All Forum Posts by: Nick Payton

@Brian Burke Excellent before and afters Brian!  This is a very professional flip.

How do you determine the upgrades you will make?  Do you take picture, along with the house layout, and sit down and brainstorm with your contractor?  Was this a similar process for your first few flips?

Thanks again for a great thread!

@Dru Steeby

Good stuff Dru, congrats!

I am looking to do the same by the end of the year.

Question question, what is your total mortgage payment (including taxes, insurance, etc)? Curious if your numbers are factoring in the 50% rule or not.

Thanks Troy! All good suggestions. I think I may have seen you talk about separate utility metering in previous forum topics. I'll be sure to make this a top line item.

Since you are from the area, you'll know a little more about where I'm looking. I used to live in Collingswood and it is a great up and coming city with older homes that I believe can be reasonably priced when looking for the right deal. That is where I'm focusing. The soon to be wife is very adament that she doesn't want to live in a crummy place or area, so I have to find a balance between a good investment and a property that is in reasonably good condition.

@Michael Lebeau

It can vary greatly based on which town you're in since we're just outside of Philadelphia. I'd say the typical 2 bedroom can go for $1200, 3 bedroom probably arond $1500. I've seen as much as $2,000 for some 3 bedrooms but thats on the high side.

I haven't seen too many 3 units on the market that are appealing as of now. There is one in Haddonfield, NJ that I love but it has already been completely renovated and I would be buying it at its max potential, which I dont want to do. It is on the market for $440,000. I could probably get around $1500 per unit. If I were to live in one of them, that means $3000 per month before the 50% rule and the mortgage alone would probably cost around $3600 per month. Not the right investment, but that's an example.

@Joel Owens

Thanks for the input. I'll add the eviction research to my list of red flag items I'll need to look into. I also included how the units are metered, proper zoning/permits, and getting insurance quotes and proper handyman or construction partners.

We are lucky enough to be getting most of our wedding paid for from family. However, we do have some student loan debt. More me than her. I just turned 30 so I'm doing good in my day job, making a 6 figure income, which allows me to also put aside a little money for investments such as this.

It sounds like the consensus from the responses to get as many units in my first property as possible. Thank you.

@Brie Schmidt

Thanks Brie! That's my plan as well. I told her to give me at least 5 years to get her into her dream home. Until then, we'll be live in investors.

@Michael Lebeau

Thanks for your input. Yea, I think Jersey taxes are pretty much in line with Connecticut. I probably would be looking at a similar tax ratio. I like the idea of 3 and 4 unit properties, however; most are double the price of duplexes so I'll have to run the numbers. We are 6 months away from this purchase so I'm getting a head start. I grew up in this area so I'm very familiar with rent.

For instance, a duplex in this area is on the market for around $200,000. I could easily get $1200 per month in rent. I'll be using an FHA loan, so I'm ballparking the mortgage and taxes to come in around $1500 per month. This particular example doesn't appear to be a good investment, even when we eventually rent out the second unit. But this is just one example at the typical price ranges I'm seeing so far.

I am new to Bigger Pockets, and this is my first forum post.

My fiance and I are looking into buying our first home. I have decided that instead of purchasing a single family home for ourselves, we have begun looking into the purchase of a multi family investment property in South Jersey (ie. Camden/Burlington Counties).

I've looked on the market and determined that it is mostly duplexes, and a few more expensive 3 and 4 units. The most likely scenario is for us is the purchase of a duplex, in which we will live in one of the units. This satisfies both my desire for a multi family, and my fiance's desire to feel comfortable and not feel like we're living in an apartment.

The ultimate goal is to cover the mortgage, after the 50% rule, and save the cash flow for a second property in a year or so.

I would love to hear from others who began in a similar fashion. Also, anyone who has experience in this market. Taxes in this area can be fairly significant so that is something I will have to consider when running the numbers.