All Forum Posts by: Yavuz Bayram

Although not often, im coming across properties that net $1,000 to $1500 on the MLS but usually as someone else mentioned people who are going to be living in the property dont care about the numbers or if it has a "bonus" unit in the basement or attic they are counting on that income as well.

The reason many people are buying at these prices is because the property they are buying serves their needs, they are planning to be in these properties for a long time hoping the low interest rates and real estate price appreciation over time will cover the premium they paid. 

I bought my house 2 years ago 70k over asking price and spend 120K fixing it up on top of that. I liked the house it was in my payment range taxes were super low and i plan on living here for a while. So lets say the market tanks and my house becomes half its price it doesnt matter to me. If the market goes higher my house doubles in price it still doesnt matter because im not going anywhere. So it really depends on what your goals are when buying.

There is a saying that goes “time in the market beats timing the market” i think we can apply this to real estate as well. 

What you need to do initially is figure out a way to assess the value of the property you can do this by looking at comparable sales or you can ask an agent to help you with the valuation. I I don’t think they will mind I don’t personally I do it all the time.  

If you don’t price properly it will sit on the market for a long time the biggest mistake for sale by owners have is they have an over valuated view of the property in their mind. 

Then you need get a marketing plan together to see how you can reach all of the potential buyers that are interested in the area the first and most easiest is obviously listing it with pages such as Zillow as for sale by owner. Also you could use your network to personally contact people that may be interested in the property as well. 
 

Once you get through and find a buyer you can pass the deal on to the attorney to prepare the contract and should be fairly easy from there since you won’t have much involvement any longer. 

There are a lot of great teams and companies in the area make sure like you mentioned there is strong mentorship and great training. Another thing i find very important is the vibe in the office so what you should do is while interviewing see if you can join few class or meetings with some of your favorite interviews.That was you can see what the office vibe is like and see if you fit there. I would love to recommend my office i love it here but that may sound biased so i am not going to mention my company. But good luck with your search!

So it does seem like you would be disappointed if the prices went up even more and i noticed you mentioned your son is 1 so he only has another 3 years before pre-k sometimes house hunting can take a while. I have clients who we have house hacked but took some of them as long as 18 months. If that was the case for you going in and out of house hacking may take a while as well. Lot of moving gears in this machine for you. But as i mentioned, if you are patient and ready to pull the trigger there are deals out there that will come your way. Lot of great areas with positive cash flow down from Hackensack to Kearny.

There are many factors involved to determine if its the right time for you. How urgently do you need to move into your own place? How would you feel if prices went up another 100K by next year? How long are you willing to wait for the "right price"? That should guide you to what you really want to do i think.

There is nothing wrong with using both. Why not use the resources of a Realtor, which wont cost you anything and the meanwhile also look for off market properties yourself. A Realtor can be your eyes and ears and is looking at every single property coming on the market every day, knows each block, each building, what they need, how many times they’ve been re-listed, whats happening in town, possibly having pocket listings etc etc. Meanwhile you can look for properties other ways (cold calling, door knocking, mailers, networking). Seems like you dont have anything to lose. Only thing is when that deal comes you better have the funds or that Realtor probably wont send you any deals again.

Robert welcome to  BP! Multi families in Bergen county inventory wise is low and the right property does sell fast so i suggest that you are always on the lookout and ready to move quick. 

For example a i have an investor client who we searched for the right property for about 9 months but once we did find it now he is generating $2,000 positive cash flow each month which is amazing. 

Some areas i can suggest are mostly southern Bergen County easy for commute like Lyndhurst, North Arlington, Rutherford, East Rutherford, Carlstadt, Wood Ridge, Hasbrouck Heights, Lodi, Garfield, Hackensack, Little Ferry and Cliffside Park. 

These are some areas you can find somewhat affordable multi families that will give you a positive cash flow. But things you should consider are proximity to transportation, do you want a move in ready or fixer upper (big difference in prices), do you need to get pre approved, does property have attic or basement you can convert, does house have user friendly layout, can you change layout for maximum use of space, how is parking on and off the street etc. 

If you dont have one, find an investor friendly agent who knows the areas you're targeting and scan it daily for deals and to walk you through and hopefully an early retirement can be on the horizon! 

Alex congrats on the big move. I great way to start your real estate investing career. As others mentioned, look to get to meetups and just talk to anyone who you meet thats in the real estate (agents, contractors, landlords, investors, flippers etc) there is always something you can learn from people. Make sure to find some good agents that know the areas you are interested in and are at your mindset and you will do great.