All Forum Posts by: Shibu Thomas

Hey Ryan, My name is Shibu Thomas, I do some rehabs in Livingston NJ,  How big is the house going to be SQFT?  What is your budget for this project as far as the house being built? 

one thing that I've heard many experts say that hits home is to make sure you know the area really well even though there are comps online you should know the streets I have a two family rental in jersey city it's a nice quiet street but the comps in my area don't tell you the real story sometimes you can go two streets up and be in a nicer area or two streets down and you could be in a ruff neighborhood.  So keep that in mind 

I would consider myself a Newbie, I have a 2family property in Jersey city that i own with a friend for over 10yrs, but i wanted to start getting into some bigger and better investments. I was a full time software engineer, but i just got laid off My wife is a physician and we have access to a doctor loan, where we can get a pretty large loan putting little money down with no PMI. So I was thinking about taking on a new project just trying to figure out what my strategy should be? a part of me wants to start with a few smaller projects, but another part of me wants to get into a bigger investment where there is a higher risk but a higher return as well. maybe rehab a big house in a more prominent area in northern NJ where we live. I am not new to construction i have done some renovations in the past. One thing is the physician loan can't be used as a 203k or a rehab, but my father is willing to invest with me and has access to a decent amount of home equity. Wondering where to start here. My other resort is to go back to the IT field and see if i can invest part time but seems difficult to do for me atleast

foreclosure sales at the courthouse are labeled Sheriff Sales in my county.  You can definitely search google for your municipality website and you will usually find it.  foreclosure sales are tough to crack i'm going through it myself, you usually have to have all the capital upfront especially if the home is distressed, you will not be able to get a mortgage on it.  

Thanks guys!!! I agree only trying to do this the legal route! You never know what could happen having it illegal as you said John.  The reason I was mostly considering it, is b/c its a legit space already has bigger windows, a newer kitchen and bath etc.  I've heard that you might need a hard wired fire alarm system, but haven't heard of needing a supression system, I thought that was only for commercial buildings or restaurants, but I think I will fill out an application for variance and see where it goes?  My neighbor did it a while ago too.  I know he had to build out a new doorway not sure what else.  Does anyone know the process for variances? is there a particular website that has the application.  I'm having trouble finding it.  First world problems :).  Too much info on the  net! 

I've had a 2family house in the greenville section of jersey city for the past 10yrs.  I bought it way too high in 2005 so no point in selling anytime soon.  the place came w/ a fully liveable basement, including kitchen, shower bathroom the rooms have windows.  But still it is illegal i think b/c of the door or maybe ceiling height.  Its in a 2family zone R1 i think its called.  I actually got ratted out by a rotten tennant years ago and an inspection took place, where i had to kick out the basement tennant give her back her rent.  But the inspection went fine, in and out b/c i removed the stove and applainces.  It was a big mess.  Im wondering if anyone out there has experience in NJ maybe even JC.  where how difficult it would be to get a variance to make the basement a legal rental?  I think my neigbor did it a few years back but not sure if he is claiming it as Owner occupied and just rents it out?  Could use some good ideas right about now :)

Thank you Kevin and Colleen, I appreciate the advice and I am in the mist of getting quotes from various plumbers/contractors to see how much the conversion will be.  I agree the conversion will add value, but unfortunately digging out and old oil tank or filling it with sand,  and getting two new boilers is not cheap especially in NJ.  I brought the property years ago and just jumped in thinking it was a great deal b/c it was the only thing that was affordable for me at the time and the numbers worked, but i don't regret it b/c it was a huge learning experience that will definitely help me in my future endeavors.  thanks again

So I am pretty new here, So ill introduce myself.  My name is Shibu im from NJ and I own one investment property, a Two Family house in Jersey city that I bought about 10yrs ago.  I pretty much break even w/ the house now........ after many up's and downs over the past ten years. one of my biggest setbacks is that i pay for the oil (underground tank) heat.  Since its just one unit. I dont have a way to split out the utility payments to each tennant. So I been eating the hot water and Heating costs which is like 3K per year.  I think people can realize  how Tennants w/ free heat and how they will utilize it.  So i'm looking for the best/ most financially efficient way to solve this problem. 

1. i would love to convert oil to gas, since we have gas for the stoves, but seems like the most expensive choice plus getting rid of the underground tank.  (insurance will be lower too)

2. cut off the oil heat to the second floor, and run new electric heating in the 2nd floor, but im not sure how long tennants will be able to stay or even afford huge electric bills? I heard some horror stories about electric heat/cool

3.  I heard of gas mini split systems that can be installed and installation costs might be much cheaper and the systems are supposed to be efficient by mitsubishi. 

I welcome all thoughts and peoples experiences about this topic, thanks again 
Shibu-