Hey @Joseph Chacko vellukunnel,
1. Definitely get the structural engineer to look at the joists & support beams to see what's up with the uneven floors. Home could've settled and nothing further to do or you could be seeing a bigger issue at hand that the seller needs to fix. Is it being sold As Is?
Horizontal cracks on the foundation may just be wear & tear. Vertical cracks could be foundation issues. Definitely make those assessments during inspection or prior to making an offer if you can to save yourself the time. If the home is 100 yrs old, I'm assuming it's a definite gut which is going to require new plumbing, electrical, heating, cosmetics.
I spent about $140K reno on my multi family in the heights on NY ave and there were massive problems with it but it was a gut to 3 units & adding 2 bathrooms, 3 brand new kitchens 4 bathroom reno in total, all new flooring, sheetrock , insulation, framing, doors, electrical, plumbing, paint, parts of roof etc. (Heating system left alone and siding left alone)
Get quotes as in Hudson county I've gotten pretty expensive pricing. I have a good GC who I trust who does work for my clients and myself. Let me know if you want me to connect you, not sure if they're too busy lmk. Also, try to get two or more electrical boxes so the tenants pay their own as well as heating zones. Water - landlord plays in JC heights typically. Use LVP flooring, it's cheaper than installing new hard wood floors and they're more durable for longevity purposes. If you only have to resand the flooring and it's cheaper, maybe go with that instead,
JC township will definitely require permits for plumbing, electrical, gas lines. Moving/adding any lines, etc. I would need to know more specs on the house but with material shortages It's difficult to say how much to budget. 80K-120K for full gut perhaps but unsure with lumber beings so expensive and shortages.
I would plan 9 months of vacancy between the pain you will endure pulling permits & having your contractors show up everyday to complete the work & then final inspections to get a CO. Took me longer but I didn't like the contractor I used, and unfortunately he took advantage of my kindness. Live and learn I guess haha.
2. I did an FHA 203K loan and it was a pain but it worked out and I built the necessary equity to BRRRR. I cash out refinanced with a local Hoboken loan officer I know and they were really great. Work with a loan officer & agent to know what your appraised value is before you even do the work. With my refi I wrapped in closing costs as well so avoid paying it twice. It's going to be incredibly difficult to cash out refi BRRRR in the Heights right now, the pricing is too high imo. This was back in 2016.
3. I would talk to your agent about this, they should know these answers like the back of their hand but I'll give my two cents. I think there definitely is still room for appreciation but with a lack of opportunity, inventory wise. If you're looking for long term buy & hold, there's money to be made. - Renting in this area is solid, I've gotten what they call B class tenants and more or less they've been great. Turnover is higher than suburbs. I've had 1 tenant stay for 3 years, the others have stayed for a year on average but it depends. You're close to the bus stop so you'll attract NYC goers & they move a lot around here. But I have the tenant pay the broker fee & in my lease I ask them within 90 days if they want to stay for another year and give them 15 days to respond so I have 75 days to rent out the property to avoid vacancy.
4. I have contractors / an awesome home inspector. My GC should be able to find you the rest.
(Some helpful benchmarks: Kitchens Stay under 17K-20K with materials/labor, bathrooms stay under 8K with materials/labor, Flooring stay around 2.50 per sq ft for labor., Paint try to stay under 4K-5K)
Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything..Cheers!
