All Forum Posts by: John Walter

@Leslie Ann Carabuena $40k for closing costs doesn’t seem too crazy, depending on the lender. I used Navy Federal for my first go around and had $38k in closing costs...for a condo. 

That blew my mind, especially when almost $15k were just their fees alone. I switched to Veteran's United and have been so impressed with them. They let me know I was exempt from the VA Funding Fee, which is about 2.5% of the purchase price depending how many times you've used this benefit (equates to about $11,500 savings for the multi family I'm looking at now).

@Max Vishnev You’re right, I had overlooked the new apartments near 19th. I hope, for Bayonne’s sake, that spillover does take place. 

@Leslie Ann Carabuena I’m guessing the Bayonne property is West of HWY 440? That would worry me only because ALL of the investment in Bayonne that is taking place is East of 440. 

I was looking for property in Bayonne about a year ago (before literally anything was built East of 440 except for one apartment complex and the cruise terminal), but moved on as I saw no plans for improvement. It is a very short commute to midtown though. I can get door to door in less than 30 minutes from Bayonne to midtown. 

I’m looking at a two-unit property that needs substantial work, but the price is almost there. The sellers are only accepting cash and 203k offers. I don’t have enough cash on hand for the whole thing, hence these questions. 

I imagine I would need a standard 203k, as this place needs a full rehab. Does anyone know how easy these are to get, how long they take, etc? Would I have to live there for a year, and is refinancing the same process as a conventional? Anything else I should consider, especially the, let’s say challenging times right now? If anyone has ever done these in NJ, it would be great to hear about.  

Haven’t ever gone the private money route, and given my limited experience, I don’t imagine this would be too viable at the moment.

Appreciate any insight, thank you. 

@Andrea Hayes There are some great options in Newark and Elizabeth. I work in NYC and the commute is about 30 minutes.

Bayonne is exploding right now. There must be a thousand units being built right now (mostly apartments and townhomes), but there’s also quite a few big businesses starting to come in as well. Bayonne is about 20 minutes from NYC. 

Any in-depth questions include the area, let me know!

@Jeffrey L Jerschina Every area of the country will be a little different. When I used it in California, the main issue were termites. A lot of properties (especially condos and in the price range I was looking at) had at least some "wood eating insects" damage. But again, when I used it in NJ, that wasn't even ever brought up. TX may have their own typical issues, such as with the foundation.

If I remember correctly, both VA and FHA foundations cannot be off by more than one-inch per 20 feet. So any property that may say foundation issues, or settling, you'll want to be aware of.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

@Jeffrey L Jerschina Thank you for your service! I was also in the military, deploying to Central and South America. Had a lot of buddies stationed in Germany; Air Force?

I currently live in Bayonne, NJ., but am looking for property in Elizabeth, NJ right now (with not much luck).

I have used the VA loan and it is great. For SFH or MFH, you shouldn't have too many issues. Usually problems can arise when you are going for townhomes or condos because the VA has to pre-approve the community first. If that community is not already approved, you can always apply for them to do-so; however, that takes time and not all sellers are willing to wait.

Are you or your brother service-connected at all? I try to point this out to all would-be VA loan users because there is a little known benefit. VA loans come with what is called a VA Loan Funding Fee, which you would owe at closing, although some lenders will allow you to roll this into the loan. Point is, this fee amounts to thousand of dollars. If you are rated at 10% or higher, this fee is waived. For my first property, that was a savings of over $11,000!

Let me know if you need anything!

Thank you all for the advice, this is really helping. 

The builder would not start construction on the open lot until they had a buyer (me). Then, after the first 2-3 months went by without construction even starting they advised the city was forcing them to re-submit all of their permits. Obviously I have no idea if that is true, but it sounds like BS to me. I drive by nearly every day and there is typically 0-1 person there working, but rarely there are a few. 

The real estate agent (who has been awful in this case) recommended the lawyer which was a huge mistake on my part to go with them but here I am. 

Is re-negotiating even a thing here?

@Kevin Zolea what part of NJ?

@JD Martin hey JD,

1. From researching foreclosure trends for Elizabeth, NJ. They have been up for five consecutive months even before this whole virus issue started. 
2. It’s not so much a bad deal as much as my worry that a downturn is coming in the near future and it will sit vacant for longer and the value will decline. The vacancy is my biggest worry. 
3. Because it’s a new construction, the original close date was supposed to be November, but the builder technically had until the end of March to finish without any penalty. Before I agreed to this, I asked my attorney if we could write up some sort of penalty if they didn’t finish by then but he advised a builder would never go for it and I caved. Here I am, several months later in that exact scenario. 
I just don’t know what the possibilities are. Can I renegotiate, should I just keep quiet and keep accepting delay after delay, something else entirely?

@James York I’m about 20 or so shows in right now. I’ve read both of David Greene’s books, almost done with a book on wholesaling by Than Merrill, and now Rich Dad Poor Dad with a few more in the queue. Can’t get enough of this stuff!

@Natalie Kolodij Thank you. I figured there must be a reason why I never hear anyone talking about corporations. In any case, I definitely want to be a buy and hold investor. 

Thank you @James York. I appreciate the advice. I am still very much in the information-gathering stage, so I plan on absorbing as much as I possibly can.