All Forum Posts by: Ryan Cheung

Hi,

I am looking to install vinyl flooring on a 3rd floor unit. After removing the existing carpet, I found that there are only plank subfloors, and no plywood. The subfloor will be secured and nails/staples will be removed, however, it will not be perfectly flat. I have been doing some research online, and have found that vinyl is better than laminate since it is flexible. 

My question is whether the grip strip or interlocking vinyl planks are best for my situation? Will any unevenness cause the interlocking seams to break? Any recommendations or advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,

I recently purchased  a 2 family home in Bloomfield, NJ. There is a finished third floor that is not a legal unit. To avoid any trouble with the town, I do not want to rent it out as a long term rental, and I am considering renting it out on Airbnb as a short term rental. However, there is only one means of egress from that floor, which is the stairs leading up to the unit. Are there safety concerns with only one eggress from the third floor? Would I need to add some kind of fire escape? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

@Joseph Scorese Thanks for your advice. I will definitely keep these things in mind when looking for an agent.

@Ryan Goldfarb Haha, right back at you. It would be great if you could connect me with your brother. Could you please PM me his info so that we can get in touch? Thanks!

@Jessica Zolotorofe Yes, Hudson is definitely super competitive, and finding cash flowing properties that aren't swooped up with cash offers seems impossible. Could you please PM Joe Greco's contact info so that I can get in touch with him? Thanks!

Hi,

I am a new real estate investor looking to purchase my first deal. I have spent a lot of time educating myself and learning how to evaluate deals. I am currently looking in Hudson County (North Bergen, West New York, Union City, Jersey City) and Southern Bergen County (Cliffside Park, Fairview). My investment strategy is to purchase a cash flowing, owner occupied 2-4 unit multi family home with a FHA loan, using the "house hack" strategy. Does anyone know of any experienced investor friendly agents who fit my criteria? Thanks!

Hi, I am looking at a deal in Union City, New Jersey. This property is currently a two family, and is in pretty good condition. The first floor and basement are currently being rented out as one unit, and the second floor is a separate second unit. The basement is fully finished with a separate entrance, and according to the agent, can legally be converted with the installation of larger egress windows in the basement. I have a few questions: How much would it cost to convert the basement? I am expecting it to cost about 10-15k with the installation of the egress windows and permit process, and take anywhere between 6 months to a year. Is this estimate correct? The basement and first floor are sharing utilities. If I were to separate the units, how would I go about separating the utilities, and how much would it cost? Are there any alternatives to separating them? Also, only the basement has access to the circuit breaker. If the power goes out on the first floor, how can the upstairs tenant turn their power back on? Will I have to add another breaker? Any input or advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

@Neil G. The numbers work very well for the property as a four unit, but as a three unit, they do not work. I do not believe the seller will accept an offer that is 3/4 the asking price.

I am using a FHA 203k loan to purchase this property. One of my concerns is that it would take a very long time for this process to get approved, and in addition to the rehab process, it would likely exceed the 6 month limit that FHA loans have for rehab.

Also, I do not have an additional 10k for all the fees, inspections, etc. for the permit. Does anyone know if permit fees can be wrapped into the FHA loan?

So I just called the North Bergen zoning and asked if this is a legal four family house. They said that it was once a four family home, but the current owner had it converted to a three family. This is good news, in that it means I will be able to convert it back to a four family. However, he said that it would be a long and expensive process to convert it back to a four family home, and could take up to 6 months and cost between 5-10k. Does anyone why this would be such a long and expensive process, especially since it was once approved as a four family home?

Hello,

I am looking into purchasing a home that is currently being used as a 3 family home. However, when I went to see the house, the agent told me that the bottom unit of the home is a legal fourth unit, but the owners just decided not to fill it so that they can avoid any rent control issues. This bottom unit is almost entirely above ground, so I do not really see any issues as to why this unit would not be able to be used as an additional unit.

My question is, do I have to get a permit from the town saying that this unit is legal BEFORE submitting my offer for the house? Can I list this as part of the inspection contingency in my offer?

Also, from my understanding, rent control is based off of the last documented rent that the town has for each unit in the home. My agent called the town asking about the current rents they have on file, and they said they do not have any records. Does this mean that I am able to charge market rent and document those numbers and have those be the rents they have on file, and raise rents 2.5% per year on the rents that I set? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

@Account Closed Yes it is a good deal. I'm asking for advice on how to pay the tax liens, since I don't have the 66k in cash. 

@Jay Hinrichs The property is pretty steeply discounted, and is worth 430k in its current condition. Therefore, it seems that the sellers are already essentially paying for it by selling at a big discount, and having the buyer pay off the lien. The seller will not sell at 100k below market value and pay an additional 66k for the tax lien.