All Forum Posts by: Christopher Conforti

 Hi Amil, 

I work directly in the north NJ area and while it is very competitive, you can find deals that make sense in less competitive towns. For example: Clifton, Jersey City, Bloomfield, Newark, Montclair, etc are all very competitive since its has easy access to transportation to NYC. All of these towns are on the north east of NJ. You may want to look for more towns of the north west side of NJ.

I believe you should consult with an agent in your area and figure out the best strategy for you. As long as the numbers make sense, it does not matter where you invest. A strategy that i personally like is finding homes that are on the market that require TLC. Any home that's been on the market for longer than 30 days will have less competition. You need to find the reason why its on the market for so long. Is there an oil tank issue, structural issue, flood zone? etc... You'll find out that some times its just a home with too much work that needs to be done. 

You can either do a 203k loan which is a construction loan baked into your mortgage for the cost of the construction that needs to be done, or you can do the work yourself if you have the capital. I like to do as much of the work as i possibly can and then hire a contractor for things i just cant do (roof, counters, structural things). 

You'll find out that you will have great instant appreciation with this strategy, highest possible current market rents, and youll most likely be able to refi after a year and get rid of PMI if the amount of work done truly made the house appreciate a lot.

I know this is a long post but if you have questions, feel free to inbox me!

 It's tough to speak for the seller because every seller is different. From experience, if I am the sellers agent and you put an offer in waiving inspections, I would advise the seller not to give a credit. Is the property being sold as is? 

 Hi Kevin, It looks like we are in the same area in northern NJ. I am a local agent and investor. 

What helped me jump start real estate investing was saving up money. Without money, you cannot make competitive offers especially in this market. The second thing I would do is partner up with someone who is likeminded and wants to invest. Yes, you will be splitting profits but all your expenses will be cut in half as well as down payment and closing cost (this is great if you are just starting off). Thirdly, id recommend finding an agent who handles the market you are looking in. Your agent is the knowledge you need to figure out the best deals for you, construct your contracts for you, negotiate for you when you are placing offers and can be a valuable resource to other services you will need. You will also need to find a lender that will be a good fit for you (this is someone your agent can refer you to). You cannot do anything without being pre-approved. Lastly, your agent will put you in good hands with a real estate attorney for your transactions. Once you build a relationship with all 3 (agent, lender, lawyer) you will have much smoother transactions working with them moving forward. Trust me, this is a game changer. 

Personally, I wouldn't wholesale in NJ. I am not saying you cant but from experience there are so many people doing it and it is very hard to find deals and buyers for those deals. I would recommend house hacking or if you dont want to live in a unit then maybe just multi family investing.

Id love to connect and discuss more if you have any questions or need any more guidance!

 Hey Lilian, I am an agent in northern NJ area and I can tell you that for 90% of the properties that are just hitting the market or have been on for a week will be going over asking price. I am unsure where you are looking but this is what I am seeing on the buy side and the sell side. I have two multi family properties under contract and they both went over asking by $50,000+. I of course did best and final offer which is what most agents do. 

I would suggest narrowing your search maybe to properties that have been on the market for a longer period of time. Yes these properties will need more work than others but this is where you can negotiate a better price. You can also use a 203(k) loan for the property if you need funding for renovations. This is just a construction loan where your estimated cost to repair is baked into the loan. 

Id love to connect and discuss more if you would like more insights in our area!

Welcome Harold! You will learn a lot here. If you have any questions in the northern NJ area, let me know! I am a local agent and investor. 

There is a lot of demand for multi-family homes in NJ. Have you been submitting offers on homes or just looking around? Do you work with an agent or are you doing things on your own? It all depends on how you structure your contract on offers. All of my multi-family listings ive sold this year have been all different and it is truly whats best for the seller and what the sellers terms are. You need to have a sharp agent that asks the right questions and can structure contracts that make your offers stand out. Generic FHA 5% down offers are not going to cut it these days. Conventional loans are easier with less requirements needed. If you are still in the market and want to chat, send me a message I would love to help!

 Yes, rent control is a very very serious thing in Newark. If you decide to renovate, the town will have an inspector come in and determine if you rents are justifiable or not. Typically, you should be fine if you are doing the appropriate renovations and have before and after pictures. You also want to consider, if the current rents are lets say 1800 and you do renovations and want to charge 2400, they might cap you at 2000. This is just an example. It also depends on how long the tenants have been there and how long they have been paying the same rent without increases. I just sold a Multi in Newark and the tenants have been paying 1800 for the past 4 years. In this case with renovations, it will be more justifiable to renovate and raise to a higher price to meet market rents. I hope this helps and try to find comparable rents in your area to see if it is justifiable. This will also give you a good understanding on how much to renovate per unit. I hope this help!

 Rent control is common in that area. Please call the town and ask about this, they will be able to give you an answer. Typically, you should have talked to your lawyer about this during attorney review. Always a learning experience moving forward. 

 Brian, you have a very similar story to me. I am now 29 but around your age I was finally starting to realize that real estate was a great avenue for me to turn to. Do you live with your parents? You can easily save a lot of money in the next 4-5 years living rent free and is something I did. I would recommend you do so if you dont already and do not feel ashamed about it. I would continue to learn the real estate game. While learning, please continue to work a full time job in your field of expertise (mine was retirement sales). I worked my 9-5 job while getting a side job at a bar friday-sunday nights. I was able to save a lot of money and did not spend it on dumb purchases. 

I would also suggest when you do save up for a house to not put all your money into one deal. This is a big mistake people make. Figure out key markets in your area. Most rental properties are closer to the east of northern NJ. Clifton, Belleville, bloomfield, etc. Focus on these markets. If you have questions, message me. I am a local agent in the area.  

 You need to speak to an attorney ASAP. NJ has a very long process for evicting a tenant. Is this tenant paying on time? Do they have a month to month lease or yearly? Are there any terms that he has broken in the lease? I am an agent in NJ and have properties myself and have dealt with some bad tenants even when selling multi-family homes in this area. I do have a couple of lawyers who are very good with real estate issues such as this. Message me if you would like their contact information. Best of luck