All Forum Posts by: Rafael Norat

I only have experience with up work, but good so far. Very easy to use and track progress of work. Highly recommended. Fast response to jobs posted.

Kelly R. Agree with all responses. What's you overall goal? Will keeping this property hamstring you in terms of funds to get there? Does it meet your but and hold criteria if that's what you want to do? Does it cash flow? I'd say identify your long term goal and then work backwards and see if holding this gets you there.

@Talya Coleman

Congrats on getting started!

There's plenty of reading to do here to get a overall grasp of all the possibilities that exist as a real estate investor. Start there to gather your thoughts with the goal of identifying along the way what specific field (wholesaler, rehabber,..) fits your personality and strengths.

Complement this with networking here on BP along with any real estate network groups in your local area. There, you can further solidify what it is that you want to do and what personally you bring to the table. From there, start surrounding yourself with people with greater knowledge that you can help and gain experience through them as well. Whether assisting in advertising deals , helping with daily tasks, whatever value you can add to gain more insight and start your own real life journey.

Hope that helps!

@Eric D.

I hear your pain man! Every time I go to calculate profits in NJ the property taxes always kill me.

What areas are you looking in NJ? Newark, of course, has a lot of action and cash flow opportunities, as do Bloomfield and such. Have you been to any of the meetups in the area? Look up flippers and funders. They operate every 1st Wednesday in West Orange and draw over 100+ local investors and such that can help you get to your cash flow goal. You can leverage in NJ, just have to get it at the right price of course. The stronger your network, the better chance you get there.

There are a lot of Essex and Bergen county locals on here as well.

@Kristi Burmeister

I would say it depends on your own management experience level, the maturity of the management system you are going to implement, and the level of customer service you are going to provide.

I personally took over my own portfolio a couple of months ago because of inadequate management and have had to implement my own systems, staff, and level of service. I'm sure I'm spending twice the amount of time if not more than when I fully have everything complete.

I have maintenance, rehab, and leasing staff, and am implementing all the backside (invoicing, data collection,..) stuff for now, as I need to better define the system before I can transfer it over to others.

I would imagine your scale here would require at least a full days worth a work for a couple of months to set things up, tweak the system here and there, and then finally reduce your hours as you streamline it and get yourself out of those tasks.

Hope that help. In the long run, I'm sure it will be well worth it!

@Lashonda Jones

Have you gone to the city town hall yet? They should be able to provide you status on the parcel as long as you have adjacent addresses to provide as a reference.

Does anyone know of any accessible databases that carry 5-10+ economic projections at the city or county level? My initial search has been the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as state data sites. I can find economic trends based on occupation, but nothing with regards to projections for the city or county.

Thanks and much appreciated..

@Marcia Maynard Thanks so much! I should have enough info here to move forward.

@Account Closed

Sue, much appreciated and thanks for your help!

Mind you that I will seek legal advise..

Has anyone had experience with service dogs as a landlord?

Here's the issue: I tenant of 2 years recently brought a dog home without notice. When confronted, she stated that the dog was a service dog for her disabled son. Her son does not reside or ever has at the unit. I believe he is in a rehab facility, but cannot confirm.

Does it matter that her son doesn't live at the unit? Of course she can say that he's coming home soon.

Any shared thoughts with previous experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.