All Forum Posts by: Alex Staunton

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $107,000
Cash invested: $107,000

Purchased cash through auction.com. Kept renter that was in place for $1,300/month.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The Price!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Auction

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Increased current tenant's rent from $900 to $1300

What was the outcome?

Cash flow!

@Danilo A. I didn't go all cash in Asbury but like I mentioned, it was a unique situation and I agreed I would sign all of the tenants to one year leases at their current, below market rents which I assume most other investors/contractors wouldn't be interested in.  It ended up working out, they delivered the property with 3 vacant units and a fourth just asked if they could move out early.  I've been able to lightly renovate those and get much better rent.  On a purchase price of $800k and another $40kish in improvements, I'm now getting around $9,000 in rent which is a cash flow around $3,500 per month right now.  

For the Rahway one, yea, I had to buy it cash without knowing anything other than what I could piece together online.  I got it for $107k and condos in that building go for around 150k for renovated 1 bedrooms and 170k for renovated 2 bedrooms.  I figured worst case was around $40k in repairs which would put me at a break even if it was a 1 bedroom.  It ended up being a 2 bedroom with a tenant paying $900 per month.  I got him to agree to an increase to $1,300 which is a cash flow of around $575.  I was too busy to deal with the renovation right now so I'll let him stay at that for now.  

@Ronny Tiburcio yea, i'd be interested.  I tried looking for it on Biggerpockets Events but didn't see it, where can I see the details on it?  

@Ronny Tiburcio Closed but turns out it was occupied.  Doesn't seem like that bad of a scenario though.  The apartment isn't in great shape but it's not awful.   He was on a month to month lease for $900.  I closed March 21st but wasn't able to get in touch with the tenant until April 2nd.  He gave me $900 for April and is going to give me $900 for May.  In June, I'll raise the rent to $1,300/$1,400.  If he decides to move out cuz of the increase, I'll renovate.   You can definitely come by to take a look when it's vacant.

Nice work @Ronny Tiburcio, you did well, it seems like you got the top end or at least near it for Rahway, especially only with the 1 bathroom. Did you do the work yourself or did you use some local contractors? If local contractors, do you have any recommendations? I'm closing on an REO 2 BR by the train this week. I haven't seen the inside yet but assuming it's gonna need some significant work.

@Sami Gren Oh, that I can't answer for you.  I haven't taken any of them but they aren't necessary to take/pass the state exam.

They have other online classes but they're not the pre-license course.  The 75 hours pre-license course is required by the state and is only offered in person.

Has to be in person in NJ. They may have classes online but they don't offer the pre-licensing course online

Also, if you're having trouble getting people to come look at the unit, it's likely priced too high.  I know the market pretty well and have a good friend with a few properties.  Send me the link of your place and I can give you my opinion on what your rent should be.

Rahway can be really specific to the particular neighborhood, varying by as much as 30%. Id try to keep your comps as tight as possible to the neighborhood of the home.