All Forum Posts by: Darrell A.

Based on the 30 or so other homes I've seen, I'd believe it would be in the mid to high 380s. Without more work, the kitchen mainly, it would be hard to breach that $400K mark. Looking  at the market trend for that area, it appears that value of homes are going up and this house is in one of the nicest sections of the city.

And Alex... thank you for your reply.

My wife and I had our offer accepted for $370K in Union, NJ. The comps in the area are b/w $360K - $410. So, we think we got a fairly good deal. The house is a little over 2000 sq ft, newer roof (less than 5 yrs), newer windows (less than 5 yrs), 12 yr old water heater, multizone heat (1 year old furnace), forced air AC ( approx 1 yr), living room, family room, unfinished BS, 4 beds and 2.5 baths. We'd like to keep it as our primary residence, put some money into it, and resell it in a year or two.

So, we just got our inspection done today. The homeowner appears to be doing most of the work on the house. The wiring for the furnace is, meh. (I'm anal about wiring. I'm in IT networking field.) There are multiple electrical panels. Found random gas lines not capped off. And the owner attempting to replace the kitchen counter top.

We want to stain the wood floors (living and dining room and stairs), add crown molding, replace flooring (kitchen and family room), and redo the master bathroom to start (approx $14K quoted from the contractor).

We're now getting cold feet. We could purchase other homes will nothing to do for approx. $400K. What should we do!?!!? So money/mortgage is not the concern. The main (or my wife's) concern is is this a good deal. What other things should we be considering? 

Thank you Matt and Jeff. I'll get started with my math homework. Just wanted to here some general opinions on what is the better way to move forward.

Hello BP,

First, I been reading around for a while and I love this site! Great people with great information. 

I'm looking to move from renter to owner. My question is should I buy a two family detached home or buy a single family attached townhome. I have two properties I'm looking at but not limited to.

The two family home is 2 x 2 bed single bath property with full basement and two car detached garage for $309K. Possible rent for the smaller apt is approximately $1100/month. The tax assessment for 2014 was $186K. Zillow estimate is $243K

The townhome is 3 bed 1.5 bath with a garage for $199K. The tax assessment for 2014 was $155K. Zillow estimate is $190K.

What I'd like to do is to stay at either for 2 years (maybe) and then maintain the property as a rental. All opinions are welcomed.