All Forum Posts by: Joel Moran

The amount of information found in this site can be overwhelming. It took me about 10 years before deciding it was time to get into RE Investing. Glad it took me this long. Now I have more time on my hands, I’m a bit more prepared than I was yesterday. Do your research/homework. Learn and absorb as much as possible. Last but not least, check your ego at the door and reach out to people that have skin in the game. Good luck

@Steve Kontos   Thanks Steve. I appreciate it.

@David Rosenberg 

Sure David,  I am looking at Lackawanna County in PA, more specifically Scranton and surrounding towns. The town itself has gone through some rough times since the coal industry left a long time ago. Unemployment is one of the highest in the state of PA but the town has 7 colleges,3 hospitals,  Wal Mart, triple A baseball team, Ski resort etc. Population is increasing so the demand for rentals is going up. If you are looking for appreciation than this might not be the place for you (at least for now) but I am looking to buy & hold and if I need to flip I can always look at the neighboring towns for a deal in the future. It seems the town has been mismanaged politically & financially for a long time. Not sure if that's going to change anytime soon but I'm willing to give the town and it's people a chance.

I’m currently looking for my first property out of state. The town/county I have my eyes on is about a 2-3 hour drive from where I live though. I reached out to other investors here on BP who live in the town and other investors. They gave me a ton of info and insight on how everything works. Went there myself a couple of times and spoke to the locals. I was lucky enough to find a realtor that lived in NY all her life and moved to the town I’m interested in. She’s an investor herself and this has helped me tremendously. Reach out to people on this site. What city/state are you looking at? People are here to help. Good luck.

I was in the same position as you not too long ago. What I did is partnered with another family member. You have to do your homework though. I basically do the leg work along with my realtor and use the calculators in this site to make sure the numbers work out. I then show them to my investment partner and loan officer and if it makes sense we make an offer. Our plan is to get one deal under our belt before we try and get other potential investors involved. I have other people( friends, work colleagues, family) looking to invest. I want get my feet wet first before doing anything else though. Having a good lawyer/accountant helps a lot too. Your options are endless. Good luck.

Good question. I’m actually looking for my first deal and that is the first question I ask when inquiring about the property. It gives me an idea of how much I should offer and if there is room for negotiation.

I know this is an old thread but if you are trying to get into the NJ market at a relatively "low" entry point then you will be looking at markets like Newark & Irvington as of 2017. Finding an investor friendly agent would help but they are more worried about selling their $500,000 plus dream homes then helping sell a fixer upper to a potential investor. I submitted a few offers on a couple of foreclosures in Newark but quickly realized that I would have to go way above my price point. I decided to "go west young man" as the NJ market is quickly reaching it's peak, as far as I'm concerned. Take a look at the post above by Robert Soto , he explains it perfectly.

@Dan Marriggi

I am looking to buy and flip. Pittston looks like a decent market and in much better condition then the other towns I've mentioned. The only issue is that population is actually declining based on some reports I have read. Do you self manage your rentals?

@Basit Siddiqi

I'm actually not too far away from Bensonhurst. Let's connect and we will take it from there.

@Lance Lvovsky

Thanks, I will take it into consideration.