All Forum Posts by: EDWARD M.

Given the amount of new construction in my area, I’m wondering if there’s a market for the sale of adjacent lots to developers of small lux/updated condo/rental unit buildings. I intend to keep both properties, but I want to know if that would be an option in the future (or now). 

I purchased a home about 6 months ago, and I split the gas lines and added a second boiler. I didn't realize I needed to get a permit from the town. Does this increase my property taxes? How should I approach the situation, now?

For purposes of simplifying, I will use round numbers.

I have a seller (family member) looking for $100,000 for his property. I have an investor that is willing to pay $120,000 for the property. I was looking to see if there was any legal agreement in which the seller agreed to pay me anything in excess of the $100,000 paid for by the buyer (anything besides me setting up a wholesaling agreement). Any advice? How can I set up this transaction?

I hired a plumber to replace a non-functional boiler with TWO boilers for a two family property I just bought to separate utilities. With the cold weather approaching, I couldn't leave tenants without heat so I was desperate to get the job done sooner than later. He did the job, but zone valves for some reason kept burning out and had to replace 3 of them. Out of curiosity, I brought in another plumber, close friend of my dad's, and told me the job was done awfully and not up to code. Up to code? I NEEDED PERMITS! The first plumber did not notify me, did the work, offered 1 year of warranty on the work. Heat would not work with thermostats (all new), and I told him about it (nicely) and he said that if I was not happy with his work, he would simply return me the labor costs the next Saturday. A week later, the guy blocked my number, text messages, and is no where to be found. I had to pay more than double for the job to be done correctly. I looked up the guy's license, it's active. I researched the information on his business card and everything was legit, except his work. Is there anything I can do?

P.S. - First lesson learned for a first time landlord ... Do my homework first!

I just recently purchased a two-family home with just electricity being paid by tenants. I am looking to split the hot water and gas utilities to be paid by tenants, too. I have one furnace and one water tank and I think I have more than enough space to fit a second of both. Any idea how much this would cost? Steps? Advice on whether I need a second furnace at all or not? Any referrals?

@Dorothy Butala Thanks for the advice, Dorothy! I looked through your bio briefly, very impressive. I'm hoping to make similar strides in the near future. Good luck with everything.

@Johann Jells Thank you, Johann. I worked on everything and it's already being taken care of. You were right about closing lawyers, unfortunately.

So, we finally closed on our first two-family home yesterday afternoon. I gave myself sometime to let it sink in and enjoy the fact that it was finally over, we got a house we liked, after a 15-month search. The seller will be living in the owner's unit through to the end of October and we have the agreement on paper (forgot the name of the document we signed). The second floor tenant is currently month to month, and I'm not sure how to initiate collecting rent, setting up a new lease, charging security deposit (made the mistake of not asking the seller to collect one prior to the sale), etc. Now, she's currently paying below market rent, I am looking to increase it. I'm considering all the possible scenarios. If ultimately she chooses not to agree to my terms and not sign a lease, how much time do I have to give her to move out (NJ)? I don't want to put myself in a situation where I ask to increase her rent, she gets angry/upset, and decides she wants to move out and doesn't pay the next few months of rent.

Also, utility bills (water, sewage, gas which will be paid wholly by me), are these all automatically transferred to my name or is there a process I have to go through for that?

My attorney mentioned registering myself as a landlord. Is that at the township, county, or state level? 

@Chris Mason My credit is good, the only reason I am doing it is because of my DTI ratios. What would you recommend?

I keep getting feedback that it is currently impossible to get a hold of this kind of loan. I have loan disclosures, mortgage commitment all showing a 3.25% fixed FHA rate with PMI coming off during the 11th year because of the 10% down payment. If i have loan disclosures, and a mortgage commitment showing these numbers, what can possibly go wrong for me? Am I being lied to?

Attorney approval was expected to commence on Monday @Mike Cumbie