All Forum Posts by: Andrew Pierson

Hello,

I’m a young investor currently renting out two properties in Eastern Pennsylvania. I’m about to relocate to Ocean County, NJ, specifically around the Howell/Brick area, due to my fiancé’s one-year medical residency.

I’m interested in investing in a single-family home or duplex that I could live in for about one to three years, ideally within a 15-mile radius of Jersey Shore and Newark Beth Israel hospitals. I’m not very familiar with the local market and would love any insights on promising neighborhoods for living and investing.

I successfully acquired both of my current properties off-market without the help of realtors, but I'm feeling a bit stuck on how to navigate the Ocean County market. I'm looking for distressed properties in need of rehab, with a budget of around $250,000 for a loan, along with my own cash to invest in renovations over the next year. Ideally, I'm seeking homes with 2-3 bedrooms and at least 1.5 bathrooms.

From my research, I find Howell appealing as a potential location, but I’m open to other suggestions. If anyone has expertise in this area or can provide guidance, I’d greatly appreciate it. I plan to start a deep dive into off-market deals in the next couple of months, aiming to occupy the property by July of next year. I’m not in a rush, but I’m eager to learn more about the local market.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hi BP,

I recently just partnered with a seasoned investor on a package deal that will include a single family and a duplex. My partner is helping me for the sole purpose of getting my foot through the door as he is also a contractor who can help me save some costs with fixing both places up. The relationship is good and all I need to do at the end is buy out his portion of the partnership at the end if I want to obtain 100% ownership. My question is these properties are off-market and my thought process was to buy with cash than refinance but my partner is looking for me to get a mortgage on it. What would be the best approach through a mortgage for two properties located in the same town for someone like me who doesn't currently own any yet at the moment. 

Hello BP,

I have recently graduated college and I'm working as a government employee. I was in the process of putting letters together to send to a bunch of non-owner occupied homes in the area I want to get started in. My question is when I do get a call back from someone who wants to discuss it to me, is it possible to do a primary loan when most cases I see the deals being done with cash or hard money. In my case I would like to take advantage of first time homebuyer grants and hoping there are mortgage programs out there for government employees. If yes, what is a negotiating strategy you would recommend or a talking point I should use in my letters that would differentiate me from another person to the biggest extent possible?

Thank you.

Hi BP,

I created an account on foreclosure.com and was wondering if it is feasible to attempt to purchase houses that way. Does anyone have experience with it and what do you look for when looking to bid on a house at auction. Is there a way to get these houses before they hit auction? What is everyone's recommendations for it. 

So I am still new to real estate and I am trying to learn as much as I can before I get into it. I ran into a family friend that owns 50 properties and he usually buys old properties and rehabs them to turn them into rentals. He has offered to assist me with getting my first property. I am looking at it as an opportunity to pick his brain but I am not quite sure what to ask. I am wondering if you were first starting out and you had someone who can be a book of knowledge and experience for you how would you approach it? I am also interested in a specific market he has a ton of insight into as well. 

Hi, there is an area I want to invest in that has low ARV values but high rental income. This would be my first property and I am looking into creative ways to make it work. The monthly cash flow is well over 2,000/month with mortgage, rehab, and miscellaneous expenses factored in. But I can't cover rehab costs due to me not being able to pay off rehab loans with a refinance. Would a partnership be the most viable option here? And if so, what is the recommended approach when looking for a partner to cover rehab costs while I would cover the rest including the mortgage, property management, and rehab work? Would a long-distance partner make the most sense in this situation? And how would you go about approaching a long-distance investor for a partnership?

Hi, I am new to real estate and I am looking to buy my first property that I discovered in my local area. It is a duplex that needs about 100k of rehab work and I can buy it for 120-130k. My question is that I want to take advantage of all the low down payments and down payment assistance that I can. I was told that an FHA Rehab loan is complicated and tricky. I am also able to get a loan for 5% down with no PMI for the purchase of the property. This is interesting to me but I am currently thinking over the best option to get the finances needed to rehab the property. One thought I had was to get a hard money loan from a local investor and pay them back 10% interest over a year and refinance to pay them back. However, I am a little confused on that process as like I said before I've never done this so I am learning as I go.

Does anyone have any tips on how to finance a deal like this? 

Hi everybody! I am brand new to real estate investing and I am currently living in North Jersey at the moment. I am passionate on getting my first house that I can turn into a rental property. My plan so far is to go through the first time home buyer program to get down payment assistance and to live in the property and house hack. I just graduated college from Rowan University and I love the market down there in Glassboro and would like to connect with anyone that can hook me up with that area. Other markets I am currently looking into are:

- Northeast Philadelphia

- East Strasberg PA

- Camden, NJ

- Hackettstown NJ

- Pawley's Island SC

When it comes down to the other markets I live near Hackettstown at the moment so that would be the closest market near me that has potential. I may also be moving to Northeast Philadelphia within a year or so and if anyone here can connect me with great minds to talk about that market I would really appreciate that. I am also very interested in the student rental strategy so I included East Strasberg PA as a market I am considering. I am also a Civil Engineer so my mind wanders to Camden and how they are improving the infrastructure around it and there are big projects in the works to better connect the city to Philadelphia. Lastly, my family wants to buy a second home in Pawley's Island that they can do short term rentals for so I decided I would help by doing the leg work for them. 

I have saved up a good amount of money and from what I heard from my father who is a mortgage lender and my friends and family tied into real estate was that I should wait until next year to jump into the market. I would like to hear what bigger pockets members would say to that. Lastly, any tips or pointers to point me in the right direction would be great!