Golden Opportunity in NJ- But newbie to rehab/new construction

[Jen Anderson]

Hi all, I've been reading BP and listening to the podcast for a while now, so when a recent opportunity came my way I knew it was too good and I had to jump on it. 

Though I live in California, my immediate family including my mother and her brother live in NJ. Her brother (my uncle) has been getting solicitations by developers to sell his house- which is in a really nice, upscale NJ suburb on a direct train line to NYC. His house is very close to downtown, less that a 10 minute walk to the train station (where people commute to Manhattan in ~35 minutes) and the schools are some of the best in NJ. Net/net- high demand and high home prices in this area. 

So several developers are approaching my uncle and want to buy his property, completely demo it and build a duplex on the lot. My uncle is older and doesn't even use the internet so when I got him to tell me the offer prices he was getting, a quick Zillow search showed he was about to get taken advantage of.  Also, this house has sentimental value to me as it's been in the family for generations and my mother was raised there.

So instead of selling it to hungry developers, I want to buy it, I want to demo it and I want to build the duplex- but keeping it in the family and renting the units out (maybe one day I'll move back and live in 1 unit).  It's a golden opportunity because my uncle is also willing to sell it to me for a small amount upfront, as long as I structure it properly so that he'll get the full value over time or gets made whole through the rental income once we have tenants in. I am thinking there are ways to structure this deal so he benefits from a tax standpoint as well. 

So anyway, I hope you all see that I have a great opportunity here but I need HELP!  I've only done buy and hold to date with minor repairs.  This house needs to be completely demo'd and rebuilt from the ground up. Not only is it extremely old, but he is also a hoarder and it's FULL of junk. I'm sure there's also asbestos and many other "surprises" to be uncovered. 

So I'm posting here to get advice- 

• Anyone on here I should talk to, get advice from?
• Anyone that can help me find a good, trustworthy contractor in NJ? 
• Can I handle this remotely from California or do I need to be on the ground in NJ the entire time?
• Any recommendations for reasonable lawyers that could help me structure the agreement with my uncle to ensure all our bases are covered, it's optimized for taxes, and that he eventually gets the income he is due over time for selling the property to me.

As you can see, I have many questions and I know this is a huge project, but I'm committed and I know it's an amazing opportunity.  Thanks for reading!