All Forum Posts by: Matthew Gundersen

Good morning everyone,

I am getting ready to make my first offer on a property. I have been reading articles for a long while now and toying around with numbers on my Spreadsheet about potential properties. I have finally found one that I think fits the investment I am looking to make. However, I am still a little nervous (but excited!) about making my offer. I have a few questions that I am hoping can be explained to me..

I've been reading about putting contingencies in the offer. Like having the offer subject to a home inspection or loan qualification. Does this mean that the offer will need to be accepted contingent on these? Or are these things (like home inspection specifically) performed before the offer is accepted?

Also, my agent informed me that I will need a prequalification letter from my lender. No problem I can get that, but should I get it for the asking price of the property? The property needs some work so I am preparing to submit an offer quite lower than the asking price. In your experiences have you found having a letter for the asking price is better? Or should I get the letter lower to what I am preparing to ask?

My last question is about earnest money, I have to put down earnest money to show the seller I am "Interested" in the property? So I am wondering if there are any criteria anyone uses to determine how much money they normally put down? I don't want to lose this money if the offer is accepted and then a house inspection goes through and there are unforeseen major repairs needed on the house... is that what the property inspection contingency is for?

Any and all answers are so appreciated! Hoping to make my first deal before the end of the year! THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Good afternoon BP, I am currently looking at purchasing my first investment. It is a triplex and looks to be a sound fist investment. I am wondering what kind of insurance I will need as I will be both living in one unit and then renting the other two out. What type of policy is required/recommended? And also what kind of rate I should be expecting to pay for this type of property (Being 23, I don't know if age makes a difference quite like an auto insurance policy?) compared to what others are paying. If anyone has suggestions for companies too that would definitely make a great starting point for me.

This is my first time purchasing a house so I am unaware of all things that go into a home insurance policy. Thanks for the help. 

- Matt

Hey Bigger Pockets, I'm still looking to get my first investment property. I was looking around my area (Vineland) and haven't found anything solid. So I started branching my search out towards Pitman, Woodbury, Deptford and West Deptford and Mount Ephraim. The surrounding areas out by there also like Somerdale, Bellmawr, etc.

Anyone have any experience around these areas and know if they're decent for investors? Anything I should know or research that would be key knowledge to invest for buy and hold rental property? Im also looking to get in contact with a local lawyer and contractor that would be fair and trustworthy to a beginner.

@Bob Mastroanni thanks Bob. I didn't know that about Glassboro and around Rowan. I am looking into getting into that area as opposed to the outer skirts of Glassboro because of how nice Rowan is. I will try stopping into the municipal building one day and seeing what information I can get.

@Richard Sayer How come you are unhappy with Hammonton? I thought it would be a great area for a landlord. I am going to get on that. I will stop into the municipal buildings to see what kind of information I can get. Do you have any other properties around Hammonton? Maybe in Buena, Vineland, or Williamstown?

@Richard S. thanks for the tip. I understand now. I wasn't sure how the Certificate of Occupancy worked exactly. So once I get that it will be okay to rent. Great. Side question, I see you are in Hammonton. Do you rent places out there? How hard is it to get a Certificate of Occupancy? Can I contact the municipal building for each town and get a check list from them?

Hello Bigger Pockets,

I am looking for any and all advice here. I am a complete beginner when it comes to real estate; I basically just have some additional cash that I am looking to use to help me fund my first home purchase. I have about 25k saved up and am looking to use. It's nerve wracking dealing with that kind of large (to me) money. 

My situation is to look in my market. The South Jersey area (Vineland, Hammonton, and Glassboro) is where I live and am looking in this area for foreclosures and bank owned properties that I can buy, fix up, and rent out. But I am just having some questions getting started.

First off, when I purchase my property and believe I have everything fixed and finished and ready to put up to be rented out... what do I do? Do I hire a lawyer and an inspector to make sure the property is up to code? And then if it is, do I keep a lawyer on retainer? I am kind of confused as to the whole process of actually setting up my unit to be rented out. I am 22 and I have never used a lawyer before in my life. I still have one year of college left and I've never had to have a property inspected. 

There's just a lot of questions I have from start to finish about renting a place out. I understand the people talking about strategies and what they do as a landlord to help becoming successful... but how do I start? What is the process that I am missing? From my understanding it goes something like...

Find House -> Purchase House -> Make Sure House is Up to Code -> Rent House

But I kind of need help along those points because I don't even know if they're right. If anyone has any books or articles that they found helpful please send them my way.

Any information would be great. It will help me get started in this field and I am hungry to start! Thank you.

Hi there! My name is Matt and I want to begin investing in real estate. It has been something I have been wanting to do for years. I finally am working up courage to look at houses and think about purchasing.

But I need some advice. I want to purchase my first house and rent it out. I can do most maintainance myself. It's just that I don't have a lot of confidence to start out!

I have around 15-20k in cash and I am looking in that price range in NJ to find a cheaper property. Does anyone have any advice for me?

I am completely new to real estate but I want to start and it's all I think about day to day. I know it's a right move for my future, I just need some guidance. Thank you!