All Forum Posts by: John Kim

Hey @Kunal Kapur

I unfortunately wasn't able to connect with anyone who could give me an indefinite answer, but I was able to do some research myself.  Each town has their rent control ordinances online that you can read through (although, they're usually not very clear).

Here is a link to my google drive folder where I keep all of these files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IB5PV0I_KK...

I don't have Hoboken in there, just because I'm not interested in investing there, but a simple google search for "hoboken rent control" should pretty much bring you right to their ordinance write up.

All of the towns in the area are pretty similar, where only owner occupied properties have the ability to mark the rent to whatever they'd like.  If it is not owner occupied and the rent has been recorded with the town in the past, then you are kind of tied down to increases on the rents that were previously reported. The increase is usually based on the annual ECI, although Guttenberg just made it a flat 3% recently (with some exceptions).

Some exceptions to be able to mark the rent to market, is if there is a "considerable" amount of renovations done to the property.  No one can really define what "considerable" renovations are exactly, so it seems like that can be left up to interpretation...

It would be great to meet another local investor.  Shoot me a PM and we can make plans to grab some coffee.

Justin

Hello friends I am new the market and recently bought a home in Weehawken 6 months backs .Its a three family home and we are currently doing renovations Right now.The rent leveling board told me that two units would have to follow a rent of 1650 for unit 1 which has three bedrooms and another unknown amount for unit 2 which they don’t have the information for .The previous seller I purchased the property from bought it as a tax lien .He has kept the property vacant for two years with no tenants before selling it to me .However ,the previous Owner he bought it from must have had tenants .I am putting in a lot of money into renovations and want some clarity on the situation I am in .The property has been vacant for the two years and currently still is as we are doing renovation .It would be really appreciated if anyone can assist me on what information needs to be provided by from the previous seller for me to be able to set the rent based on the market value .Thank you .

What's a drop and swap?

My 4 unit is at $4800 in gas for the year with budget billing, which is on me to pay. This is one large water heater tank (75gal)  in the basement, alongside a boiler that feeds the radiators throughout.

In planning for some work in the building, I have the opportunity to install separate water heaters in each unit. A few questions:

- If I can offload that cost amongst the tenants assuming a 6% cap rate, $4800/.06 = $80k in added equity?

- The work would be part of a larger project, but let's say that with running gas, electric & installing separate tanks, as well as furnaces - I'm at $18k (total swag) for the parts/labor on all four units. Then the ROI on that is $18000/4800 = 45 months?

- Is the simple CoC return math here 4800/1800 = 27%?

It has a lot to do with your exit strategy. If you plan to hold for a short period probably not good. I had California properties that rarely cash flowed but I held them for 30 years and when I sold them BaBang! Cash flow will cover the bills, appreciation can make you wealthy!