All Forum Posts by: Ro Maga

I don’t know as much as others in BP, but I’ve been following the JC market for almost 10 years. You’d be hard pressed to find another market with the degree of appreciation of JC and all the promise for further appreciation as JC Heights has. Yes, you could sell this triplex and work your tail off flipping or take some measured risks with BRRR... OR you could stay put with this property and watch it double in value over the next few years. If I had a nice triplex in a good part of the heights with a similar debt-to-value rate as yours, and if the tax reassessment didn’t drastically change cash flow, I would not sell it right now. I would look for the best refinancing terms I could find, and take some equity out. I’d be curious to hear what others familiar with the Jersey City market think.

Hi! Does anybody have any recommendations for a handyman or carpenter in Palm Beach County? We need a room partition built (approx 15’), some French doors hanged and 2 sets of accordion shutters installed. Thanks in advance!

Of course, this does not apply to people with disabilities.

One of our rental criteria states that qualified applicants are those **willing** and able to rent our units under the terms and conditions presented. We’ve passes on applicants with good financial profiles who wanted to make changes to the lease or the apartment because, as qualified as they were otherwise, they were not willing to rent under our terms.

I don’t know which Newark you’re talking about, but in Newark, NJ, you now need to provide parking that meets code for conversions. I don’t know what the requirements is for a duplex, but we looked into legalizing a triplex we were interested in buying, but the city was very clear we needed to provide 3 separate parking spaces. So we dropped it. There are lots of illegal dwellings that would never meet the requirements.

Oh, The Beacon! That does explain things. Well, what this place has going for itself is some ridiculously generous tax abatement. So it could be worse. If I were in your shoes and I could break even as you say, I would sell and be done with this as soon as possible. The longer you rent — and at a loss to boot — the longer you expose yourself to vacancies, wear and tear, or (God forbid) an HOA assessment or litigation. They say that deals are made when you buy, not when you sell. This was not a deal, so let it go and free up you mind and calendar for something better. I would still get another (good and experienced) real estate agent look at it and give me a value assessment. I’d also ask for some pointer regarding staging and minor repair than could make the apartment stand out from the rest.

Where is this condo that defies market trends in Jersey City??? Where are you getting it’s current market value from? Zillow?

Well, like much of Newark, Vailsburg is block by block, and that will affect both the quality of tenants you’ll attract and your rents. To answer your question more directly, those rents you were given ($1,500 for a 3 bedroom and $1200 for a 2 bed) are within the range of what you can expect provided the apartment is in very good shape and in a good area. If you’re missing one of those 2, you’d need to provide something else to command that rent like free off-street parking or heat. If the 2 bedroom is a basement unit, it’ll be difficult to get $1200 in Vailsburg (maybe if the location overall is excellent, maybe). Also, check to make sure it’s a legal unit.

The City of Newark will not take any construction debris that you put out in the curb. The sanitation workers will leave your bags at the curb. They are under a lot of pressure to enforce the rules. Besides, with the crack down on dumping (thank the heavens!), I would not risk leaving construction debris out by the curb which might be interpreted as dumping.

Hanna Minkin please do let us know if you were able to get this changed. We have a duplex in Newark with a third meter for the common area which also includes the garage. This meter is a commercial one. And no amount of explaining has served to get PSE&G to agree to change that meter to residential.