All Forum Posts by: Vlad S.

Thank you for your advice, this is quite helpful.

I am getting ready to put an offer in a “hot” / sellers market (NJ). I intend to finance the purchase with a conventional 30y 20% down loan. I am worried that after the offer gets accepted, the appraisal value might come in significantly lower than the contract price.

I understand that discrepancies happen, and I’m not concerned about a small gap (10-20k), however, if the appraised value would come in significantly lower (50-100k, or more), then I would simply not be able to afford this property (given my then lower down payment, and worse mortgage interest rates).

I am wondering if anyone has any experience with what happens in such cases? I understand the conventional ways of dealing with it: “get seller to lower the price”, “come up with the discrepancy”, “appeal the appraisal/get reappraised”, or even the less conventional “arrange for a secondary loan”. However, would I be able to back out of the contract should that happen? I asked my RE agent, and they didn’t give me a very clear answer. When I suggested adding something specific in the offer that says “buyer can back out if appraised value is less than X”, they suggested to deal with this after the offer stage and at attorneys review, and use the brokerage’s standard/unmodified contract until we agree on the price.

Am I overthinking this? The offer does have a financing clause, but I’m not clear if it would be in play here. I’m less concerned about losing out on the house, and more concerned about getting into issues with the seller where we agree on the price, but I won’t be able to get a standard 30y 20% down loan due to appraisal value coming in significantly low (again, not talking about 10-20k difference here). Has anyone encountered a situation like this before, and what ended up happening?

Thank you for any input.

@Eric Backer @Rashad Luckett

Thank you for your responses. It looks like the city has a lot to offer, and the potential is decent (Gulfstream alone has 65 open job opportunities right now).

The crime maps I've reviewed are pretty scattered, with safe and unsafe pockets intermixed (that is, there's no clear "safe/unsafe zone"). It seems that more focus should be placed on local familiarity when selecting a potential property to ensure that good tenants will not be deterred from living there.

Hi there,

I'm looking for some feedback on the rental market in Savannah, GA. I'm interested to find out whether there's much demand, and if so, what areas and property types are in bigger demand? According to rentometer, 1 br rents for about $900 and 2 br for about $1100, is that about accurate? A quick search on Zillow shows that these numbers are a bit conservative, but I don't entirely trust the listings on Zillow.

From the employment perspective, looks like the port employs a bunch of people, and so does the Army airfield, which would both provide stability, and some demand for rental housing. Additionally, there looks to be a number of post secondary institutions, which would indicate demand from the student body.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this rental market and can provide some comments, or just some general feedback on the above.

Thank you,

Vlad

@Liz C. Here is how to initiate an appeal of property taxes in Union City: http://www.njappealonline.com/prodappealonline/hom...

This is directly off of the city's website (http://www.ucnj.com/Departments/tax/).

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone.

@Odie Ayaga I'm looking to keep my first investment deal small, just to go through the process once while minimizing risk. I'm thinking a cheaper market, and light/cosmetic amount of rehab (but not turnkey). It's likely not going to be a great deal, but it's going to be a good way to figure out if this business is for me, and go from there.

@Odie Ayaga

Hi Odie, thank you. I am a computer engineer by trade.

Hi Diana,

I live in Union City, very close to the Weehawken border. 

Union City is a lot denser in terms of population. Also, in my opinion, the properties in Weehawken are higher quality, and are better maintained. Finally, it is more convenient to get to NYC from Weehawken; many bus lines run on JFK Blvd East. The eastern side of Union City actually benefits from that, and property costs in Union City tend to decrease the further west you go.

@Michael Lee

@Michael Lee, this area is in a dire need of a Starbucks, or any decent coffee shop, really!

Hi all,

Looking to get started in real estate. My goal is to provide quality rental units at fair prices through buying and renting out properties in NJ and PA. Aside of my interest in real estate, I have a full time job and a family. Balancing all three will be a great challenge that I am looking forward to.

Thank you to all the forum members who take time to help others, especially new members like me.

Vlad