All Forum Posts by: Chris Townley

I know this is technically the next county over, but can anyone help me find the annual taxes for a parcel in Easton/Northampton County? I found this site where you can look up the property records, but it doesn't appear to include the annual taxes? There is tax information, but I'm looking at a 4-unit building, and it says the tax payment due is ~$400. Is that a quarterly payment? It can't be that low, right?

I second what @Jennifer Petrillo said. We're living in a house from 1918 in NJ with a single pipe steam radiator system. Start with replacing all the valves and air vents, and make sure the boiler is cleaned out & working properly. You can get parts fairly inexpensively from supplyhouse.com, and there are plenty of videos on youtube about repairing radiator systems if you're interested in doing it yourself. 

Thanks for the feedback, @Patrick Liska

I need to get an insurance quote. I was playing with those numbers which is why they're higher for the duplexes than the 4-plex. I pay about $1000 a year for the insurance on the duplex I live in, but how much should I budget for an investment property? 

Here is a breakdown of what was included in the operating expenses.

I found a potential off-market deal, where a couple who recently retired has a 4-plex and two duplexes they're considering selling. They gave me an asking price for each, but they sound like they just pulled the numbers out of the air without doing much research. Based on comparable sales and discounting for potential repairs, I came up with what I think is a fair price. (I haven't been in the buildings yet). These are all in central New Jersey, less than a mile from each other, in a solid B market. The 4-plex and one duplex have asphalt shingle roofs which look like they're approaching the end of their useful life, so I've included enough capex to be able to replace them within 3 years of purchase. The second duplex has a slate roof and older siding (the other two have vinyl), so I've raised up the capex on that one a little more. 

I'm hoping to get some opinions on these numbers. Personally I think the cashflow is great, but these three buildings would only be my second acquisition. I know higher ROI is always better, but should I be happy with 8% in a competitive B market? I need to find partern(s) to fund the down payments, so I'll have to split the cashflow. What is a standard split? I would be doing all the acquisition and management work, and would require at least 51% to maintain control over the partnership. I'm open to a "50/50" split, but should I be going for a split more in my favor?

@Peter Tverdov That is good to know, this is the general area: https://goo.gl/maps/N9tQafqjUxt

Also, the capex/repair numbers are probably going to be a bit higher on this house, since it was built in 1912. 

@Ari Bauer

5% is just a ballpark (I just found this property this morning). I'm using a 30yr amortization. 

I haven't shopped a mortgage yet, just trying to see if I'm interested at this point.

@Ari Bauer, I was just using 8% for each. The owner says it's been maintained well, so if that is true, those numbers are probably high. 

If I lower repairs/maintenance/capex to $600/unit/year, the cashflow at a purchase price of $324k goes up to ~$29/month. 

At a purchase price of $260k, the cashflow is $286/mo. So I still think $324k is too high.