All Forum Posts by: Mark F.

@Antonio Cucciniello First it varies from town to town. If you do a search on here about occupied basements NJ you'll see a lot of info. In short, it can be very difficult to not happening to it can be done but $$$. Again biggest thing is how the town is. At minimum you'll need permits and a variance from the town to convert from 2 plex to 3 plex.

Your other option is to rent out the 1st floor and basement together as one whole unit.

@Nick Barlow Thanks for the reply. I agree with you, certain jobs must aren't impacted and I see covid blowing over in 4 more. If we're still in a downturn that doesnt scare me as much.

In 2010 2011 I was oblivious to the world around me when I had another GI job. Purchased an SFR back then which worked out great. Now I'm a bit more educated and well off financially. Good luck on your purchase! Hopefully I'll have a few more doors by the end of 2020.

Thanks to the crowd who's been around the block and gives out advice. Love reading it.

I'm one of those leveraged guys in an owner occupied 3 unit. While my tenants pay my mortgage on the good days, if they were out of jobs my budget would shrink. I do have the required reserves and I live a frugal lifestyle so I'm not super worried as my income can support my mortgage.

This might sound off but Im still thinking of going after a owner occupied financing 4 plex this year, even with all the things going on. I'm active duty so my income is pretty reliable. Am I nuts?

Grant Supply is good for electrical and plumbing supplies. They have a couple locations.

@Paul Sandhu Get a bidet. Problem solved. I cant help but laugh at the TP shortage. I even have a Costco sized bag of some as backup.

Yes I have, just a couple months ago I used mine. The benefit like Kevin said is you might not have to bring anything to the table for a down payment. This is huge in my opinion if you plan on holding it for the long term. You will still have to cover the closing costs though. The drawbacks are some sellers will be put off by this type of loan, they feel you have no skin in the game. They may place your offer below all cash or conventional loans. The other big issue is the VA inspector can and most likely will call out things on the inspection that wouldn't normally be noticed on a regular inspection. The problem is that once he/she calls these issues out, you or the seller must remediate these issues before the loan gets approved. Mine called out a couple things and luckily I was able to fix them myself with my realtor. The kicker was he said they were good after I fixed them, never knowing if I ever did as I know for a fact he never showed up to the property to confirm.

I assume you're AD or a vet. Jump over to the military section of these forums for some good info. 

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Garfield.

Purchase price: $492,500
Cash invested: $16,500

Two family in Garfield.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

House hack with potential to cash flow once I left.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS with realtor.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Home buying process is different in NJ than what I was used to. Have great team members and drop the ones who are not performing to your standard.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Thomas Corrente realtor, Todd at Brightwire Loans.

Hello BP!

New investor here and I've been thinking a lot about my future in REI. Currently house hacking (couple months in) which as of now is paying my mortgage. When I move out it should cash flow nicely as I underwrote very conservative. Full time active duty and a good chance I'm switching to a federal job this year. I do plan on keeping it for a while, if not do the full 20. No personal debt with very low cost of living. My goal is to have 25 doors for $6k a month in side income. Only spending a couple hours a week managing and overseeing, 2026 timeframe.

I've only been in my multi for just under 2 months and already itching to do my next deal. I picked up a ton of knowledge getting the 1st unit rent ready and have an amazing leasing agent who got it rented for way more than I had thought in 1 week. Had my realtor start sending 4 unit MLS emails again. I want to scale up and eventually own an apartment complex. I don't have enough for a 20-25% dp on a commercial unit where I live and plan on investing. I'm setting my sights on a 4 unit, house hack again using an FHA loan this time (VA loan last time), and then in a couple years using the equity from current place and next place with money saved to buy a 5 to 15 unit.

I know myself and I am more than capable of managing and bringing a complex that needs some love up to par. I think my weak point will be financing. I'd probably be looking at over $200k dp in my market. Even after a 2 and 4 unit under me and some money saved I will probably be a little short. I'm making it a point to get out to more RE events in my area and network.

Any constructive criticism is welcome! In my spare time I've been reading every business and RE book I can get my hands on as well as crushing RE podcasts which I feel is helping a lot on my knowledge. Currently on Jake & Ginos MF one, caught up on the BP one couple months ago.

@Asya Evans New duplex owner and I cant see the use for a PM software or website yet. I set them up to email or text my google voice # with issues and emergencies. Rent is paid thru Zelle or venmo. I think after your first 5 or so properties it would start to make sense. As of now it's easy to keep up with two doors just by email and 3rd party paying apps.

@Natalia Orosco My realtor is also an investor and he told me he'd never make me sign those type of agreements. I agree with Joe on this as well.