All Forum Posts by: Allan Szlafrok

Obviously it varies by the scope of work but let me add this. If you are doing new service for gas or electric make sure you get those applications in to PSEG before you even start the project because you will need it inspected by both PSEG and the city and that can take months.

How NOT to Make Money in Real Estate (which I wrote) because it was the first time I made a conscious decision to share my experiences with new investors and that has brought me a lot of personal satisfaction and happiness. As far as books I’ve read I’ll throw one out there that a lot of people may not think of. Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins. It helped change a lot of my negative tendencies and helped me become a better investor and human being as well.

@Akheem Gauntlett Really depends on the town but quality stuff in the low 300s maybe high 200s as far as arv and that’s at a minimum.

@Malka Fischman Hudson County like Jersey City, Bayonne, West New York. Union county has some decent areas as well at a higher price point like Elizabeth, some of Hillside, Union, and Linden.

@Malka Fischman At that price point you will mostly be looking at heavy rehabs and in less desirable areas as far as north jersey is concerned. Can’t speak for the rest of the state. You may be able to find some of those in places like Newark, East Orange, Orange, Irvington, Patterson, and possibly Elizabeth. Again if your looking at north Jersey your gonna have to a lot of work to these houses and they aren’t likely to be in the best neighborhoods of those towns.

Its entirely possible they arent paying taxes on it and liens are being levied by the town against the property. Either they will eventually sell the house and pay off the liens with some of the proceeds or the town will foreclose on it for unpaid taxes and sell it themselves. More than likely to an investor at an auction.

I have a bachelors in finance and an MBA as well. I think its been useful in helping me analyze deals as well as understanding my financing options. Concepts like PV and FV as well as a general understanding of the economy and economic trends have helped me make good decisions in my real estate career. Also through my MBA coursework i learned to build spreadsheets and models so i can analyze deals under a variety of conditions That being said i think having degree in accounting or law would be the most useful degree to have as a real estate investor, or at least a good working understanding of those fields as they relate to real estate.

I recently estimated that i save at least $2,500 a year being handy between small repairs to my property and to my own home and it cost me nothing to learn those skills. So yeah its useful as long as you dont overestimate your talents and screw things up more before you have to call a professional. 

@Precious Stepney If an investor made an offer on it chances are there is some upside there that you are not seeing. Either your price was too low to begin with or he plans on adding value through rehabbing the property and raising rents. So if I were you I would take a hard look at the numbers and seeing if you can capture some of that upside for yourself. Partnering up with an experienced investor could make sense and you can negotiate the details later on maybe reach out to some people and see what the highest and best use of your property is. I’m a Brooklyn guy myself and love brownstones so I’ll be following this thread.

@Ley Nezifort They just announced they borrowed some money to replace the pipes at no cost to the owners so I imagine they will start getting it under control soon and I won’t be anything like Flint.