All Forum Posts by: Jake Drappi

@Rick Estacio Keansburg did get clobbered during sandy, and still some places have not been fixed up.  There is a redevelopment plan in place, but who knows if that will ever actually happen.  The plan did include a sample for flood zones that would have to be addressed and the plan did have a section with a solution from an engineering firm, so there is some conversation about this happening.  The other interesting thing about the sample taken was that if you look up all of the addresses in the sample, they are largely owned by investment firms and people whom own multiple places down there, so maybe we are a bit late to the game.  Either way, I believe it is all a gamble if the redevelopment plan comes to fruition or not.  

Hello all,

I have used the pandemic time to start my real estate career while work was slow. At this point, I have enough put away with reserves to either buy my first property or pay off my student loans. I was going to refinance the student loans, a breakdown of the refi is below. However, I was thinking that if I use the money I was going to use as a down payment to actually pay off the student debt, it would actually bring more cash flow. I just wanted to see if anyone can offer their opinions here.

Refi 5 year, 11 months. Total is 32000 at roughly 3 percent. Based on the pay off calculator, it would be 500 a month.

@Victor Oben hey Victor. What market are you in? I am seeing a very similar trend and I am just starting out as well.

Hello all!

I just wanted to see if anyone has experience or knowledge of Keansburg and the pros / cons of investing there.  It is a small beach town that was destroyed during Sandy.  I was there recently, and there are million dollar houses next to dilapidated houses and empty lots.  If you are not at the beach there, you wouldn't think it was a beach town.  After reading some development plans, it looks like it may be up and coming, especially because of the huge luxury rental development that was recently put up.  However, the town in general is very run down and has flooding issues.  Does anyone have any insight if this is going to be the next Asbury Park or Red Bank in future years?  Or will it stay the same or continue to go down hill?  Based on what I found online, there are some investment firms and development firms involved, but I am just not sure they will succeed.  Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks,

Jake Drappi

Hello all!

I am looking to buy my first rental property here in NJ.  I just wanted to share my current situation and see what kind of suggestions come in, as I am obviously a bit nervous taking this first step.  Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated.

I currently live in a 1700 sq ft town home with my daughter and wife, and this is our only property. I want to get started in real estate and also need to move more north of where we currently live. I was thinking of finding a duplex and moving into half and renting the other half out. What I am not sure about what to do is with my current townhome. I believe if I rent it out, I could cash-flow roughly $200-$300 a month compared to the taxes, insurance, and HOA (I know there are more things to account for, but I am still looking through BP to find some sources to reference those additional expenses). I would then move into the duplex I buy, which would give me some experience at being a landlord and also help with my need to move north. Now something that is concerning is that a house in our complex that is a comp sat with no tenant for almost a year and the last thing I want to do is have 2 mortgages and no tenants. I was possibly thinking of listing my current home for rent and see what comes in. If I find a tenant, I would rent this place out on a yearly lease, and then move into a month to month leash while we look for our duplex, which could help prevent us from getting double mortgaged. I know finding a property can be difficult, so I am sure timing a new tenant and buying a duplex could be extremely unlikely. Any suggestions for this 1st time rookie would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jake Drappi

Thank you Abel! @Abel Curiel

I have recently been looking at multi families, as I intend on making my first deal when this virus is all over.  I am open to doing a deal during this, but I believe it will be difficult to find tenants during this time unless I can find a really good deal.  I have been at least reaching out to agents with listings that I would consider, but within a day or two of these listings being posted, they all typically have deals over asking price within a day or two.  I am asking for feedback on just how competitive this market is.  I have checked on roughly 7 listings and every time, the agent tells me I am too late, she has multiple offers above asking, etc.  And this is within 24-48 hours of the listing being posted!!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Also, if anyone has any books they would recommend, I am using this down time to study and learn, so I am very open to suggestions.  Just finished Rich Dad Poor Dad, Grit, Start with Why, The Little Red Book of Selling, and a few others.  All great reads.

Hello all!

I am new to real estate.  I have been listening to the podcast and reading about it for almost a year now, and I am now financially and mentally ready to start my journey.  I currently live in a townhome, about an hour from my current sales role (about 2 hours from some of my clients).  I want to get started by house hacking.  The plan is to buy a duplex closer to my territory, and rent out the other unit.  I may also rent out my current home instead of selling it.  I am looking to move to central or north NJ.  I am looking for the right real estate agent to help my find my next purchase: someone that knows real estate, the NJ market, what rents are looking like, how to leverage low down payments, etc.  I also have a 3-5 year plan of buying at least 5-7 more duplexes, while still maintaining my current role.  My question is: how do you go about finding the right agent to help you with this journey.  Obviously, with my goals, I have a lot of potential to offer this person, so I need to know I am picking the right person for the job.  Also, do you interview them in a way before you accept that they are the one that can help?  This week, I asked for more information on a listing, and now that agent thinks he is the person I am going to work with, but I never met them, and had less than a 10 minute conversation.  This is the biggest investment of my life and I feel like I should be making a more educated decision rather than just picking the first person whom happened to have a listing I was interested in.  If I do interview them, what questions should I be asking?  I look forward to hearing some feedback! 

Thanks in advance,

JD