All Forum Posts by: Mike D.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I was doing a pretty small kitchen so I had to find a remnant that was suitable.  I went around to a few local places, probably should have checked out more. Like I said, the kitchen is small so it only ended up being $1,600 total. For a bigger kitchen I can see how it would add up. 

I think you basically have three options. 

1) find a young realtor. An experienced realtor isn't going to want to deal with the headaches of a low priced property. It's not worth their commission when they could focus on higher dollar "retail" deals. 

2) use a wholesaler

3) get your own license and submit your own offers.

Keep an eye on the properties that your realtor was hesitant to submit your offers on. If they sell at 80-100% of asking, he is right and you need to be looking at different properties. There are still opportunities to flip around here. 

you say it will give you a 10 cap. Are you looking to flip or be a landlord?

Keansburg does seem to be a tricky market. I would not suggest landlording there. I have heard nothing but bad experiences. Lots of bureaucracy, terrible tenant class, etc. A recent flip I saw in Keansburg was purchased for 40 K and sold for 135k. The guy who flipped it took over a year to rehab it so I don't know what kind of redtape he was dealing with. He was sort of on the outskirts of town. 

How are the property taxes in perth amboy?

also, the typical formula used here on bp is: (arv * 70%)-repairs= max offer

I guess it depends on what capital you are working with. I've seen cheap properties flipped in port monmouth or keansburg area. I've also seen more expensive properties flipped in downtown red bank. People are doing it around here. Maybe you need a different realtor. 

 That 100k in stated equity is probably considerably less after accounting for commissions and short term capital gains taxes. On top of that, the remaining profit would be split two ways. 

I'm running out the door and didn't read the whole thread so I don't know if this was mentioned. Thinking back to my housing experience in college, make sure you do a thorough walk through with a contractor. Lots of landlords in college towns try to milk their properties. They know the kids will pay to have a party house no matter how crappy it is. To them it's still better than dorms. I remember tons of defered maintenance and cheap fixes. Make sure you are not buying someone else's junk. 

arv is $280,000

I see such a huge range in granite prices on these forums. It obviously varies depending on quality and region but I think it would be helpful to see pictures with price quotes. 

I went looking for granite for my first rehab today and was quoted $57/ft for this level 2 astora:

That price is all inclusive(cutting/installation). Anyone on the east coast have any input? Is this a reasonable price?

First rehab:

1) Under estimating the scope of work. Entire rooms needing to be rebuilt from the studs up. All new electrical. All new plumbing. All unexpected. 

2) Not having a very clear, defined plan/schedule for rehab.  I wasted time by adding renovations as I went. 

3) Trying to do it all myself (ok 90% of it) while working a full time job. 90 hour weeks between my job and the house for 6 straight months are not fun. 

All these mistakes led to a MUCH longer holding time than was expected. My market seems to be improving, which lessens the effects. If the market was declining, it could have killed my profits. 

Should still make a nice profit on this one but it has definitely changed my mindset as to how I will handle deals going forward. The plan for the next deal is to buy it cash to avoid the holding costs/transaction fees and get a better discount on the house.  I would also like to hire out 90% of the rehab and only spend my time on the planning/decision making.