All Forum Posts by: Paul S.

She will get paid whatever the owner of a particular property is offering a buy-side commission, minus what cut her company takes, and then, the best part, minus about 50% for taxes! (This is in NJ, your state might be different). 

Thanks for the insight. I should have clarified, the units I see without central air do sometimes have window units. 

I see a lot of investors talk about using leverage to acquire properties, etc. But do you ever find it difficult to acquire properties using a mortgage when there are other investors buying all-cash in your area? 

When analyzing potential rentals, do you take your own must-haves out of the equation? 

I come across some weird/outdated home layouts in my business. And sometimes while looking for rental properties I often wonder if the lack of certain amenities will be a turn off to potential renters?  

These are the three things that come to mind that I question if the house does not have them. 

Dishwasher

Central Air

Kitchen big enough to fit a normal sized table when there is no dining room. (and not have to be placed in living room). 

Feel free to comment and discuss. Thank you! 

Realtor.com  is hit or miss. I was able to convert 3 leads into actual sales in my first 18 months, and had another sale fall through in inspections because of the seller. I was subscribed to one of the less desirable zipcodes in my area. The area however, is large and has sub 100k properties on one side of town and homes in the 200--400k range on the other. 

I have learned to ignore the sub 100k leads, the fake leads that come in at 3am and the people with no loan approvals. I've been given way more leads than promised. However, when I tried to expand into a better zipcode, the number of leads was not as promised and I converted none of them. I probably should have complained to Realtor, but the 3 leads I converted from the first zip more than paid for everything, luckily. 

I just signed up for Zillow last week so I don't know yet. 

I think the agents who got onboard with Zillow when it started and have tons of reviews and who have huge amounts of advertising dollars are the ones who benefit most. 

I pay less than $400 for condo insurance in NJ, I can't imagine it is 900 in CT?   

This is a bare bones assessment without repairs....

Principal and Interest and taxes : $488  (assuming 13k down on a 65000 list price)

Homeowners Ins. $33 per month (assuming $400 a year, which what it is in NJ)

Assoc. Fee. $160 per month

$20 misc. (sewer?) (Tenant should pay water)

$701 expenses

Rent: $1200

$499 cash flow before accounting for repairs, vacancy, etc.

Am I missing something? Are you rolling repairs into the loan? 

What about homeowner's insurance?  

The cash flow number is pretty low,  I think you may be overestimating in some areas.  

For one, can you manage the property yourself? Use Zillow. Choose your own tenants. A 2bed condo is very easy to manage. Get a "worry free" plan from your gas/electric provider and have tenant call if ever a problem. Other than that you will need to know of a plumber to call if ever needed. 

What needs to be done in the kitchen? Is it a full-on remodel with new cabinets, counters, appliances, etc? 

Avoid

What part of NJ are you in? I would start by studying a specific area, keep an eye on what rents are going for and what properties are selling for. The numbers have to work wherever you are. Some people have the stomach for a high risk/high cash flow area, some would rather have stability and less cash flow. 

I think your assumption about mult-families is right, I've seen the same thing for the most part. And the multis in decent areas often get scooped up by all cash investors. 

A condo isn't an awful idea to get started if the price is right and the assoc. fees are low, and of course, if the numbers work!