All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

John Hill Agency 

Insurance agency

635 Atlantic City Blvd, Bayville, NJ 08721, USA

John Hill Agency, Bayville, NJ

They've managed all my properties, past and present. I only had one glitch with them. When I sold one of my properties and cancelled the insurance, they failed to refund the unused portion of a policy paid one year in full.

Ciao Carmela. There's quite a few stories I could tell you, however, they go back like 15 years ago and a lot has changed since then. I can tell you that there was always an inspection, and that is for the protection of the tenant. However, if you can manage a paradigm shift in your thinking, you can also be sure that the items they bring up, while sometimes small, like a light bulb that is out, can really help you maintain a safe residence. Further, if you involve a property manager, you'll end up knowing if they are doing their jobs!!!!

2008 was a tough time. It was in-between the height and the bust.

I'm so confused.

Hi Gerald,

I'll give you my two cents! It's worth one penny :P

Is this a good idea to invest as a group? I'm used to doing this by myself but my funds are currently limited.

SURE...why not??? If you can find people who will pool their funds, you can absolutely do that. It's actually something I am looking to do as well, because paying cash for a property and rehab is way more profitable than securing loans. You have already surmounted that obstacle!! Good for you!! (Hit me up if you coming to Ocean County, NJ....)

Can someone give me suggestions on how we should structure these deals?

Define deals? Are you looking on how to structure your partnership? If that's the question, a LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) is the go to formation for me, however, you may want to consult an attorney and/or your accountant for their input.

Also take into consideration the amount of EQUITY each person will contribute. Let's say that you have 3 partners:

Partner one gives 30,000
Partner two gives 47,000
Partner three gives 82,000
Total equity is 30+47+82=159,000

How do you divvy how much each person has in equity?

Partner one has (30/159)% or 18.9%
Partner two has 29.6%
Partner three has 51.5%

When you are ready to form the LLC, I actually use LEGALZOOM and it's very easy and affordable. Yeah you can do it yourself, but I prefer to have the formation independently done to avoid issues.

What type of deals should we go after single family/ multi/ commercial?

That depends on your goals. If you have never done anything like this before, I would advise against anything big. Start small, and move from there. It's also important to gauge how well your partners will work together. If you can get through your first deal and not be at each other's throats, continue. If not, dissolving the partnership will be much easier.

Will we be able to get a traditional loan from a traditional bank? Chase, Wells Fargo and etc.? If not what is our option?

Yes, you can, as a partnership.

How many people is too many?

The more the merrier. But here's the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER>>>>

DEFINE each partner's role in the partnership. GO INTO AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE and put it into your formation documents. Who is going to pay the bills? Who is handling the books? Who is responsible for getting insurance? Who is meeting the subcontractors? Who will create and handle your website and social media? Who is making calls to find subs? Who will deal with the realtor? Who is doing to deal with the accountant, lawyer, architect? Who will create the design? I mean, think about all that is going to happen, and divvy up the responsibilities.

It's the BEST and EASIEST way to resolve issues with who is responsible for what. 

Your partners may also want to remain "silent" while ONE partner becomes a MANAGING PARTNER....responsible for the daily day to day operations and has the ability to make decisions without approval of everyone. Then that person can report to the other partners on a monthly basis. Keep in mind a silent partner means SILENT....they DON'T tell you HOW to run YOUR BUSINESS.

It's true that too many cooks can spoil the soup, but with the right recipe, you can make some delicious ratatouille!

@Matthew Kelley

It's easy to do an eviction yourself without an attorney. Thank God NJ shares the information on the process with easy to follow steps. You can even download the forms from online now. The PROCESS is easy.

It's the TIME involved with the process that is tough. If your tenant fights the eviction (as mine did) the judge will absolutely side with them and give them an opportunity to correct the default. So then you have to wait it out AGAIN, only to go through it all over again. It was like being on the hamster wheel.

I wasn't alone. When I was at the courthouse, it appeared as if MANY of the defaulting tenants knew how the whole process would pan out, and used that knowledge to consistently delay eviction. So in what you think should be a 60 day process TOPS, could turn into a 6 month nightmare. In the meantime, as the property owner, I still have expenses and holding costs to cover.

At one point, I actually asked the judge who is protecting MY right as a property owner?

So again, the process is easy, it's getting the timely justice that can be tough.

I broke my fingernail in NJ. I probably need a license to file it down.

Because nowadays, you need a license to get a license to license. Protects the consumers, but wow, NJ has a license for everything.

I agree with @Jim K. I have read the RENOVATION book from cover to cover, then again backwards, for many many years. It's my first "go to" on many projects. I use the 5th here's a link:

RENOVATION 5th

The next book I would get is Black and Decker's Code for Homeowners

Then from there, you can get books that will go into detail even further. There are plenty of books out there, and each one has it's pro's and con's. To find a book that works for you without having to buy them all, hit up the local library. They carry most of the popular ones in topics from Roofing and Siding, to Masonry, to Trim, to Tile, etc.....Try each book out, when you find the one that speaks to YOU, then buy it used off Amazon to keep in your personal library. YES USED BOOKS OFF AMAZON ARE GREAT! Costs $1 plus shipping most of the time.

Then, when all that is said and done, youtube. Why not just got straight to youtube? Because there are bozo's out there who will post anything and you may not be getting good information. Having some idea of what you are looking for will weed out the idiots. Then you can see the real thing in action.

I also agree with @Chris Vanderberry. Is it weird that my FAVORITE MAGAZINE is FAMILY HANDYMAN?????? Get a year's subscription. You won't regret it.

You ought to have the confidence at that point to try things out after all that!

Good Luck!!

I LOVE BOOKS!! THEY ARE THE BEST!! (Sorry @Charles Goetz!!)

Hey Kevin,

Welcome to the circus. I live in Toms River and about to finish a flip. My next will be a buy and hold. I've been investing in real estate for many years, flipping houses before flipping was "cool" from back in the late 90's, as well as buy and hold.

I'm looking to team up with other investors to form a partnership for the next flip, or hold, which ever makes sense. I want to eliminate the hard money needs because that definitely takes a chunk out of the profit.

Send me a message. I can show you the house I'm finishing up, talk about what your goals are, see if they are in line with mine. I've got a lead on a duplex that would make a good candidate but it's out of my reach. I'm going to need a 1031 exchange in the next 90 days so I'm itching to meet someone with a similar goal to invest in it all cash.

PS: Jersey is really hard on landlords. Just letting you know. But it's not like it used to be when I had my rentals 20 years ago. Vetting tenants is so much easier now. Thank you INTERNET!!!