All Forum Posts by: Ray Reed

@Aathavan Raviraj if i read correctly, the oil tank is currently in use.  if the seller removes the oil tank, what will be your heating source?  Who will be responsible for the purchase, permits and installation of the new unit(s)?

@AL-Teef Jones how has your experience been renting the units and dealing with the renters?

it is not a tough place to invest unless you are looking for sub $100K properties in good areas. 

attached is the link to the rent control site and it contains a link to the ordinance.  

https://www.newarknj.gov/departments/rentcontrol

unfortunately  the warm weather period is the best time to get a pulse of the neighborhood.  it only takes one house (or store) to make the block bad.  that is the house where you see a large group always congregating  or you see it has a lot of traffic.  Those areas are harder to spot in this bitter winter.  i don't know how much credence i would give the locals because some of them or their households are the problems.  You cannot ask the police because years ago they were ordered not to talk badly about the city by the mayor (who may or may not run for the presidency in 2020).   Under the old police chief they even changed how the crimes were reported to paint the city in a more positive light. 

I agree with @Moises Mari.  your water should be estimated at $1500.  Also on top of the tenants not being properly screened, i would look to see what exactly was renovated/upgraded.  I have seen flippers put new drywall, kitchens and bathrooms but behind the surface are the same old  electrical and plumbing.  Those can really hurt you financially. 

@Account Closed  some towns in NJ the water is thru a private company and you can separate.  for instance in Linden you can add water lines to correspond with the units.  the tenant would be responsible for putting it in their name and paying the bill.  In Newark you cannot do that since the city controls the water.  In all cases the landlord gets billed for the sewer. 

i have to disagree with @Peter Kane.  you do want to be concerned where your properties are.  there are a lot of good residents in newark but the good ones will not want to be in bad areas. why would you want a property in a heavy drug and crime area? a property manager and their contractors are not going to want to deal with that.  in the past people would go the section 8 route in newark because that was where they received the most income for their rentals but that is not necessarily the case anymore.  Also not all section 8 is the same. if the tenant's portion is $600 out of $1000 (sect 8 pays $400) and they are always late, is it worth it?  you can't collect late fees in court for sect 8 tenants.

the city varies block by block.. as a whole i stay away from vailsburg but that's just me.  look into north newark, parts of Roseville, ironbound, downtown, weequahic closer to the park. 

ironbound is good but too expensive. look at north newark, roseville, and weequahic closer to bergen and the park.  like @Account Closed stated, you have to be cautious that you dont have a situation where people are hanging out in front of your house. that was my biggest obstacle when i started out. the solution was external cameras, screen hard and try to get residents that work full time. i do not do section 8 anymore because the rental market is pretty good.  Definitely do not go around collecting rent.