All Forum Posts by: Michael Lettieri

Yes they will get higher offers from the MLS but it won't be a better deal after paying for the realtor and renovations.

Thank you all for the advice. I need to have a better understanding of how much sweat equity my work adds to the home. It may be in my best interest to hire contractors because it may not be worth my time. I work full time and would probably make more picking up extra hours at work rather than worrying about sweat equity. Anyone have a formula or advice for when to do renovations or repairs myself versus hiring? 

I'm trying to convince my next-door neighbor to sell to me. They are open to selling but have not thrown out an initial asking price. The home is a 3-family and in need of a lot of work. How do I propose the first offer without insulting the owner? Should this be a formal offer on paper from a lawyer or verbal offer only? Should I provide comparables from the multiple listing service and prices for the cost of the required renovations? I'm confident that I would offer the best price/deal to this owner but am worried they won't realize it until it's too late. What I mean by saying "too late", is they will let it sit vacant for several months, pay for renovations, pay for a real estate agent, and then get lower than expected offers. How do I get them to understand that selling to me now "as-is" is in their best interest?

Thank you. I'm feeling burnt out from all the labor I put towards maintenance. It sounds like the taxes I would save on hiring myself would be canceled out by taxes on the LLC.

Hi, I am just starting out as a landlord and am trying to learn from my mistakes. I believe I have not been adequately record keeping my maintenance expenses. I do repairs and upgrades myself and only keep records of the material receipts. At the end of the year I have my rental income minus the material receipts and income tax on the surplus. I must be doing this wrong. How do I account for my personal labor when calculating yearly profit or loss? Do I need to create an LLC to charge myself for my own labor? How does everyone else account for this?

What did you do with the bonus unit? Is that rented? @Mike A.

Is there a place I can turn to for architectural advice? I’m working on my own drawings but have some questions.

Jersey City has regulations on short term rentals (AirBNB). Nothing about less than 12 months.

Thank you. According to the city this property is a 3-family property. The current set up has the basement as an illegal 4th unit. I would have to convert the first floor and basement into one unit.