All Forum Posts by: Joseph DiNardi-Mack

Hi @Stefanie R.

Without seeing the financial figures I can only help you with the knowledge of the area. I live in Jersey City, downtown section, that area is not the best. It would definitely be a C or D property. The majority of people living in Jersey City who want to have access to the Manhattan commute live in the Journal Square, Heights and Downtown areas. Those three areas are the most in demand because they are the closes to the Path stations. While Jersey City is building up a lot, the Bergen Lafayette area has not seen much attention. The Communipaw area is starting new development though.

Also, since Jersey City has been building up a lot of property, the rental markets in the areas I mentioned above have seen a large increase in the supply of units and they are still building more in those areas. 

Hope that helps

I just wanted to share a great experience I had with Clover Demolition in Monmouth County NJ. I am just starting a rehab and I needed the property to be gutted. I typically do the demo work myself, but I just didn't have the time for this one and my normal contractor, who is great at his typical job, has ridiculously high prices for demo work.

Clover Demolition was recommended to me by a friend so I decided to give them a try. They were able to come to my property the next day, and they finished the entire project within three days. This typically would have taken me at least a week. Not only that Abigail was so nice that offered to power wash my entire property for free after I pointed out the mud their truck kicked up all over one side of the house.

Just wanted to share this with everyone in case anyone in New Jersey is looking for a demo company.

Have a great day everyone!

Hi Soo,

Before you moved ahead I would look into why comps aren’t selling and why the one next to you did. Pick up the phone and ask the seller what people said when they say the place that made them put in so many offers. I’ve found people are really happy to help. 

Only after knowing why some aren’t selling and the one close to you is can you really estimate how difficulty it will be to sell. And selling anything during the winter months in Jersey always has its challenges. 

I agree with @Jessica Zolotorofe, while I never closed a bank owned property I always use a lawyer for my closings. While most of the time it is a standard closing and I could have skated by without one, there have been several occasions where my attorney has spotted definite deal breakers and has gotten me out of potentially costly clauses. I can only imagine how much more complex a bank owned closing is, and who knows what else the banks lawyers try to slip into the contracts to protect themselves at your potential expense.

Hi Johann,

I also have a rental in JC and yes they can be a real PITA. I try to avoid giving into my tenants for things like this. I don’t know how you have your lease written, but I would let them know that trash and recycling is their responsibility. Any fines they incur and don’t pay I would take out of their security deposit. 

That being said if you think that they’ll rack up more fines then they have in a SD then I would just continue to supply the bags and try to find new tenants. 

Joe

Hi Eric,

If there is a will there is a way. It can be accomplished in NJ, but you're going to have to put in a lot of work to find the right deals. The NJ market is extremely competitive and the overall high taxes don't make the strategy any easier.

You're going to need a great agent who can alert you to great deals as soon as they hit the market, as well as be on the constant lookout for those off-market diamonds in the rough. 

To get to 100 units, in any state, with the BRRRR takes a constant effort. Finding the next deal and leverage options like a 1031 exchange is crucial.

Hi Jaime,

I have done fairly well with my properties up in Jersey City, and know the area quite well. As far as the speculative market goes up here it is really all about location. For instance in downtown Jersey City i would say it is starting to get saturated and they keep putting up more and more buildings. However the Journal Square and Heights areas still have room to run. 

I agree with @Richard Loniewski Somerset county is hard. Taxes are high and there is a lot of competition from homeowners as well as investors. The majority of my properties are also in Monmouth County.

Although I do have luck in Bound Brook, the returns aren't as strong as Monmouth County, but they are still strong. If you decide to look into Bound Brook just be aware that there are a lot of flood zones.

Hi Bob,

Hope this reply isn't too late, but I had a great experience with MDR Home Improvement

Hi @Account Closed mentioned, have a lease signed in Jan-April for a June-August start date. 

I can't speak for Huntsville AL, but at Rutgers pretty much every off campus house is a SFH with many many bedrooms. Everything is local though, at Rutgers there is not much student housing outside of dorms, making any off campus house very attractive. I would look for campuses where off campus SFH or small multi family housing is the standard. In my experience it makes for great returns.

Last piece of advice I have is when you are figuring out what rent to charge do so by determining how many students can fit in the house, keep in mind some rooms may be big enough to be considered a "double", and then determine what the average rent each student is willing to pay. Then multiply that number by how many students can fit in a house. For instance at Rutgers a 4 bedroom SFH may be able to house 6 students because two rooms can be considered a "double" (can fit two people). Then I know at Rutgers the average going rate for a single is $700 and a double is $550 so I would advertise rent as $3,600 for the house and be able to fill it quickly if it is even in decent shape. 

Hope this helps, if you'd like to talk more feel free to dm me.