All Forum Posts by: David Thomas

For sure- I agree 100%

@Minna Reid we would have to essentially double the inventory in most markets to be just at a BALANCED market inventory level. Specifically most markets are 40 to 60% below inventory from prior year, so there’s certainly no oversupply. That means another 40 to 50% on top of that, to be a buyers market? I definitely believe we’re going to slow down significantly at some point due to the pure appreciation that’s pricing a lot of people out ...but not a crash.

I’ll publicize my YouTube channel thumbnails with “market crash” all day if I can get tens of thousands of YouTube clicks. But I don’t do it because I don’t feel its honest or accurate based on the fundamentals of today Or this year

@Jonathan Mueller exactly my thoughts on forbearance! Unemployment continues to decline although it’s not great, and everyone forecasting doom and gloom is assuming that everyone on forbearance can’t pay and will be foreclosed on. There’s no way - IMO.

This reminds me of Harry Dent who’s been forecasting market crashes for the last 20 years and gets it right about once every 10, based on cycles LOL.

A lot of it’s click bait on YouTube and opinions. No one knows what’s going to happen.., including all of us here.

@Devang Patel demand and prices for investment properties in Union County is as strong as ever (a bit of a plateau last month though) and if you do sell it should go quickly. But yes the tenant situation will be a concern.  I don’t know your process for tenant screening but this sound like an opportunity to reevaluate your approach.  Otherwise you could be in the same boat with future tenants, plus money spent on rehab.

Linden has a strong rental base overall with low vacancy.   If you can make a good profit selling it’s worth considering.  Draw up pros and cons on paper and assess the best decision.  

I am local so feel free to DM me if you want to discuss further. Glad to help.

@Josh Edwards I just happened to review numbers for a potential client yesterday who thinks his taxes are so high that buyers will not be interested.  A cursory look at 30-year mortgage compared to just 2 years ago is a full 2 point drop (roughly 4.8% to 2.8% or lower today).  So for the scenario of this house which is valued around $900k at 2.8% - brings the payment today to about $900 less per month compared to 2018.  That's huge - even lower priced homes it would translate to 20-25% lower payment in two short years!  Obviously there are many factors outside of this.   And of course scarcity of inventory is a major impact as everyone knows.  When homes hit the market here it reminds me of when Supreme would put some random thing out with its name on it - like a brick - and people go nuts!

I am seeing a lot of investors get priced out of the market here for fix and flips, with mostly builders/contractors being able to pay higher prices since they can do most of the work with their own crews. Established investors are moving to bigger deals like mixed-use, land deals for building or value-add rehabs in high demand towns. But it has been slowing recently and seeing more DOM/longer to sell in luxury SFR markets and lower priced investment neighborhoods that have been burning hot for the past couple of years.

I think we may see a plateau in prices locally or at least more balanced market this year for sure. But, no one knows - so time will tell! 

@Donald Savankham if you have not done so yet, your best way to grow your cash buyers list quickly IMO is Facebook. Several investor groups you can join and get multiple responses pretty fast. Another good tip is look at others in your geo who asked the same on FB and grab those names as well.

@Kim N. Ask the broker you plan to work with, once you start interviewing. Some do not support it and will let you go if they find out. Others are fine with it and tend to have more investor-focused agents and business models. Keep in mind, (from my understanding and experience) you will need to have an LLC that is completely separate from the broker activities and not connected to that business, because you will not be representing the broker in those wholesale transactions. Many brokers feel that any real estate activity you are involved in is connected to their business (ie:risk and litigation) since your real estate license is held under their brokerage.

You should speak to a NJ attorney well-versed in wholesaling before making any decisions, along with getting approval in writing from your broker.

@Alison Kopcko you will have to be prepared to put in a ton offers over a period of time before you land a deal. With the amount of cash buyers competing against you it’s tough for a seller to accept your offer contingent on financing and rehab. Just keep working at it. You likely need to go to areas that are less desirable because right now everything at the shore is being built up like crazy ...even areas that were not on the radar over the past 1-2 years.

@Ningxi Borak

The sellers agent must act in the best interest of the seller as part of their fiduciary duty. Not you. You have ZERO benefit here! And how would you know if the agent isn’t working against you to get you to an unreasonable price or a purchase price that is far above the best offer ? Silly to bypass a buyers agent that works for you for FREE. Your proposal only benefits the sellers agent, not you.

@Shawn Harris You can also look at HUD homes that allow first bids for owner occupants. Also New Jersey has a first time homebuyer programs where you can receive $10,000 for down payment assistance, which is a forgivable, interest free loan if you live in the property for at least five years. You'll need to work with specific lenders and a registered HUD real estate agent.

 Attached is a link for the NJ homebuyer program.

https://www.nj.gov/dca/hmfa/homeownership/buyers/dpa/index.shtml