Starting out in New Jersey

[Jake Recz]

Hello everybody! I just joined not too long ago. I did some reading and I gotta say that this place is very addictive! There is so much great information being shared here that once you start reading it's tough to stop! I'm from Central NJ. I've been thinking about real estate for a while now but I had no idea where to start so I started with reading about it. Reading about it a whole lot. Ever since I was a little kid I always wanted to do something different than those around me. A 9 to 5 is not my thing. I like to fix things, build things, and solve problems! Something about buying a two family house and living rent free in one of the units excites me very much. So many people I know hang on to their jobs and pray they don't get layed off just so they can keep paying that 30 year mortgage on a single family house that is eating them alive. All while they call their home an investment... I learned one very important thing from the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and that was that an investment makes money for you. I don't plan on buying a single family home until I can afford that luxury. I'm 24 years old and I think it's the right time to start. I'm looking forward to learning from all of you and starting on the path to success and stability offered by real estate. I already have my eyes set on a two family house in my local area. The house needs work and if all goes well it might be where I'm gonna start my adventure with real estate. I'm sure I'll be posting some questions about it on the forums, although I have to say that utilizing the search function already helped me a lot!

[Rita Droz]

@Jake Recz  Welcome!  Always nice to see another real estate investor (soon to be investor) from New Jersey.  BP has amazing opportunity with information, networking and just plain good people who will answer whatever questions you may have!  Check out the podcasts and participate on the forums as much as you can.  You are absolutely right, this place is addictive!  All the best in your future real estate investing!

[Victor Menasce]

Jake Recz welcome! Never too early to start. A close friend of mine started at 21. She just win business woman of the year at age 27. Her business is now doing $30M per year.

I took a career shift into investing at age 45. I'm now building residential subdivisions and multi unit apartment buildings 5 years later.

Just make sure you get lots of practice. The best way is to find someone who is doing something similar to what you want but has much more experience. Go work with them for a few years to learn the business.

[David Semer]

@Jack Recz

Best of luck starting out. Sounds like you already got the right mindset. I would also check out some of the local REI in your area. This is were you are able to meet local investors who you maybe able to ask for referrals or even get off market properties.

Happy Investing.  

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

Welcome to BP community @Jake Recz  It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more. Here are a few recommendations for you:

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet

Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

If you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select that person below. He or she will be notified of being tagged so that the conversation will continue.

Wishing you the best! 

[Antonio Coleman]

Welcome @Jake Recz  to BP you're in the right place!

[Larry Fried]

@Jake Recz

 Hi and welcome to BP!

[Chaz Reid]

@Jake Recz

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!!!

I'm glad to see you decided to introduce yourself to everyone. If there is anything I can help you with, feel free to ask away. If I don't know the answer, I'm pretty sure I can at least guide you in the right direction.

In the meantime, if you're in need of a quick inspiration read, feel free to check out my blog post here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/6240/blog_posts/42502-the-four-qualities-you-must-possess-for-success

Looking forward to connecting with you and seeing you around the forum.

Very respectfully,

[David Pickard]

@Jake Recz

welcome! I am new here as well. I have been pretty addicted to the reading for the past week or two just like you. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

[Justin Fraser]

Hey @Jake Recz , welcome to BP! I'm also from Central NJ and started REI at 25, it's a great time to start!

What town are you looking for properties in? If you find one you like, make sure to post it on the deal analysis forum for advice, it's free!

Also, there is a meetup every few months for people in Central Jersey, just add "central jersey meetup" to your keyword alerts and you'll be notified about the next one.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

[Chai Sag]

Welcome to BP!

good luck!

I sold my first apartment when I was 17 years old

Sold Millions of dollars when i was 18 and 19 years old

[Brian Hall]

Welcome @Jake Recz! I am a new member from SJ.  I like how you just jumped right in with the Pro Account.  I also suggest check out your local REAI.  I made a couple good connections at my first meeting.

[Nick Stango]

Hey @Jake Recz welcome to BP, I'm over the river in Yardley / Morrisville  Pa I'm also new to BP, check out the podcast there are some NJ investors on some of them.

[Gina Raheb]

Hello Jake
Sounds like you have the right mindset , my advice be relentless and don't let anyone steal your dream , other sites to join are meet-up , REIClub , bigger Pockets continues to be very resourceful to me.
Good luck in your future endeavors
Contact me if you need any advice.

[Brian C.]

@Jake Recz welcome to BP! I hope you find the answers you are looking for. Always good to see more people from Jersey on this site.

[Jake Recz]

Hello again! I must say I did not expect that much response to my post. Thank you! I already feel at home here. I plan on participating here as much as I can. 

To answer some of the questions, I'm looking for properties all over NJ and I would not mind going over to PA either. NY state is also an option. I'm mostly interested in multi family properties but if a single family home comes up and looks like a good flip I'm ready to jump on it to make some money for future investments. I can do a lot of the work myself. I suppose that can save a few bucks and increase the profit at the end. Anything local where the numbers make sense looks good to me! 

