All Forum Posts by: Paul Stewart

Any one have any suggestions of good Inspectors in the Atlantic city New Jersey area. I'm about to put a offer in on a short sale but would like to have a Inspector take a look at the property before I put my offer in due to the fact I do not want to have any contingencies in my contract when It gets to the bank. 

Hi Rhoda 

So depending on your income and credit score I would say best bet to get a FHA is using a mortgage broker in your area. They are usually easy to work with and will explain everything to you step by step. Personally big banks are a waste of time for the average person. You can try to find a home with a apartment in it and live in 1 part of the home and rent the other part. If you do get a FHA loan you are required to live in it as your primary address for 3 years i believe unless you refinance out of the FHA. So the idea of living there for a year and then moving to rent it under a FHA you cannot do that. You should hunt for a multi family if possible then you can house hack it.

Hi Patrick

I would wait to after you come home. You will have more capital for your rehab. I'm not privy to VA loans but with a FHA you will have to put down very little. You will be left with a good chunk of change for your rehab. A house hack of a multi family If possible is the way to go. I do it myself and it is great for me. I live basically for free and still have positive cash flow on top. You should look into and find out more about VA loans thought from what I have heard it might be even better then a FHA.

Hey Dan

 Obviously first thing you have to do is run the numbers and make sure they make sense. On the website in the tool section there is a calculator you can use to help with that.  You also need to know everything about the current tenant get the lease agreements go over them with a fine toothed comb. Speak to the Tenants if possible about their rent and whatever utilities they pay. Also you should get a sense of the type of people you are dealing with. I have had good tenants and I have had really bad Tenants that make life miserable. I have became very selective with tenants so I avoid any issues down the line but not all landlords do. There are many landlords that take the first person waving crisp dollars in their face. As long as you do your due diligence and feel comfortable with the current tenants I don't see a problem with it. The seller will most likely only tell you the positive's about the tenants so if there are negative's you should find out. You want to know who is living in your property. 

@Kurt Kwart My issue with Auction's is I'm financing the property. With the Auctions I need Cash on hand. So unfortunately that won't work for me. I do know that the closing process on the short sale can be long and aggravating but there is not much in the market at my price point and that will work for me numbers wise. A few of my top properties just sold and the property I was in negotiations for fell apart. There is a short sale property that has a lot of benefits and is exactly what i'm looking for at a cheaper price only issue is its a short sale. The listing agent is saying that the bank wants a fast close on the house but that don't mean much she's gonna say that regardless. I could try to find a hard lender and go for the BRRR approach but not sure if i'm ready to take on the responsibility of a hard lender yet as i'm pretty new to this whole thing. I always want to do good business and know every in and out especially if i'm dealing with another person's money.

@John Livanos Hey John I don't know where your budget is but have you put any thought into Long Island. Even the homes out east that are a bit cheaper and cheaper taxes get a lot for rent. I have a multi family home I live in the main unit and I have a 2 bedroom apartment on the side of the house and i get 1,700$ for it. If I rented out the main unit I live in I could get 2,500$ for it easy. Lets just say there is a lot of positive cash flow after all bills are paid and capital expenditures.  

@Matthew R Crawford So this post grabbed my attention as i'm a beginner in the real estate game myself. The property I own now is a multi family and I live in one of the units. I'm currently in the process of getting my 2nd property in a different state. It seems to me with out having your financing in order and understanding the break down of your closing costs and what you will pay for them your kinda jumping the gun a bit. Flips are nice but I tend to think you need more options for more cash as you never know what will happen in a rehab. If your worrying about the closing costs a rehab flip might not be ideal for your situation. If I read right you have 30k of your own cash? That should be enough to get you a good rental/hold property. I'm not familiar with your area but if there are multi family homes available for a little bit more you might be better with that getting some positive cash flow going from the start and work on a rehab flip your next time around. You would have some equity in the rental property if needed to be used as well. Good luck and nice Post!  

Hey has anyone had any luck or experience at all in buying short sales in Atlantic city or Atlantic county New Jersey. I have found my self in grid lock in negotiations on a house I was interested in. Ironically the house next store is exactly the same house and it's a short sale for less money. I have been scared of short sales for many reason's but I find myself really considering this option. Was just wonder if anyone has any thoughts or experience with them. Thanks in advance for any help.