All Forum Posts by: Lamont Chen
Lamont Chen has started 0 posts and replied 170 times.
Post: Investment properties are great, but let's get PERSONAL.

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
A couple of strategies that I am thinking of personally are:
1. Purchase distressed single family home as primary, renovate, live in it for a year, refinance, repeat?
2. Rent where you live and use the rest of your money on investment properties (out of state if returns are good). Sometimes areas with really good school districts have high home prices and ROI may not be good.
Post: Investing in buying a land and building then selling a prefab

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@Sean B. Good that you are consulting an attorney to help.
Besides the initial phase when the contract is written nobody really looks at it until something goes wrong.
Is there a specified duration for this job to be completed?
Who owns the lot during the construction? In case the contractor is not able to complete it how will ownership and payment work?
How will upgrades and change orders be handled? Payment schedules (usually by phase).
May be some other points I am missing but something to think about.
Post: Landlord friendly states

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@Hud Malik NJ is a tenant friendly state but I have never had a problem with my rentals in North, NJ. For me I like to keep my units updated so that I can attract good tenants where income is >3x the rent.
Despite the high taxes in certain areas, appreciation has been good in addition to the rent you can collect with proximity to NY.
Feel free to DM me if you have further questions
Post: 1% rule for return on investment

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@Josh Garden The county tax site should have on file whether or not the home you are trying to purchase is 1-4 family. There are certain single family homes with 2 kitchens whom people rent out separately as individual units which may not be legal (should check with an attorney). Sometimes 2 family homes do not have separate utilities either so that home could in fact be 2 family but just one more thing to double check to be sure.
Issue may not be immediately apparent but if you need to evict one or the other tenant... it could pose some issues.
Post: Lot For Demo & Rebuild

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@David M. Hagley, Jr. I purchased a property which I am demo-ing and building a new home on. I would think if you were to wholesale this lot you should have rough numbers ARV for the buyers/investors of this property. If the lot is 20k and the lot can be zoned for a modular home which would cost $X and should sell or rent for $X that can help buyers feel comfortable with the deal.
Having contacts in the area like realtor, architects, and builders can help assess the zoning, structure, and cost for construction (also can be referred to the buyer if they are seeing this as a "package" deal).
Post: 1% rule for return on investment

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@Josh Garden Depending on the market you can use the 1% rule as a sniff test before drilling in to calculate real numbers and run comparable with the market. In terms of what offer you should put in you can use a combination of the cap rate for this property plus what recently sold properties in the area are going for. If you are working a investor savy realtor in your area they may be able to help you in addition with coming up with contingencies, etc. for the offer.
Also, check to see if the "bottom" studio unit is legal because that would impact what you can do with the rents (single family vs 2 family).
Good luck!
Post: Hello BiggerPockets, I am back!

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
Welcome back @Ana Kudlack! Keep your spirits and energy high especially after paying off the your debt. Hudson and Bergen county are really hot right now with NYC folks coming in and low interest rates.
Feel free to DM me if you have any questions or need any contacts.
Post: Physician looking to get started in REI

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@William White congratz on completing residency. A couple thoughts which struck my mind would be for getting started:
1. Purchase 3-4 unit multifamily and house hack while working in New Orleans. As owner occupant you get favorable interest rates and it will give you a feel for the things involved with being a landlord. Being boots on the ground yourself you can work with local contractors if any issue should arise. You can also get pre-approved and find out what you may qualify for with the bank since you just finished residency.
2. For out of state investing there is "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" book by David Green which covers lots of topics regarding how to manage out of state investments. Also since you have lots of family in Charleston, SC if the numbers work on any properties you see there you have a good advantage with family and local knowledge.
Post: I Need Help Evaluation Vacant Lots

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
@Aaron Jones I would suggest connecting with a investor savvy realtor in the area which you are looking to purchase lots. A large part of the value is what you can build with that lot (zoning laws), location, architecture, cost of the build (local builder), and comparable sales or rent in the area are for that structure.
Example: Land = 50k, Build = 125k, and if comparable sales are 275k then you could net some profit.
Not perfect math but some rough estimates can give you a ballpark estimate if it is or is not worth it.
Post: The best way to accept rent

- Realtor
- Hudson County, NJ
- Posts 176
- Votes 110
Cozy is great! Little setup required on the tenants part but generally I notice tenants tend to set the autopay option so I have not had a month of "oops I forgot".