All Forum Posts by: Shawn Mcenteer

Hi @Derek Dickinson with your skills New Jersey has huge potential.  We are a massive appreciation market.  If you are open to value add strategy, small multis have potential for not only traditional forced appreciation but also the ability to see major rent increases.  

Hi @Alex Lee I would avoid 203K loan and work with conventional renovation loan based on knowing you'll be forced to use 203k certified contractors which will cost more money and offer inflated pricing because they must follow 203k guidelines.  A conventional renovation loans will allow you to use preferred contractors, requirements are they must be simply licensed and insured.  

Hi @Damon Diddit I would avoid Newark at all costs. New Jersey is not a horrible state for investing it is more so certain towns and cities that give NJ a very bad name. The majority of the business I do is buying small multi families and identifying the towns that are more favorable for investing. Of the dozens of MFR I have closed on over the years none have been in Newark, the reason for this is it is not worth the headache. As long the tenants pay the rent each month, increasing their rent will be very tough and getting them to leave will be extremely tough. Newark is hands down one of the worst cities in America to invest in.

Hi @Jerry Nogueras that depends on your goals and how open minded you are to different strategies.  For myself hands down the fastest way to get to Fi is via house hacking.  I've house hacked all throughout North Jersey.  Majority of clients I work with today need proximity to NYC and are looking to fast track their real estate investing Journey.  If house hacking NJ is in cards happy to connect.  If NY is where you decide to be I would strongly recommend connecting with @Mohammed Rahman he is who I would use. 

Hi @Jennifer Katherine De Loughy Happy to connect and talk shop. BRRRR has hands down been the most lucrative way that got my wife and I to Fi. We Brrrr house hacks, I have clients doing this all over NJ successfully. You absolutely nailed it on the head in terms of needing a mentor. Repeating the strategies that work from people who did what I wanted to do is what turned guess work into the fast track when I first started investing.

HI @David Fals what part of New Jersey are you in? Anything single family will require very creative strategies in order to generate cashflow. Typically will be rent by rent strategy (which is tough for none owner occupants) or College rental. Anything else tends to be major challenge with SFR.

Multi family properties on the other hand tend to be more lucrative with numbers, especially if you are open minded to different strategies.   In most case when I have clients putting 25% they will be cash flowing, a lot of that has to do with looking at things a bit differently. In all honesty my clients putting down as little as 5% tend to cash flow as well.  Cash flow is possible if you are flexible.

Hi @Jon Pflueger to answer your questions requires more information.  New Jersey is town by town with regulations.  Also the strategy you are implementing plays a huge part with how to proceed.  There sure are fast track approaches to this but really depends on strategy. 

Hi @Nancy Cho happy to connect and talk business. Sounds like strategy call would make most sense to see what your goals are with REI and being an agent to determine if the organization I represent aligns with the direction you are looking to go. Please feel free reach out.

Hi @Diaz Dimas I am realtor and mortgage loan originator.  Long story short, couldn't stand working with majority of realtors I would connect with when I first started investing becuase most realtors are not fluent in investing. So I decided to become a realtor. I had a similar experience with lenders so decided to become an MLO.   Happy to be a guide with everything real estate investing in New Jersey.

Speak directly with municipality to confirm Exactly what they require but unless the door is directly in bedroom in most cases a window will be required that is large enough essentially for firefight to enter bedroom with gear on. The exact dimension town will be able to confirm. 

I’ve had cases where clients of mine had dug out the ground in order to have large enough window put in to qualify basements space as bedroom.