I'll set up some alerts when I get on the computer. I'd love to attend a local REI meeting to learn more about the business.

@Justin Fraser To answer your question, I'm looking in Manville at the moment. I have one that looks quite interesting but it's in a flood zone... I called the flood ins agent and I'm waiting for a quote. I already saw the place and it needs work due to the last flood. So far it looks like I'll have to skip it as the agent said the property has been declared a total loss a few times already. I expect the flood ins rates to be just too high to leave any room for profit. There must be a reason for that property to be on the market for so long already. I'll be posting more about it in another section of the forum soon. I definitely want to get some feedback from experienced investors before I even make an offer on that place. 

@Brian Hall I watched the recent podcast and joining came with so many perks and materials that I just had to jump right in. I'm hungry for all the knowledge lol Plus the deal analysis calculator offered to pro members is truly AMAZING. 

Again, thank you everybody for welcoming me here. I'm looking forward to interacting with all of you on the forums and learning more about REI.

[Ceril S.]

@Jake Recz welcome to BP! we just closed on a multifamily in Manville (in a flood zone) on Friday and will have our first tenant moving in Sunday.  So, definitely reach out if you have Q's. We didn't plan on buying in the flood zone - it was originally for a family member but when they decided against it we moved forward on it. There was a Homepath duplex that looked interesting but I was told that the apartments were really small and there was one more that is currently owner occupied that looked interesting as well.  I think there is a meeting about new flood maps this Thursday.  

BP has been amazing - I don't think I could have done it without the amazing support here. 

[Jake Recz]

That's great! Congrats! I did not expect to see anybody from the area here. This forum is amazing! Way to go with locating tenants! I've been on Craigslist for the past 6 months trying to see if units in Manville are getting rented and your experience reassures me that this town is a good place to invest. Most people I know would never purchase anything in a flood zone! You mention the flood zone and others look at you as if you're crazy lol To me it's all a numbers game! I noticed there were a few multi family properties in Manville. I just concentrated on one for now trying to learn as much as possible about it. I have a feeling the insurance is gonna kill the deal though... Too bad. I'll go on to the next one if that's the case! I didn't hear about the Thursday meeting but I'm curious as to what they come up with. Again congrats on your purchase! 

[Ceril S.]

@Jake Recz I saw this link in another thread.  http://www.zilpy.com/ it shows a bunch of info but mostly it was interesting to see that it shows manville as having 41% renters with 7% vacancies. Sounds like a good demand to me but I'm open to hearing how others interpret the data. The house we bought is in perfect condition and was owner occupied, the neighborhood looks to be maybe 60% or more of rentals - but the flood zone issue seems to be taking its toll. We are a bit nervous about the rising cost of flood ins. But our numbers still worked even with the flood ins. Factored in. 

[Gabe D.]

Jake Recz if you can check out NJRESN event tonight in Garwood at the Westwood. It's the only one I attend regularly lots of heavy hitters and beginners alike. If you wind up making it shoot me a PM we'll hook up. And congrats on making moves at such a young age I wish I had been that motivated when I was 24.

[Rodney Diamond]

@Jake Recz Welcome to BP!! It’s great to have you here.

M & R

[Raymond B.]

@Jake Recz,

To Make the @ work do the following:

Hold down the shift key and type the following: @?

Look below this Window, and you will see a list of list of names of people who have posted in this thread.

Click on the name of the person that you want notified via an email that you responded to them.

If you are a Colleague with anyone that has not posted in this thread, and you want them to see your post, hold down the shift key, and type the @ and the first 4 letters of the first or last name.

Look below this Window, and click on your Colleague's name.

They will be notified via an email about your post in this thread.

Raymond

[Jake Recz]

@Ceril S. The flood insurance cost is definitely something to look at. It is already creating issues for the two family I was looking at. I spoke with the insurance agent today and getting a quote alone seems to be difficult. I can already imagine how high the quote is gonna be once I do get it... The flood ins cost will go up. I suppose its a good idea to leave some room for that expense to climb. I'm glad I decided to get a quote before even considering submitting an offer.

@Gabe D. Thanks for the tip! I have been busy for the past couple days and didn't even see your post. Im in the process of changing jobs... Once I get all settled in I should be more active around here and possibly attend a meet up. Funny thing... You mentioned you wish you were that motivated at 24. I wish I was as motivated at 16 as I am now! I wasted a few good years haha Like I said earlier I'm in the process of getting a job. I filled out all the paperwork recently and they offer me 5 days of vacation a year. Not bad considering my other job offered 5 days off after 2 YEARS! Still... Just reading the policy I started shaking my head. To work one full year, so I can be able to go on vacation and spend 5 full days with my family? Uhh... That's not enough days for me. I HAVE to do something to be more independent from outside employment. 

@Raymond B. Thanks for the tip! I think I finally got it working. We'll see once I post.