All Forum Posts by: Ibrahim Hughes

@Mike McCarthy

Good points. I doubt seller can be held liable for something that their realtor put in a listing. That's what home inspections are for.

@Chris Mandle

Remind/inform tenants that if you have to file eviction ( and you still can), it will look very bad on their record when their next potential landlord does an eviction check. Making it almost impossible to find a decent place to live next time. Use it to bring them back to the table to negotiate an increase that you and they find suitable.

But yes I believe that Newark's rent control ordinance calls for a 3% yearly rent increase with some exceptions. Consult an attorney.

@James Pailin

It's been awhile since I've dabbled in commercial real estate but I would think you first want to start with what is the best use of the property for that area. What does the town's master plan say for future development? and does the building still hold its current legal usage or is that out the window due to the condition of the property?

I would think whatever you do you want it to fall in line with the current and future market conditions surrounding the property. No point trying to pursue the group home thing for example if the town's plan for the area is to turn it into a high-end area full of high end hotels and shopping centers.

@McKinsey Alston

What's an AOS? And just to reiterate and clarify, , you want to be present when those tenants sign the estoppel letters.

@Aiman Zul

Sorry just seeing this. What's your total purchase price? How many units? Is it vacant or it it bringing in rents?

@McKinsey Alston

I second that advice on estoppel letters. Helped save me from getting involved in a disaster deal years ago. Don't take the landlord, realtor or lawyers word for what you think is in those leases. Make sure your lease matches up with the lease the tenant has and make sure the rent amount and terms are exactly the same. The only way you can truly guarantee this is by having the tenant sign an estoppel letter.

This is happened to about 3 properties I had under contract last year. There was a fourth that I was going to pursue until I saw the same type of deed I saw on the other three and alerted the owner. All four properties were pretty much boarded and abandoned as that's what I specialize in. All except the 4th which was very dilapidated and vacant but not boarded and abandoned. The bad part about it was that I saw the first fraudulent deed taking the property come through and confirmed with the grandson of the elderly owner that it was in fact fraudulent. He was slow in responding and doing anything about it and the next thing I know another deed where the property was resold for a six-figure sum was recorded. So the grandson had to go get an attorney and was going back and forth with the attorney.I'll have to check with him and see what the latest but I wouldn't be surprised if he decided not to pursue. Be seemed too laid-back to really be on top of things like he should have been.

But The first time I saw it, I was able to catch it quickly and respond immediately. Didn't have to get an attorney involved. The original owner was deceased and I was dealing with her son. He came out to New Jersey from Pennsylvania and I took him down to the police to file a report. Then we grabbed the surrogate paperwork already on file and I spoke to the County recorder and employees who all know me pretty well there. Based on the paperwork the county recorded quickly invalidated the fraudulent one.

The other two had already abandoned the property and had decided to not pursue. They didn't want to deal with the property anyway and I guess that experience just reminded them why they walked away from the property to begin with. 

But I actually have a picture of the guy doing it and shared it with County Police. You would be floored to find out how low on the priority pole these things sit. When you're dealing with a County that's already up to their eyeballs in murder and drug cases, fraudulent deeds Don't get too much of their attention. Plus the police can't really do anything unless the homeowner pursues it.  So this is much easier to do on abandoned properties but likely a lot harder on occupied ones. 

I think a good tutorial on showing people how to check their deeds online can probably go a long way in helping people protect themselves. In a couple of cases I noticed a notice of settlement filed and knew something was fraudulent going on. notice of settlements are filed here when someone orders title work. So unless it's my title company filing the notice under my company name, I know something fraudulent is going on. My thoughts is that if property owners you had to do this, a lot of them could protect themselves. But at the same time the county should definitely have an alert system that homeowners can sign up for. One of the owners in my cases actually saw the fraudulent sale take place via Zillow and alerted me about it.

@Peter Korty

Skip trace. White pages premium.

@Rudy Avila

I hear your credit score gets a boost if you make at least 12 payments.

@Sean. I would check for obituaries and probate info the woman who conveyed the property. I would also do a reverse search of her or the trust address to see if I could find any relatives.  Finally, I would also look up the husband's obituary to see if any relatives were listed.