All Forum Posts by: Sunny Suh

12/6/15 Update

Roof is fixed

Tenant has left

Still need to rearrange walls

Unfortunately, found out that the bottom unit has a pretty big issue that wasn't noticed until I had an architect look at it.... The subfloors on the bottom unit are pretty much rotting away. They are spongy and for some odd reason, during the last renovation, they plugged up all the vents to the 1 foot crawl space. I am assuming they closed it all off to prevent pests from coming in, but what they actually did is contain the moisture build up. I will not only have to redo the floors but also the subfloors. 

Freakin' Jersey City... apparently my new home used to be a candy store from what the tenant's daughter in law said. Which explains a little bit about the weird layout. Working on choosing the contractors and will go from there... Waiting for the architect and the permits from the city may be awhile. Learning a lot though.

In hindsight, good inspectors are so hard to come by. Why did no one catch the subfloors rotting? I've had 1 inspector, the bank's inspector, multiple contractors, and it took an architect to notice the issue. Figured going through an FHA loan would protect me from this sort of scenario, but you definitely need multiple opinions. May go through 2 inspectors next time I buy another house......

Hey Paul, depending on the work, some around JC will go low as 4%. Then again, they're not the best property managers. 

You might even luck out with some new guys who are starting out and will charge you a flat fee for now until they get bigger. 

haha, thanks @Raphael Gomez ! Journey is just beginning~

I went to a local meetup and found a shady tax appraiser who charged me $450 saying he can lower my taxes from 9000 to 6000-7000. I may have to take this as a sunk cost.

Plus side, I found a guy who worked on jersey city heights homes as a project manager and also property manager, he's helping me not get ripped off and looking at the work done by the contractors and so really grateful that I found him! 

More updates later!  

BP friends, I have closed on my first house!!!! and what a wild ride....

Took so long because of the oil tank, fortunately we negotiated the seller's to pay for it, then they didn't want to pay for filling and repaving, but they at least filled it up... 

Tenant later told me it was a big dangerous and liable hole for a few days....

Anyway, I must have put my "john hancock" on so many different papers that my signature started looking like scribbles towards the end. Huge thanks to my real estate guy, didn't have the title or the deed at closing, and the seller's were not present. Is this normal not to have the title or deed? 

Had to get a few last minute things squared away with the mortgage company which was annoying, my attorney asked me for a few more paperwork, the underwriter was somewhat competent and told me to ignore some things they already had. Official date was October 16th.

Now the real headache begins! 

-Fix Roof

-Renovate and re-arrange walls

-Redo Electric panel and seal from moisture buildup

-Remove tenant (found out she was section 8 but I got lucky and they already found a place! Only have to let her live there for 2 weeks for free, she's an old lady and I was planning on helping her move and find a place so this I'll gladly do)

-Find contractors

-Figure out how to start landlording, having the right contract, finding a tenant (hopefully my agent/property manager will help with this)

Just want to mention I was lied to, they said that rent on the bottom unit was 1200 but she was only paying 1000, and the top unit i'm looking at 1500 to 1600 at best. Fortunately I have parking!

Overall, glad I got this out of the way, learning as I go. So much that I don't know, but execution is one way of learning!

BP seemed to have deleted my post so I am attempting again..

Tell us about the duplex you re buying. How much is it and are there tenants in it and what is the rent for each apartment. Is this the house where the mice lived? Does it meet the 1% rule and the 50% rule and are you going to live in one apartment?

300k, rent is 1200 and 1400, yes this is the house where the potential mice lived. No it does not meet the 1%, because I need to achieve $3000 in rental income and I will be living in the bottom cheaper unit. 

Did you know how old the roof is? How old is the house? Is $450 the going price for aa duplex inspection and why wasn't the roof included? Did you ask the sellers if the roof was ever redone? A roof lasts at least 20 years. Did you look all around the perimeter of the roof, at the edges that you could see? I suppose you also looked in the attic and up to the roof of the attic to see if there were any wet spots/stains.

I do not now how old the roof is, house is roughly 50 years old. There was a clause in the inspector's contract saying if it is not accessible it will not be looked at. Sellers are in hong kong so hard to ask. Roofs are actually not 20 year-proof, not sure where you got that. There were no wet spots or stains that I can see. 

Are you doing any renovation and if so what amount have you budgeted for the renovation.

30k for now, and that is without redoing the kitchen and bath...

Keep us updated and if you can keep a BP diary of this sale and renovation that would reslly be good. Have you met your BP friend's for coffee/? That sounds like a good idea.

Yup, I met the guys and it was a great time!

@Chris Dalianii speak about it in my little diary entry, but i did an oil tank sweep and we're at the negotiating table, there's also other issues like with the roof and electric. i negotiate for a living (work in sales), but it seems like only our attorneys can duke it out, which sucks for me. but it may be better for the first time around.

there's a meetup in the area next week, not sure if you're the chris that was mentioned, but feel free to come by. i'll be in toronto for work, they're all good guys looking to help others. 

@Chris Daliani I'm a noobie, working on a  two-family deal in the heights but running into some setbacks. 

@Barbara G. for initiating the whole thing. I'll take credit for having it start on my post, haha. 

@Matt M.