All Forum Posts by: Login George

@David Michael Thanks David for your response. I am messaging you privately.

Hello all,

does anyone have recommendations for a real estate agent in Essex, Passaic, and Bergen county regions. To provide some context, I am looking for an agent who is interested in working with investors and who can assist with finding a multi family. I am specifically looking in the Belleville, Nutley, Bloomfield, Montclair, Clifton, Lyndhurst, north Arlington, Rutherford, and Caldwell towns.

Thanks in advance for you help!

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@Sunny Burns Congrats on your success! Looks like your persistence and hardwork really paid off! Glad you were able to find a deal that worked in North Arlington in today's market! I too (along with my wife and three month old) are looking for a multi family in the Belleville, Bloomfield, North arlington area. Your story gives us hope! 

hi @Christian S.. I was a first time buyer just two months ago and now am a first time owner of a multi in Windsor. I live in one of the units and the other two are being rented. So far it has been a good experience and I am very happy that I have taken the plunge. I think the biggest challenge when starting was developing realistic expectations of what is possible (e.g., rental income to price ratio for a neighborhood you would want to live in). It takes a little time of looking at numerous places, crunching the numbers, and getting feedback from smart and experienced people like @Rick Santasiere for the realistic expectations to develop. Once that happens, its just a matter of persistence. 

Feel free to message me with questions or thoughts and I hope to run into you at one of the local REI meet ups. Good luck and keep us posted!

Hi @Philip Pape. Welcome to BP. Nice to see that you are in the area. As @Filipe Pereira mentioned, I just closed on my first property a week ago in Windsor. @Rick Santasiere was my agent as well, and he was great!! Me, Rick, Filipe and others (like @Melissa Gittens) are likely to meet up in near future to discuss REI and would be happy to have you join as well. Looking forward to meeting you. Talk soon!

@Stephanie Cabral Thanks for sharing Stephanie. Nice job. I liked some of the lessons learned like letting tenants have a voice in the rehab to keep them invested in the home. It must have been a little challenging though to find the tenant while the rehab was happening? Because the tenants are not getting to walk through a completed, beautiful home and instead had to see it when it was less than perfect. But may be you had most of the important things done already so that people can appreciate how nice the home is?

@Michael Noto Well said! Hopefully, I will develop the expertise to deal will tenants effectively.

@Michael Noto  thanks for your thoughts. Your advice makes sense. I will reach out to an attorney to get a boiler plate lease that I can use time and again. It is also a great idea to have a condition sheet. This way the tenant can't claim that something was broken when it was not. My current apartment used a checklist sheet with me when I moved in and it was very  thorough. It had a list of virtually everything in each room of the apartment and I had to place a tick mark next to anything that was not in good condition. This way at the end of the year, I cannot falsely claim that something was broken when I got it.

By the way Mike, I saw one of your older posts regarding the apartment stabilization service you offer. I hope I never have to use this service (lol), but I am glad its there if things ever get out of my control! :-D

Lane Mobley oh I see. We don't worry too much about termites here but I suppose it's essential where u r. So it's good that the HOA takes care of that. And it seems that even with the HOA fee, there is plenty of cash flow left for you. So good purchase. I am also thinking, due to the young age of property, u can probably get away with a lesser monthly capex amount. Due to your job, will u be a moving again soon? Are you worried about being an out of state owner if that does happen? I know I was a little worried about that. Due to my work, I know a relocation is possible in the future. And this would mean that I may become an out of state owner. Having a very good property manager would be key if that happens.

Congrats Lane Mobley That's wonderful. I am impressed that it's a 2004 building. Around my area, it's impossible to find something that new and I myself am currently in process of purchasing a three plex built in 1930s. I am curing about the HOA fee. Seems expensive. What services are included in the 240 per month fee??