All Forum Posts by: Diana Tian

@Bob Roach @Merlina Rodas @Diana Tian The biggest hurdle to overcome in New Jersey is the HIGH property tax. On average, property tax is approximately 20 to 30% of your monthly gross income. 

Wondering if purchasing a studio for around $200k and then renting it out in West New York would be a good idea.  The goal is to purchasing something with around $200k in NJ and then renting out. 

West New York seems to have several apartments in this price range. My guess would be that it would be fairly easy to rent out in this area due to proximity to NYC. Feel free to suggest other areas that might fulfill the same goal.

Hoboken would  be even better but the prices there appear to be above my budget.

12/6/15 Update

Roof is fixed

Tenant has left

Still need to rearrange walls

Unfortunately, found out that the bottom unit has a pretty big issue that wasn't noticed until I had an architect look at it.... The subfloors on the bottom unit are pretty much rotting away. They are spongy and for some odd reason, during the last renovation, they plugged up all the vents to the 1 foot crawl space. I am assuming they closed it all off to prevent pests from coming in, but what they actually did is contain the moisture build up. I will not only have to redo the floors but also the subfloors. 

Freakin' Jersey City... apparently my new home used to be a candy store from what the tenant's daughter in law said. Which explains a little bit about the weird layout. Working on choosing the contractors and will go from there... Waiting for the architect and the permits from the city may be awhile. Learning a lot though.

In hindsight, good inspectors are so hard to come by. Why did no one catch the subfloors rotting? I've had 1 inspector, the bank's inspector, multiple contractors, and it took an architect to notice the issue. Figured going through an FHA loan would protect me from this sort of scenario, but you definitely need multiple opinions. May go through 2 inspectors next time I buy another house......

Call an Escrow Service|Title Company like First american Title or Fidelity National. Even Chicago Title. They will have a property search function that they will allow you access to.

As an example here is First American Titles

fwprodweb1.firstam.com

Login reiuniverse

Password 1800sell4cash

For this example you'll need to change the state and county however its a very good peek.

 Not an option in JC any more. stopped more than a decade ago.

Diana, haven't you seen the dumped garbage back by the Science Center or under the turnpike on Monmouth? THAT'S the way it's done here!  

OK, this is a serious issue, how to play nice with the JC garbagemen and get them to take as much of your stuff as possible. Technically they don't have to take "construction debris" but success can be had if it looks like DIY, it's small and light, under 30lb, and don't put out too much at once. EX: you can put out entire kitchen cabinets, but not a whole kitchen at once. You can put out bundles of demo lumber, ceiling tiles or carpet as long as they're not longer than 4', not too heavy, and not more than 2 or 3 at once. Trickle it out. I have totally put 700 sq ft of carpet and pad and a kitchen on the curb, just not all at once.

My favorite trick is when I have a lot of cement or plaster from a minor demo (my walls weigh like 20lb /sq ft). They'd never take contractor bags with nothing but 30lb of rubble. I dump 10lb in each of the household trash cans in my multifamily every collection day til it's gone. 

search for a "cleanout" guy. they are about  $300 for a large pickup truck with full height walls on bed.

@Diana Tian Get on google maps and search for disposal or dumpster.  The companies that pick up trash often also do commercial dumpsters.  Call two or three up and ask how much for a 20-yard dumpster.  (To see how big they are simply google 20 yard dumpster and select Images.)

You can get a large dumpster delivered, fill it up with trash and have it hauled off for generally no about $500.