All Forum Posts by: Marcin Ferenc

Hi @Ben Lukes and welcome to BP. For starters I would say talk to more banks. Try small/local banks as well as they may be a bit more lenient with their lending practices. Also, maybe you can move a little further away from the city to find something more affordable to get your feet wet. Then when you establish yourself with 2 years of W2 income banks should be much more willing to lend to you. Also after being a landlord for 2 years banks will look at ~70% of your rental income as part of your regular income.

@Kristin Horowitz. I don't own any commercial properties but I have inquired about loans for them. A local credit union in my town told me I need 20% down on any commercial. That will likely be your biggest hurdle in acquiring this property. A money partner could work and you can potentially refinance the property or take a HELOC in a couple years to cash them out?

Hi all - does anyone know or can recommend a civil/structural engineer that can spec out a header for me in the North New Jersey area. I am opening up an 18 foot load bearing wall on the first floor and prefer to be safe and have a pros opinion on the appropriate materials to use for this task. It will also help to keep the town happy when I apply for the permit when I show them an engineers seal of approval on the plans.

Thank you,

Marcin

Hi all, just wanted to let everyone know I just published the first blog post! This is the first time I actually wrote a blog post so it is very raw. Please excuse the amateur writing style. I hope you enjoy!

I add this to the calendar on my phone and personally replace the filters. I just don't trust the tenants to do it and it is too large of an expense should something go wrong with the furnace because of such a cheap and easy maintenance routine.

I usually keep a couple filters around the furnace in the rental property so I don't have to remember the size each time I go there and I don't have to make a stop at Home Depot just for that purpose.

hi @Denise Curtis, if the tenant is month to month than the seller should be able to deliver the property vacant provided you give ample time to the tenant to move out. Usually that is 1 month. If this is a one year lease than you have to wait the remaining number of months before you can ask the tenant to leave provided they don't do anything to break the lease such as stop paying rent.

In my town in NJ it is required by code to install a vent fan when redoing a bathroom. 

Welcome @Steve Kelly. BP is a great place to learn everything you need to know about REI. Check out the podcasts and definitely visit the forums often.

Hi @Carima Forsythe and welcome to BP. I'm over in Clifton Right next to Montclair. If you have any questions let me know. I'd be happy to help out any way I can. 

@Jeffrey Giffin. My first rental was a two family with a large garage that I rented separately for storage. I think it depends more on your area whether you want to invest in SFRs or multi families. Over by me it is tough to get the numbers to work on an SFR. If you are having trouble analyzing, start with the 2% rule and 50% rule. See which types of properties can meet or get close to those guidelines easier by you. That should point you in the right direction.