All Forum Posts by: Kevin Manafi

Hi @Pam Wils, congrats on becoming an agent! This is really personal preference as it comes down to whether you feel comfortable sharing your # or not. There are ways you don't have to get a second phone, though--services like Google Voice give you a separate, distinct phone # that you can use for business, but it will all route to your primary phone. You can also designate hours where you don't want it to forward to you, etc. which makes it a nice product.

Hi @Dylan Husanov, you're correct: the basic formula would be Loan Amount * (Interest Rate/12) = Monthly Interest-Only Payment. 

You can also Google "Interest-Only Mortgage Calculator" for a quick and easy way to have it calculated for you.

Hi @Justin Summers,

Sounds like you had a great deal--congrats! From my past discussions with 1031 Exchange professionals, I believe that you pay capital gains tax on whatever amount you retain (i.e. not roll into the new replacement property). You don't have to either roll everything over or nothing; you can choose to roll over whatever amount you want, but you do have to pay tax as normal on whatever portion you do not use on the replacement. I would recommend consulting your CPA and/or a qualified 1031 professional for more info to put your mind at ease

@Robert Bolejszo I would definitely recommend consulting a qualified Landlord Tenant attorney if you are unsure. In my experience, we always have it delivered via Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested. Not sure if this is because it's mandated by law, but I think it provides the strongest paper trail (especially with the Return Receipt Requested) in the event that the tenant refuses delivery, etc.

Hi @Olia Kalinina,

I can't speak specifically to Fort Myers, but I owned a multi-family in Bayonne for 3+ years up until a few months ago, so I have firsthand experience in that market. For the most part, you are correct in that you will find a lot of older housing stock in Bayonne, generally with a good amount of deferred maintenance. However, I have found that the renter demand is very solid due to its proximity to NYC/Jersey City; the price-to-rent ratios are solid and improving; and for the reasons mentioned above and more, home prices are appreciating and will continue to appreciate in Bayonne in my opinion. There is a ton of development/redevelopment going on there, and geographically it makes sense.

I'm an investor and investor-agent in North Jersey. I'd be happy to connect and chat some more!

@Anastasia G. Thanks for the insight! I figured in the past a policy around $1k-$1500 max probably wouldn't be a dealbreaker for a buyer as long as it was a good school system, great home, etc...but with the Risk Rating 2.0 sending policy premiums up like crazy, I've gotten a few quotes of $3k+ which I now imagine changes the game a ton and likely is a dealbreaker for most purchasers.

To all my New Jersey flippers out there--what has your experience been with flipping homes that are in a flood zone? Do they sit on the market longer, are prospective buyers more hesitant, etc.? I think in the past maybe it might not have been too bad depending on the classification, but with the new Risk Rating 2.0 system driving flood insurance premium prices up exponentially, I'm wondering if anyone has firsthand experience that they can speak to.

Hi @Brandon Wallace, congrats on owning your first rental property!

It's difficult for anyone to give you a great answer on this since it's such a personal question and really depends on you, your life, and your goals/finances. Generally speaking, it would obviously be ideal if there was enough cash flow to pay off the homes more quickly and take a little for your own personal bills. If there's only enough to do one of those, it becomes a bit tricky and again depends how badly you need it to pay off your bills.

If you have an older property or one with a bunch of deferred maintenance, I generally like to re-invest the money into the property to make smaller upgrades over time.

Hi @Michael Kotyk, I used to have a subscription to Propstream (I am an agent now so I no longer need it since I have MLS access). It's a very valuable resource for real estate investors and offers a variety of helpful services/tools like skip-tracing, list building, property/tax information, and much, much more. Similar tools like it include PropertyShark and Batchleads. Most, if not all, of them usually offer some sort of free trial, so I'd recommend signing up and seeing which one you like most. I personally like Propstream and PropertyShark.

Hi @Javier G., as Lisa mentioned above, BiggerPockets offers a variety of forms for members. However, there are plenty of other ways to get the forms you need. You could:

-Speak to an attorney and have them draft up custom lease docs for you

-Use online legal sites to download the applicable forms for your state

-Talk to a local realtor! They will have all of the forms you need and know how to fill them out.