All Forum Posts by: Allan Szlafrok

@Anthony Aiello prices in Newark have exploded since this thread was started. I was happily surprised by the appraisals i got back a couple of years ago. Personally i like Elizabeth and own a little there i used to own in Orange but i sold and  Irvington i dont love. People are having success in other parts of Union County besides Elizabeth like Linden, Union, Roselle, and Roselle Park. Those are all worth a look. Im still looking for deals in Jersey City and while its very expensive there are still deals around so thats been my focus recently more so than Newark.

@John Cashway Might not hurt to work with a broker the first time around to get the lease written up to your satisfaction. For example some landlords allow pets and others don’t, some require 1.5 months security deposit some don’t, etc.

@Sharron Morrow We our then in all of our full rehabs as it’s a nice amenity that applicants appreciate. A lot of tenants wind up using it as extra storage for dishes in a small kitchen but they do like it and I think for less then $500 it’s a good thing to have.

@Anne Williams If it’s a court house auction they usually tell you the reserve price at the auction. If it’s an online auction you just have to keep bidding and find out. I’ve bought properties in Newark on auction.com which means with no inspection or anything and I’m not a big fan especially these days when there is so much competition and they get up too close to retail and I have no idea what’s going on inside. At least in the online auctions you can purchase title insurance by them but at courthouse auctions you can’t. You need to check with the city for water, tax, and other liens. In both online and live auctions you need to check for code violations and penalties as well as these are not wiped out in the foreclosure. Trust me I’ve been burned before. I know there are a couple of title companies who will do a search for you pre auction if you are interested. I think Clear Skies title and Investors First both offer that and it might be a good idea for you. Maybe head to a live auction with a list of properties for that auction and write down what the properties are going for and see if you think anyone got a great deal. Same with online auctions. It’s a good way to get your feet wet in the auction process. Good luck!

@Viet Hoang I have never personally used an interior designer because I don’t really do high end rehabs but I guess you can add 35% to your budget for tiles, paints, and fixtures. Also remember the quality of the workmanship of the contractor is very important especially if you are spending all this money on materials so stay on top of whoever is doing the labor. Personally when I’m looking for design ideas I go on Houzz and places like that and just copy what I like while getting similar materials at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Unless you are going ultra high end and custom I never saw a reason to buy those things anywhere else.

@Yonah Weiss Id say it's hard to scale right now in small MF and SFH but if you were buying from say 2010-2016 it was a lot easier. There's just not buckets of homes to be bought en mass anymore. It also depends on your market. For example in my market, northern NJ, scaling was always a bit more difficult because the housing stock is generally very old requiring a lot of repairs and upkeep is more intensive as well. Not to mention the fact that prices are much higher here with duplexes starting from the high 200s-400s these days and still relatively expensive versus other areas back when the market was lower . So scale is less relevant to me in terms of units I focus more on cash flow rather than how many doors I have in total. I'd tell your friend to just focus on building cash flow and equity without regards to how many doors it takes to reach his goal.

@Paul Muwonge I have. It’s the landlords responsibility. You will need to pay the fine or go to court whatever the case may be. Talk to the tenants and make sure they understand the rules regarding garbage collection. I know putting bulk items out on non bulk day is a pretty much guaranteed fine the code enforcement officers go around looking for that it’s easy money for the city. So is not maintaining your lawn and that’s a court date for you. Maybe in your lease you can add (if you don’t have) that the tenants are responsible for fines related to garbage tickets. You’ll still have to pay the fine or go to court but maybe you can recoup the money.

@Wei Jie Yang Jersey City is a great option for you. Locations near the trains will get you to midtown in about 20-30 minutes. I own properties on the West Side and in Bergen-Lafayette and i get a lot of renters who are leaving NYC for something lower priced but with easy access to their jobs in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Prices have gone up a lot in recent years but there are still good deals available and still way cheaper than NYC in most areas. 

@Matthew Kelley I like Union, Essex, and Hudson counties especially the urban areas as opposed to the suburbs. Yes taxes are high houses are expensive but rental demand is very strong and if you have a good product you won’t have units sitting on the market forever.

Ive experienced a  lot be more specific