All Forum Posts by: Thomas Visaggio

@Victor Avelino thanks for the help

I just finished renovation on a 2 family property in Newark, NJ and posted up the vacant unit for rent. I received an application from a qualified section 8 tenant (receive assistance from city of newark) and approved them. They gave notice to their current landlord and must be out of their current residence by January 6 2020.

I setup the seciton 8 inspection for earliest possible date December 30 2019, and there were a few minor things that needed to be done such as smoke/carbon installs, window lock repairs, basement pipe leaks, etc. These repairs will be done immediately but it is very unlikely the inspection will be schedule by/before January 6th (when the tenant needs to leave their current residence). They are going to pay 70% of rent and section 8 will cover the remaining 30%.

Has anyone ever allowed a section 8 tenant to move in before passing the inspection? I believe all that will happen is I will need to forgo the 30% of rent from section 8 UNTIL I pass inspection, but can LEGALLY collect the 70% of rent from tenant in the meantime until I secure inspection. I would like to get landlords thoughts on this. Am I putting myself in a risky situation here?

 Hi Tyler

I am unfamiliar with land contracts. How does they work?

Are the other units which you are not living in rented already or currently vacant?

The seller agreed to do a quitclaim sale into an LLC and then sell the LLC to my/my partner. I only have to pay $10,000 (over the course of 1 year with $2,500 being paid upfront) in order to obtain the ownership of the LLC, and the seller will remain on the loan until I pay it off via a refinance or sale. I see the greatest benefit in not having to pay closing costs and very little capital requirement for the acquisition.

I plan on using this offer for distressed sellers in the future, but suspect it will be very difficult to find other sellers who would be comfortable with this structure.

I guess it is a form of seller financing. Has anyone else ever been involved in a similar transaction?

Hello,

I am looking to convert a 2 family with a bonus 3rd level unit to a legal 3 family in a zone that permits 3 families. Can anyone recommend to me an attorney that has experience working in Newark that might be suitable to represent me in this case?

@Mohamed Farih

I am actually dealing with a similar situation right now and was reviewing the Newark dwelling requirements recently. Some of the dwelling requirements for a basement were minimum ceiling heights of 7 feet, two means of egress, and a fireproof partition wall from the boiler/heater and the apartment.

This was not in the code but I believe you will also need a window that a person can fit through, and if it is considered to be a cellar (more than halfway underground) then it cannot he used as a dwelling at all.

This should hopefully give you a good indication of what you might be able to do - in any case I agree speaking to the zoning officer is the beat idea but having this information readily available can help you have a better conversation with them.

@Trevor Ierien I can’t speak for the US but I can certainly speak for northern NJ and say the level of competition and amount of appreciation it has seen in recent years is outstanding. It will be interesting to see if this unprecedented growth can continue regardless of the stringent rent control laws and if south and central Newark will eventually transform as did the rest of the wards.

Hi Ken

I know a good GC that is very active in Newark and can complete any work as needed. Feel free to message me for details.