All Forum Posts by: Max Mac Phail

I have a family member that owns a house in Little Falls,NJ that needs a lot of work in addition to having a property tax (close to $100k) and IRS lien ($50k?) against it. There is a HELOC for about $40k (behind) for a total in the area of $200k. The house is in a flood zone (never flooded and doesn't have to carry FEMA mandated insurance). My estimate for ARV is around $430k, house is a 3/1 with a 1/1 in-law suite (separate entrance). It sits on .74ac with one neighbor and is about 2200sqft.

The plan is to update the house into the 21st century, convert the useless garage into more living space and add hvac to it, new floors, windows, a new deck, possibly move the laundry room, convert one of the bedrooms into an office and reconfigure the in-law suite to a master suite.

What is good range to estimate per sqft for the rehab, including landscaping in the general Wayne/Paterson area?

Is $430k a good estimate based on comps I could find?

How much value does the land add, the house is set off the road and is very private.

Think of which medium you feel most confident using and start there.  Make sure the channel and budget fit for your goals and hit the gas hard on that medium until you like the results then move to the next medium and master it.  Slowly build your marketing toolbox rather than try to hit multiple mediums at once, unless you have money to spend and can afford someone else to do the work for you.

My question is, How sustainable is this run up in prices locally?  It feels like 2006 all over again, prices are getting pretty crazy.  Has anyone noticed rents going up?  My neighborhood in Green Valley has had at least 3 houses this year sit vacant for months due to ask price for rent too high.  These are houses zoned for very desirable schools as well.  

Great points @Jason R.!  It is a very interesting market and situation right now.  

Thanks @Robert Adams! It is quite a nice read and I understand the dilema, an agent friend told me stories of law offices snapping up the HOA foreclosures in a luxury high-rise building for 30k and getting 3k a month rent while dealing with the legal fallout and battling the lender only to happily turn it over to the lender after years of litigation and collecting rent.

I agree there are probably 1000's of houses that can come on the market at any time, but banks will control them to keep their loan investments safe. They collect payments, not house deeds. It would be great to turn over this power that HOA's have in NV. After owning in Texas, the HOA is powerless to do anything but collect fines and take you court for payment. It works since a bank/county should be in first position non-payment or lien or taxes.

My question is how does this affect the previously owned homes and create an environment for investing?  It seems the good deals might be a little harder to come by with sellers opting to go to agents regardless of condition due to the prices and agents experiences from the bust doing repairs.

That I do not know...I am more curious if anyone else has heard about these foreclosures coming on the market or if the article is inaccurate.

I came across this article in my email about a large amount of leftover foreclosures from 2011 and 2012 that lenders are starting to get out of litigation with HOA's and getting around state laws. Has anyone in the Vegas market experienced these hitting the market?

Speaking with a friend that is a realtor recently, he mentioned there hardly any (foreclosures) on the market, almost to pre-bust times.  However, even with rapidly rising prices lately is it possible there will soon be more inventory on the market?  

 Thanks! 

Great question!  @Brian H has the right idea.  The market will determine, but sometimes it is a good idea to build the price into the rent.  A landlord once paid the garbage bill to avoid any problems with trash.  It allowed him to build in the $45 a quarter as $40 a month.

It seems my life has come full circle. About three years ago I moved to the Dallas area and sold my house here FSBO. Fast forward three years, nearly do the date, my house in the Dallas area will again be sold FSBO as I have returned to Vegas. Life always seems to revolve around houses.

I have been interested in real estate for a long time, seeing a great aunt rent the house next door and talk about how the rent check covered the mortgage on the house and part of the taxes on her next door house, which I though was incredible especially as I grew older and learned about the tax benefits of owning a house and rental house.  

To make the long story short. I am back in Vegas and find myself with more time than money and know now is the time to stop reading and start doing as I will be in Vegas for the foreseeable future.  My background is in any customer facing business, particularly restaurants (yes I am a people person and can BS with the best), however I am also great with technology particularly social media (Twitter, Facebook and facebook ads).  

After contemplating the many different ways to invest, what I am most interested in getting involved in are: rehabbing to rental, seller finance or lease option.  Lease option and seller finance appeal most to me as, they can turn renters into homeowners, which I learned in Texas there is a huge market for by recently selling my house (not seller financed).

I am looking to connect with someone in Vegas that is involved with these types of investing.