All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Haberman

Andre,

Like above said, this is opinion.

Buy a duplex. Live for free.

Put least amount down- one of the perks of first time home buying.

This town has a population of 5,000 people. Its directly downtown. brand new 2 bed 1 bath on third floor/3 offices on 2nd story/3 offices on 1st story. Only 2 are occupied. Owners are looking to get rid of it and be done with it. They had great tenants in the past but the one tenant that was taking up a majority of the building went and bought a place close by. Since the place has been open. Considering developing a cowork space down stairs to get creative and draw some attention. Offices need central air, or do they? Is this necessary? Is it risky buying a commercial place like this if its not currently rented? I know how to market very well and believe with some creativity I can make this place a desired place. The brand new third story apartment will rent fast. Please keep in mind I am BRAND new to this. Im a  realtor in NJ but im trying to learn commercial real estate. Here are the numbers I have ran. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Offering on a bank owned home for my 2nd flip in NJ. Does anyone have a strategic way on offering to banks to feel them out? Worried this home has a bad septic and want to test it before we are officially under contract. From what I understand, when "Home is being sold as is" is in the contingencies of the contract, there is no way to use the home inspection period to back out. Has anyone ever backed out in Attorney review? On this flip, the numbers work with a good septic. It gets hairy if we have to replace the septic.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Hey guys.

Sorry for late update. Home went under contract in 7 days! Offer came in at $215. We countered $235. Buyer countered at $225. DEAL. Closed in 45 days. 

Final numbers:

Sales price-$225

All costs-$171,560.67

Realtor fees-$11,250

Profit-$42,189

Return of 25%

Not bad for first flip. Right?

If you are a first time home buyer, buy a duplex.

Check out movement.com

FINALLY COMPLETED AND BACK UP ON MARKET!!!!!!!!

https://postlets.com/s/2030-route-9-ocean-view-nj-...

Hey guys. Quick question. During the process of buying we had financing that fell through. During the time though we had paid for an appraisal. We are getting ready to list and one of the partners suggested we get the house re appraised (its only $100). THey want to "make sure we arent listing it too low". I can understand their concern for sure but I am a realtor and have done the research on active, sold, and under contract comps.

So my questions are:

Can a reappraisal somehow haunt us in the future if it were to come back lower than expected? (We paid $127 and it appraised for $190 and now the house has brand new everything) I ask this because what if there is a rule where a recent appraisal has to stick and buyer cant pay anymore than the new appraisal

Should an appraised price equal the list price? My "theory" is no. I feel like a lot of times appraisal are rigged in favor of the banks. Now don't get me wrong, I understand appraisals are very valuable and definitely serve a purpose. I just find it sort of fishy that a majority of transactions i see appraise to purchase price. It seems to me like it always just "works out". Regardless, what worries me is that the appraisal comes back higher(or lower) than we can sell it for we get some false hope instilled in us and the listing SITS on market for way too long. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks so much

Avi,

I will definitely be using Postlets! Very useful tool!

Liz,

Awesome advice. Thanks. Sorry I have been quiet. We closed on June 26 and we are hopefully getting it back on the market next week. New siding, new windows, new appliances, new flooring, new vanities, new everything! I am getting professional photos done. We are going to try Zillow and Trulia for a few weeks and see how many bites we get. We can wait to long because the market dies here in the winter. Anyone have experience trying to move their flips with an online presence? I am a realtor but am trying to save my self and my partners some money on our first flip. I don't want it to seem that I am chasing that commission! 

P.s- I will post before and after, as soon as i get the proffesional  photos done.

BP community- thanks for all the great advice.

Update-

Decided to go with new windows  from Home Depot. The old ones were wood and a couple were broken. Received a quote to replace glass in two of them and it was $500. We felt that was high and we would be better off replacing windows. $1.50 laminants from HD look incredible. Also decided to Re side the entire house. I am now very excited because the place is practically brand new. Makes for an easy sell in my eyes :) 

Pictures coming soon.