if you have the bank make a cashier's check out to the tenant directly, and then the movers accidentally break something on the day of move-out??  How do you then adjust the security to reflect even a small charge? You can't so you are out of luck.  You have 30 days.  Take 10 days and do it right.