All Forum Posts by: James Lloyd

My fiancé lived near St. Joseph's hospital for over a year, and I got to explore the city a bit as a result (go to parks, drive around, etc.).  @Jonathan Greene and @Paul Daniels have already pointed to the primary problems with the city.  I'm sure if an investor spent some time in finding a decent block or neighborhood to invest in, then he/she could find some half-way decent rentals, but I would not invest without having someone investigate the neighborhood first.  Some parts of the city are no-go zones.

I would agree that the prices in Paterson are inflated given the status of most of the structures (a lot of dilapidated buildings).  I think the landowners are waiting for a gentrification developer to come along and pay inflated prices.  I don't know if its a competitive market because there are a lot of properties that spend a lot of time on market from what I have seen.  

If you do visit Paterson, go to the Great Falls, it is a really nice park/waterfall.

What kind of property is it?  It would help to know to know what risks the Seller may be trying to mitigate by closing early.

Example: if its a multi family unit, maybe the Seller is afraid that one of his tenants will stop paying rent and he won't be able to evict him because of a moratorium on evictions in the state.  At that point, you won't close on the property until the tenant is evicted (and so on).  

If its a single family home, then the Seller is probably worried about Covid19 (for some of the reasons mentioned above... just wants the cash, or is afraid of you back out) and wants to move on.

Evaluate what is best for you and whether your lender can even do it.  Maybe you can get him to provide an incentive to close early.  Also if its a more complex property (multi-family) make sure to do your due diligence to ensure prior to closing that everything is OK (i.e. everyone paying rent, etc.).  

You probably have no options other than waiting...

The Seller cannot evict the tenant right now because WA has an eviction moratorium.  The Seller probably could close if you agreed to take the property with the tenant, but why would YOU want to do that (because then eviction costs then fall on your head).

If WA has time of the essence (no idea), I think it would be bad idea to file it... Your either forcing Seller to close with the tenant still inside OR a court (which is what a time of the essence letter is ultimately for) is just going to say "You lose because of state declared emergency."

In North Jersey, parties are typically represented by an attorney in a residential real estate transaction (which this sounds like it is).  I don't know what the practice is in Seattle, WA.  You may want to consult a WA attorney to see if there are unique WA state solutions to the problem.  

@Andrew Santana  Yes, you're right... I was thinking of South Orange when I was thinking of the train.

I would not close on this deal unless they were willing hold the proceeds in escrow until Seller has received a NJDEP NFA letter.  You simply do not know how expensive it will be and ~20K is a good estimate for removal of a non-damaged tank.  Since soil contamination is likely (given that there are holes), then who knows how expensive it will be.  Your rate lock will not worth the price of closing on this property.  5K escrow is a joke; until you get an estimate from a tank removal company.

Attorney referral: Michael Pellegrino, Esq. at Pellegrino and Feldstein, Inc.  I have heard him speak on tax liens at a seminar, and he clearly knew his stuff.

@Mukul Lalchandani If you're a rehabber or builder that has a lot of cash (access to cash) on hand, then its a good market to flip in.  I don't think there are a lot of multifamily opportunities that make sense from a cash flow perspective (high property taxes, high price per unit, etc.).  

West Orange has some very nice neighborhoods.  It is located near Short Hills and Milburn, which have some extremely nice neighborhoods.  West Orange has a direct train to NYC (midtown direct), which makes it a desirable place to live for commuters.  It has a decent town that has been revitalized over the 10 years.  It also has a college located near it/in it (Seton Hall).  You might find some two families, but mostly you're only going to find single family homes outside of the downtown. 

It is a typical question that NJ title companies ask.  They ask because they want to ensure that the estate is not underwater (more debt than assets), which may affect creditor's rights in the proceeds/house and the type of affidavit of title the title company requests the seller sign.  The admin really does not need to be too specific, but just give a general overview and the title company will likely accept it (at least that is my experience).  

@Martin Brady

1) taxes are paid quarterly so you have to check in quarter by quarter.  I believe you have to call the assessor for the municipality (or the assessor calls you, not quite sure) to check to see if the taxes have been paid.  If not, then you tell them you are going to pay the taxes and you get a new lien on the property for those unpaid taxes.  

If you let it go to auction, then you are just like every other bidder again. 

Premiums are a bit complicated and I don't remember everything, but no, you don't lose your premium if someone buys the next quarter's taxes.  And if the property taxes are paid off at some point by the owner, then you get a refund of your premium.  However, you have to be careful because if you let a property accrue liens for 5 years (you just keep pay property taxes off every quarter for 5 yrs), then you may lose your original premium.  

2) I do not believe that they HAVE to pay off your lien if they decide to pay the 2nd quarter taxes.  But that lien will continue to exist on the property and you can foreclose on the property if it is not paid off in a certain amount of time (forget what the timetable is).  If they do pay off your lien, then you get your premium refunded too, but no interest.