All Forum Posts by: Michael Abate

Hi Keanu, 

I'm actually looking for wholesalers in Hudson County. Would be great to hear what you're focusing on and whether we can work together. My company is based in NJ and MA and we target single and multifamily units. Let me know if that's something you would be interested in helping with. 

Thanks a lot @John Errico. I do plan on doing an oil sweep just to be on the safe side. I will be asking my inspector if they do that as well but your recommendations on a company that you've used in the past would be great. Union City is quite competitive at the moment so I don't see them being too flexible, but if some issues arise and they're not reasonable I will just walk away from the deal. 

Your meetup group sounds great too. My business partner focuses on the NJ Market while I focus on the NY market so I will pass on your details to him. Thanks again for your feedback. 

Hi guys, 

Hope you're having a good start to your week. I had a question about the necessary items for inspection. This is my first inspection for my personal residence and I don't want to have things inspected unnecessarily. The property I am looking at is located in Union City, NJ. The house is a brick house built in 1890. 

Let me know what you guys think of the quote, if it's reasonable, and if they're checking what needs to be checked. 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, 

Thanks and talk soon. 

Mikey

Hi guys, so I found a place and put in an offer. It was accepted and I wanted to run the numbers by you since you were so great helping out with the last one. 

2 family units

1 bd/2bd

Taxes: $8,350

Top floor is already rented out at $1300. I would live in the bottom floor, so that's why there is a negative cashflow. 

I will be going through inspection the next few days so let me know what you think. 

Thanks @Jennifer S., I think a lot of people are buying properties just to avoid losing the opportunity rather than looking at numbers that make since. I just found a property with much better numbers than my last and put in an offer today so hopefully they'll accept. I will just have to wait and see. 

That's the plan. Thanks @Brian Pleshek

@Brian Pleshek That's exactly what I want to be careful about. I'm happy to pay my share while I live there. Just want to find a property that can sustain itself when I move out. 

@Brian Pleshek

Thanks Brian, and that's a great point. The 5K was a precaution against any unforeseen expenses before my last walk through and I would definitely make sure if they were necessary before including that in my final offer. Also, in terms of FHA, this would be my primary residence so I will be able to qualify. My strategy of whether I will live there long term or short term I guess would depend on the property. I know the right property will come my way if I keep looking. Thanks for mentioning that.

@Amit Patel

Hi Amit. That's really interesting feedback. I guess in an ideal situation I would at least like the property to break even with costs, but from what you're saying that's quite difficult. My perfect situation is to find a 3 family, but that's proven difficult with my budget. I will definitely keep what you said in mind when I'm looking since I know that it's better to be paying my rent into equity rather than thin air. Thanks.

@Rob Quinn

Hi Rob. My game plan is to get in with an FHA and keep the property a year or less. That's why I'm trying to be careful with which deal works to make this worthwhile. I plan on covering the 20% and refinancing as soon as possible. I'm okay with it not being positive cashflow immediately but, I am also trying to keep my monthly payments down as much as possible.

The main reason I'm moving to NJ is because finding multi family units there is actually affordable to me, rather than NY which is out of reach for me at the moment. I am trying to see this as both a way of my owning my own place as well as a good property to hold for the future. I guess that's the hard part in finding a deal that works. Really appreciate your advice. I will keep looking to find something that fits the mold. 

@Jason Noah Choi

Thanks Jason. For me, I just want to start making my payments into my own place and stop paying rent. So it's my only option considering I work in the city and NY is a bit too expensive. Hopefully I can find something that works. What part of Jersey City did you invest in?

@Jen Narciso

Thanks Jen, taxes do seem to be quite high in the NJ area. As long as I'm paying to get more equity and the numbers make sense, I think it's a good step forward for me. I guess I'll have to see what I can find.

_________

Thanks for all the advice guys, a great way to get different perspectives! 

Thanks for all the helpful information. I do plan on living in the property, but I also want to know that when I plan on moving that it is still a sound investment. From your feedback, that doesn't seem to be the case with this one. Property taxes in this area are high and while they seem like a mistake, that is the real number. My insurance number came from my agent in the area so I think that will be accurate. 

Also, great point on the PMI, I missed that in my calculations. Thank you all for your help on this one, I thought I was missing something significant in terms of my offer but I'm glad to hear that all of you have your concerns on it as well. Really means a lot that you took the time to get back to me so quickly.

Thanks again.