All Forum Posts by: Eric Li

This site shows the tax information and building sq.ft and some previous transaction records.  See if you could use it for references:

http://tax1.co.monmouth.nj.us/cgi-bin/prc6.cgi?&ms...

I am a mechanical engineer in the utilities industry.  Having W2 salary definitely helps a lot in getting access to mortgages.  I also work part time as a real estate agent which give more "first hand" experience in the industry as well as additional income for down payments.  

I am currently consider getting more involve in the real estate field but i am not sure how to get started.  I am trying to find a job in the real estate development firm or property management to learn more skills and put into my toolbox.   Sadly these areas doesn't pay as well comparing to working as an engineer.  I am trying to analyze if obtaining the new experience is worth a pay cut (a setback to get larger mortgages).  Not sure anyone has thought about this?

The majority of Staten island has experience fierce competition as well.  I went to an open house one day and the agent told me there was 38 groups came by that day.  No showings after 3rd day due to flooded with over asking offers.  The cap rate has drastically reduced due to the inflated price.  I would suggest go explore areas that hasn't been up yet.  For example, some of my investor friends already started looking at Newark and Jersey City in NJ.....

Hi @David Hanson, by looking at the numbers, a 5.8% Cap rate is a reasonable return. However, if you have to get a mortgage (debt service) and the return become zero, then I wouldn't think its a good idea to invest.  If something goes wrong such as tenant not paying, repairs on the house, etc.  You investment will go negative.  Also, I would consider comparing this with Dividend stocks.  If a utilities stock can give out about 4% return, I might just go with dividend stocks (no headache and easily liquid).  So my recommendation is finding something that can gives you more than 6% return in both with or without debt service.

I think this will be a tough choice.  However, at some point, I think we need to bring it back to the reality.  I always tell my tenant up front when they move in, if you pay your rent on time, I could be your best friend.  However, if you are late, you are technically stealing money from my bank account and I could be your worse enemy.  This way, it will prep their mindset that paying on time is their first priority. 

I assume not everyone in this business is filthy rich.  I would also asked myself if I couldn't make the payments and the bank foreclose on my property, who is going to feel miserable for me? No one but myself.  This is a business and it has its own expenses and needs the cash flow to survive.  Therefore, I would start the eviction process as soon as you can and then drop the case if they pay up.  Good Luck!!

Hi Rich, something came to my mind is that if you tried to build and sell, you might want to consider building a 6 unit condos.  This way, you should be able to sell for a higher per unit cost.  However, if you decided to build and hold, try to get a conservative number on the property taxes.  The property taxes for a new commercial building could get you over $20,000 a year and it might affect your cashflow.  In addition, it might be easier for you to sell your land as it already appreciated.  If you can sell it for 400K, you could use it as down payment to buy a 1.6 Million investment property (asssuming 25% down) or may be two small multi family, etc.  I know its seems fun to build your own building but make sure you run your numbers and see which option work best for you.

Hi @Dave Fontana, what do you mean by attorneys stealing the deals from you?  Are you referring to when you ask an attorney to prepare the contract with the seller, they turn around talk to the homeowner and try pay them more on the house?  How could we avoid or beware this issues?

Also have you been finding success on the mail campaigns in SI?

Hi Ilya,

I am a RE agent in Staten Island and investor myself.  Please contact me if you need any help. 

I think the market is very hot right now and its getting harder to do flipping. However, it will work if you could find some good deals by finding motivated seller, absentee owner, REO, estate sale, etc. In terms of buy and hold, there are still a lot of areas in Staten Island provide good return. Try look into Zip code 10304, 10310, 10303, 10302, 10301, etc. You could possibly find some good cash flowing properties in these areas if you are lucky 10305, 10314 (these are better areas). Good Luck!

Hi Welcome @Ana Haynes.  Thank you @John Errico for sharing your experience and stories.  Me and some of my friends have been investing in Union City for the past year.  One of my friends did a cash-out refinanced on his house in Brooklyn and use the additional 300K as down payments to purchase three multi family houses in Union City.  I also purchased a condo as well and things are going pretty well.  The tenant based is good in UC and the price was reasonable.  However, I do realized that price has gone up and it is getting more difficult to buy properties.  I do interested to meet with you guys to share some experience and hopefully learn and explore more options together. 

A lease is an agreement between the tenants and the owner when they moved in.  If they agreed to sign a one year lease, they are obligated to pay the rent for a year.  They are adults and breaking up has nothing to do with the agreement.  There is no benefits for you to remove one of them from the lease.  Good luck!