All Forum Posts by: Jon Lafferty

Hi @Akash Patel

There is a central NJ REIA. I believe they are held in Princeton. @Matt Faircloth may be able to add some insight into this.

Good luck!

fine art in one of our newest rehabs :)

@Account Closed

Nice ones, can I join in on the fun. Nothing better than showing up with police and evicting a tenant from hell.

@J. Martin so happy to hear how well things are shaping up for you! I had a great time talking real estate and everything else in center city Philly last time you were in town. Look me up next time your around.

Keep living!

Hi Jose, welcome to BP. If you are looking to connect with local real estate investors I recommend going to the newbies group at the SJREIA. See @Tom Dagney link in his signature for more details. There are many locals investing in the areas you mentioned.

Hey @Emilio Basa , my commercial lenders don't use DTI as their only metric however it is a part of the underwriting pie so to speak. The banks want to see that the asset is performing well and can pay for itself. In addition to that they have checked my DTI, reserves, credit etc.

I don't show them a business plan any more however my first loan with my main commercial lender I went in with a powerpoint presentation (printed) and a few spreadsheets. You should be prepared to sell them on why they should do business with you and why you are a good risk.

I just have to add that I have had some good success with DIF when removing wallpaper but my best secret is a 1:4 ratio of liquid fabric softener to water. Works fantastic and smells great :). 

Of course elbow grease is still required.

@Emilio Basa I invest locally so for me I found it easiest to call banks that are local to my community and then expand to a 50 - 100 mile radius. I work with 1 bank in my local metro of Philly and 2 local community banks in Southern NJ. I have found that after 1 solid deal banks were willing to expand their offerings to me. 

When I found a local lender that was willing to work with me I made sure I scheduled time for a face to face visit to explain my business model and further cultivate our relationship. I think it can be invaluable to make a personal connection with lending professionals because they are then able to help sell you to underwriting.

@Emilio Basa I have also run into this issue and really just needed to struggle through it for a year until I could include the income on my taxes. Having said all that, I have since developed a relationship with a commercial lender that I game plan with before I purchase into a situation like this. Typically I find that they don't work with credit scores and DTI as their only metrics and many times they underwrite a little more holistically based on metrics and situation / relationship. It never hurts to have a small chunk of cash in their bank either :)

Good Luck!

Hi Shawn,

I'll echo what the rest of the group has said.

Network and learn and your local REIA (for us that is SJREIA)

Network and learn on BP.

And jump in :) your have a great buy and hold market that you currently live in.

Good luck,

Jon