All Forum Posts by: Michael Rubino

I just completed a renovation for a client in Marlton NJ which is fairly close. I used a company called PA home store - had best pricing on molding cabinets and flooring. Colonial marble and granite gave me the best deal on granite countertop. If you're placing an order for building materials, go to Home Depot put together a big order all at once. If it's over $1000 ask to put it in the "bid room" you get anywhere from 10-20% off. Then use your Home Depot card for more perks.

I think this post is too broad. You're suggesting all neighborhoods are the same and they will stay the same. You are going to pay money to maintain your home. If you buy a cheap home repairs could cost more than the value of your home that's true but does that even matter? Costs are simply costs (which is also why you may want to consider investing in products with better warranties versus products that are cheaper). If you buy a 300k duplex in a nice neighborhood that nets you 1500/month or you buy a 50k duplex in a crappy neighborhood that nets you 1500/month. Which would you pick? If it's me I'm buying the 6 duplexes. And the equation I just gave you exists right here in NJ from one town to the next. These "headaches" are people with problems. You're going to run into that in any business. Try giving them solutions and watch how much easier it gets. This is really a hands on business from selecting the property to purchase, rehab, finding the right tenants, and maintaining the home. The more units you acquire the more work it takes. Hiring a property management company is good, or simply create your own so you can manage that too and make sure it is running as smooth as you need/want it to, probably even better. But what Im talking about requires work. I never imagined real estate to be as passive as some people view it. P.S. Bad tenants are a result of poor due diligence. If you don't do your homework in any aspect of investing, you're going to make mistakes and mistakes in this business will cost you.

I would start looking into auctions. ive found some good deals at auction. If you can get a property at a good price, it really puts you at an advantage to make it cash flow. 

I can help, I'm a contractor licensed in NJ. Send me a PM

Hi Allen,

We are GCs by trade so what we do is set dividends from the GC company each quarter into our real estate company and when it accrues, we look to make a purchase, usually at auction. When the list gets released we do our due dilligence in finding out what we can charge for rent and based upon the purchase price and the taxes, we figure out approximately how much it will cash flow. We are in a unique situation because we can construct and maintain the home at cost value instead of retail value since we do not need to pay another contractor which allows us to take more risk than the average person. 

We use rentometer to find out the averages rents in the area and we use property shark to determine the property taxes, year the home was built, flood zone info, etc. we also use property shark to analyze what the comparable a in the area are worth so we can understand what the home is valued at given the worst circumstances. Some homes we got at auction required minimal renovations (paint, cabinets, carpeting, etc) some were complete guts. But if you plan for the worst and hope for the best you can really make a good decision on whether or not the deal makes sense. 

I think the hardest part is making those sacrifices. Passing up on going out to dinner to save money to put into buying a property or rehabbing it. Once that cash flow gets rolling it gets a lot easier. We hope to have 50 units in the next 4 years. 

Originally posted by @Rafael Norat:

Congrats man! Keep at it! Where in jersey? Duplexes? Singles?

 1 single, 2 - 3 family in Irvington, east orange, and orange NJ. 

after taxes and insurances and general expenses split between two people and their families in NJ where property taxes are high... Pretty much lol

Hi Nicole, I live in NJ as well. I started investing last year and now have 7 units. 1 is a single family, and 2 are 3-families. For buy and holds, I like to buy in urban neighborhoods typically because the numbers make more sense (as long as you find good tenants). For instance I bought a single family - 4 bedroom in east orange for 35k at auction (sight unseen) lucked out and only had to put about 7500 into it and it rents for $1500/month. After expenses it cash flows about 800/month. One three familiy we got for 45k, this one is a full gut - at least 100k rehab but we are expecting similar returns. The last three family we are still waiting to close on and still haven't seen it. To me it just doesn't make sense to spend 300k with those numbers. It'll take 20 years to pay off. I would look for better deals out there. They're definitely out there.

Hi guys,

I just wanted to take some time to tell you my success story. A little more than a year ago, I received a post card to a "house flipping" seminar hosted by Tarek and Christina from HGTV (which a marketing company paid to use their name). My father and I ended up going (but I'd like to be clear that I've learned more from biggerpockets and biggerpockets podcasts than I did paying thousands of dollars that I could've invested). I think it was the catalyst though in getting us to be serious about this since we paid hard earned cash to feel confident enough to make the leap of faith. A little bit of background about me and my family: My father and I are contractors licensed in NJ and NY and that is what currently pays our bills. What we are trying to do (not quite there yet) is to eventually let go of the contracting company and focus full time on real estate investing. In this past year, we have acquired 7 units in various locations in NJ that we have been renovating and renting out. Currently only 1 of the 7 are rented while the other 6 are still being renovated. Each unit is projected to cash flow $800/month. We DO want to flip when the opportunity presents itself (to increase capital) but our main goal right now is to acquire about 50 units that cashflow at least $800/month so that we can maintain our current lifestyles while solely focusing on REI.

Just a year ago I was on the fence if this was even possible and now we have 7 of our goal of 50 units.  I hope this post can inspire some people who are currently on the fence about it, as those posts I have read inspired me.  I'm glad to be apart of this network and plan to be more active to meet people with similar goals and help those who I can.  Cheers