All Forum Posts by: Amit Patel

I am having a hard time finding good banks for purchase as well as cash out refinance 6-8 unit buildings under a Million dollars.
Many banks are doing a Million and above. These are all B area properties and maybe I am not looking at the right banks. I always purchase in an LLC and put down 30% down and these are good cash flow properties without concerns about deb

I am looking into Investors Bank  and have also worked with BCB in the past and looking at other options beyond these two.

Any input is appreciated.  We are lucky to have such a great community to bounce ideas off each other and I want to thank everyone in advance for any and all input they may provide. Good luck to all and may all your investments be Successes ! 

FYI: Tenant 3 and 4 left a month later and we had to do give them 2 months at the lower rent basically. PM me if you need more info or a copy of that later (this will save you some money so you won't have to go to an attorney to have him draft the letter). However, if you are serious, it may look better coming from the attorney. I can also give you attorney who can do this for a low price if you like.

I purchased a house with 4 tenants and this is the process I followed:

1. I gave them a notice with a new lease raising rent from the 900 they were paying to the $1,250. They had 60 days to accept (which is by law). If not, then they would have to leave. This was more like a notice to Quit/Leave or pay the new rent. This was sent certified and I kept all the info. I also hand delivered it as well to each tenant. Note my town had rent control but our building size meant we were not under rent control.

Here is what happened so you see in real life.

Tenant 1 - Ok to leave as rent increase too much for her.

Tenant 2- Ok to leave but asked for one more month at old rate. I said ok and she moved out.

Tenant 3 and 4 (one elderly, one with 3 kids) complained to the city that it was unfair. I got a call from the city (I was prepared). I told them that the building was under rent control and the increases were needed as the building needed a lot of renovation or It would not be safe. I told them this is my legal means to do this for safety, etc. They didn't say anything else.

Technically, they can take you to court for an unconscionable increase but this rarely happens and I made sure I covered by bases legally by  not going outrageous and also noting the things that needed to be fixed.

Yes. Vinyl Plank. I even use it on our mid-range properties now as it looks great. The stuff I get is $2.50 (2.25 with a 10% lowes coupon from online). It looks clean and very modern and is indestructible and is good sound wise as well. I wish I had found this earlier. I may try something cheaper but for a bit more this really gives a great wow factor over some of the other cheaper stuff.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/STAINMASTER-10-Piece-5-74-in-x-47-74-in-Washed-Oak-Dove-Gray-Locking-Luxury-Residential-Vinyl-Plank/999957695

I agree and disagree with you David.

 I was a newbie 4 years ago and was ashamed to ask dumb questions but people asking where you work, they just want an opportunity. They don't know it offends you. I get so many people asking me about my area and I try to help but there are many of these folks that don't even say thank you.

I think there are newbies that want to learn and will talk with you and thank you and lazy or ungrateful ones.  The problem is until you talk to them, its hard to tell. I will speak to everyone and then if they don't seem like they are "good people", I can always choose to stop my interactions.

Either way, congratulations on finding your niche. It is getting harder for all of us due to so many investors. Personally, this has caused me to branch out and look into making money in many different ways than I did before (BRRR) and its opened up many areas of opportunity that I am diligently pursuing. I believe this push will make me so much more successful in the long term.

@Walmsley Gedeon

I am an aggressive investor but only with risks I can quantify (ie. I'll take a chance on eviction, etc.). I have had the same situation several times and  would not buy with a tank because of what other people said. The liability can range from the 5-6 cost to remove and redo the surface to several hundred thousand in extreme examples. 

@Tanee Gosinanonth

I think just putting information in here is a good start.

You can also advertise on sites such as Craigslist. If you do this, though, few important things

1. Put Clear Pricing - I hate wasting time  having to call.  I should know how much it is to do a typical size surround tiles and bathroom tub.

2. Longevity - Should be clearly spelled out. 

For the bigger properties, you really need to get them when they are doing a re-fresh of the whole complex. They won't really just do it because the opportunity is there because everyone has an investment cycle and timing for it. However, if they have your info, they can keep you in mind for the future.

Personally-  I have avoided glazing as I have heard it doesn't last that long with renter wear/tear so some you would have to sell me on it with case studies on buildings and how it looks, how long it lasts, before /after with costs will help. Your site should tell as story. You can also go on places such as guru.com and get someone to design you a website for very cheap. Hope this helps

@Stefan P.

Goto the town zoning officer and ask them and he will walk you through the steps.

@Shefali R.

Technically any room with a window and a closet is a bedroom. If it is truly usable as a bedroom, go ahead and market it that way, the city is not going to say anything.  Typically the "bonus rooms" are advertised because they maybe very small, etc. or has no closet/window but if it is usable as a bedroom advertise it and you should be fine. Just put some pictures /description if its smaller,etc. I have 2 bed apartments but the 2nd bedroom is so small i put it right there in the ad that its small and will only fit a twin size bed. People appreciate the  additional info and they are not mad when they come see it.

I haven't done Belleville but have done other cities and hope this helps:

You have to talk to the Zoning office in Belleville and get info. In places where i have bought, for example, if I buy a single family and the zone allows 2 families, I can just do by right and convert it.
There is just a basic application needed with the zoning office.. My suggestion is to speak to an attorney first that does zoning in Belleville and find out what your options are. Just searching "zoning attorney" and if you don't find one nearby, call a bunch of attorney and ask them. They will refer you to someone they know who does work in the area.  Second, you should also speak to the Zoning officer in the town. Call him with the property lot number and address and he will be able to reference the map and tell you what you can build easily and what the process would be. Between these two resource, you should be able to get proper info. Note the initial conversation with the lawyers does not cost money so you won't have to pay anything out of pocket and in the end if the property can be converted from a 1 to 2 or 3 family as a right of way, you may not even need a lawyer but these things can get complicated so you really want to make sure you get as much info as you can before you buy the property. 

Last - You also need to know what you are going to do to convert from Single to Multi-fam. Are you tearing down. Building on top, subdividing. There are rules you will need to follow and you may need to work with an architect as well to walk through your vision. He will tell you what is involved as well for getting approval for the switch to Multi. 

Hope this helps.. Let us know how you make out with the bank..