All Forum Posts by: Satha Palani

Just got my offer on a single family accepted. The property is in the north side of Newark. Larger single family home that is being used as a 2 family. The building itself seem sound though the interior has not been maintained. I plan to substantially renovate the place and ( if possible), make it a legal 2 family. 

Should i just skip  the home inspection? I feel that since we are going to rehab the place, there is not much the inspection will tell us that we either don't already know or are not already planning to fix but wanted to ask for some opinions , in case i was missing something.

Also, can someone recommend a good home inspector in the Newark area.

thanks 

Here is my situation hoping folks on here can help provide thoughts:

I own a 3 family home in New Jersey. I occupy 1 unit and advertised the other 2 for rent with a "no pet" policy. Prospective tenant informed me that he has a emotional support animal. 

I believe the FHA exempts multi-families of 4 units or less that are owner occupied. The language in the NJ Law against Discrimination, limits exemptions to 2 family homes where the owner occupied 1 unit.

Does this mean based on NJ state law My property is not exempt? 

I had an applicant that disclosed an emotional support dog when they came to see the place. Have not received an application. But want to be clear on how to go about handing the application.

thanks,

satha 

Makes sense if you are going there to retire and will be on the ground to manage things.

I am a Malaysian living in the United States . Started investing in Malaysia before I moved here and own a few rental units on KualaLumpur the capital. Not too familiar with Penang myself but my brother owns a few rental units on the island. He tells me real estate prices are at their all time peak with lots and lots of new construction. Prices seem to be out of sync with the local earning capacity as well which to me is a strong indication of speculation. I was around when the economy driven largely by a unchecked construction boom crashed in 97.It was not pretty. Not trying to scare you, just advising caution. Best of luck.

The renter is a tenant. Read up the landlord tenant laws for your state. Make sure to put a lease in place. You will want to make sure you clearly specify what the tenant is responsible for; utilities , snow removal, parking , cleaning , access to common areas etc.

I look at citydata.com. Search by zip. The site shows data by zip broken down by block code / census area. Number of different metrics. I typically looks at median household income; both recent data and % change from last census

Can anyone recommend a decent HVAC guy that is local? I have 3 boilers of varying ages that need to get serviced 

thanks,

satha

@Valerie King

One major benefit of house hacking is the ability to finance the property using low down payment loans; most common one is Fannie Mae. I have also heard good things about the Freddie Mac Home Possible program. You should definitely look into both 

@Account Closed on connecting with a HUD consultant

good luck

Hi,

Congrats on your upcoming graduation. I think you may be missing the point on interest. Paying 4% APR on a mortgage for a home that will potentially appreciate in value and generates an income stream from rental is not the same as paying 22% APR on credit card debt incurred to buy the latest pair of designer jeans.

The question you ask yourself should be what return can I make and what are the risk i take on to make that return. Here is how i would think about it if i were you; I have 10K in savings; I can: 

a) keep it in the bank and get 1% a year for it  - no risk

b) invest it in blue chip dividend stocks that pay 4~5% in dividends - higher risk

c) Use the money as down payment to buy a house to live in and rent out part of the home to generate income - you need to figure out what your return will be in this scenario. When i did my first house hack,  my cash on cash return was 14% ; I figured better 14% than 5% and went for it.

As long as you are cash flow positive  and making a good return on your investment (you determine what is good), how much you pay in interest is not really a issue. 

Best way to analyze deals is to look up houses that fit the bill on MLS and run the numbers. I must have run the numbers on hundreds of houses before I called my first realtor.

Freddy Mac has a low down payment program where you don't need to pay PMI i think. Look into that. also find out if your county or city offers down payment assistance. Fannie may does in certain circumstances.  Look for foreclosures that have been recently listed, typically for the first 2 weeks or so the seller will only entertain offers from owner occupiers.

Best of luck,

P.S> look into putting some money away in the ROTH IRA each year. Post tax dollars that grow interest free and can be withdrawn interest  free. I always wish someone had told be about it when i was 22 :)