The Grand Ave Project

The Kalmyk

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
This is clearly a generalization but covers the majority.

If you are going to rent a home in NJ then you should also be comfortable taking 100 bucks from grandmas purse. Just sayin! It’s an ugly world.
 
JerseyPete

JerseyPete

Well-Known Member
Patrick said:
Looking great! I like the dry laid brick walkway, but not everyone's cup-o-tea.

Do not rent it out. You will watch some ass, or their asshole friend ruin your hard work.
And then they will call you to fix it, in the middle of the night. And the last thing they will do is
not pay the last month of rent, and disappear.

will this happen with every renter? no. will this happen? yes.

If you want rental income, make a place look decent, and rent it out. Not what you did here.
Someone is going to buy it, and love it, until their fam gets a little too large. Then they can decide on
moving, or adding....

on the other note, if you really love living there, don't look at the addition as an investment that should have
positive ROI in any short timeframe - say you put 50 in, but could only get 30 out in 10 years? So? it is like
adding a bedroom for a couple hundred a month, and you get to continue to live where you put in the time.....

tl;dr

sell it and release the equity for you next project
or
stay in it, and add-on. cause it is yours.
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I've heard worse horror stories. Tenant stops paying rent and reveals that they are an alcoholic receiving treatment. In NJ, good luck trying to evict. My coworker paid the guy $$$ to just leave.
 
Magic

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
RobW said:
Thoughts on renting??
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No.

My grandparents renovated a house to rent in NY years ago. The second tenants must have been from West Virgina or something. When they finished a jug of milk or bottle of Walmart Cola, it just went out the door or window into the lawn. House was WRECKED. It almost went through a complete renovation just ~5 years later before they sold it the second time around.

This shit must be why rent is so damn high these days.
 
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RobW

RobW

Well-Known Member
Ok, majority rules.. sometimes blinded by the money, the headache won’t do justice... it’s nice to see both sides.
 
JimN

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
RobW said:
Ok, majority rules.. sometimes blinded by the money, the headache won’t do justice... it’s nice to see both sides.
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Yeah, it's great until you rent the house out to drug dealers and they punch holes in the walls of every room in the house and then flee NJ.
 
RobW

RobW

Well-Known Member
JimN said:
Yeah, it's great until you rent the house out to drug dealers and they punch holes in the walls of every room in the house and then flee NJ.
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Yeah, no thanks.. we already put a stop to the drug deals in our hood
 
ekuhn

ekuhn

Well-Known Member
If you do decide to rent, just background check the renters and be consistent on doing so. Most background companies look at defaults, criminal activity, work history, bankruptcy, etc. Now things could go downhill at any point, but it weeds out some of the less desirable.

As the landlord you have the right to not choose a tenant based on anything, but you need to protect yourself as much as possible.

Real Estate is a great investment if you can swing it. Once you go to retire and you pay off the mortgage (as much as possible on someone else's dime), that rent is now additional retirement income.
 
rick81721

rick81721

Lothar
RobW said:
finished front porch along with landing/steps.
View attachment 111239

I need to do a lot of work on the inside of porch but for now it’s staying as is until I can free up some time....
Future projects from Spring through summer include
-paint to the blue siding whit & shutters to match front door
-stain front steps
-finish inside of porch with some sort of walls
-new attic window, and upstairs windows
-Sidewalk replacement
-driveway/apron

Then list for sale- no big addition as the ROI was lower than keeping it a two bedroom. In the meantime, I look every day in our surrounding towns for another shithole to shine up. When this is all done, It going to be tough to let go of the sweat equity. I do however think that renting could be an option.

Thoughts on renting?? Please advise
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Good luck on the sale. As you hopefully know, the real estate market in NJ is not great, and will probably get worse next year.
 
RobW

RobW

Well-Known Member
rick81721 said:
Good luck on the sale. As you hopefully know, the real estate market in NJ is not great, and will probably get worse next year.
Click to expand...

The bubble is coming to its max.. timing is everything and I hope I can be in the right place at the right time.. having a brother in law as a broker has been a huge help
 
qclabrat

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Wow, you folks are naming the worst sides of being a landlord. Do a better job of picking renters and don't skip due diligence steps.

Rob，if you didn't reno the home with renting in mind, don't, you won't likely come out with an appreciable net income. Your kids are still young, find a town you want them to grow up in and make that a goal. Doing what you did at Grant at another home might be difficult now as there would be hazards for the little ones. Nothing wrong with staying for 3-4 years, buy another property to flip then sell both to buy the dream home. Have you considered a vacation property to rent? Costs more up front but prices aren't too crazy yet, but slowly creeping up post Sandy.
 
JerseyPete

JerseyPete

Well-Known Member
qclabrat said:
Wow, you folks are naming the worst sides of being a landlord. Do a better job of picking renters and don't skip due diligence steps.

Rob，if you didn't reno the home with renting in mind, don't, you won't likely come out with an appreciable net income. Your kids are still young, find a town you want them to grow up in and make that a goal. Doing what you did at Grant at another home might be difficult now as there would be hazards for the little ones. Nothing wrong with staying for 3-4 years, buy another property to flip then sell both to buy the dream home. Have you considered a vacation property to rent? Costs more up front but prices aren't too crazy yet, but slowly creeping up post Sandy.
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Other than renting to elderly on a fixed income (something that one friend swears by) anything else is a risk. And even then old people can flush kitty litter and make the stack pipe like cement.
 
rick81721

rick81721

Lothar
RobW said:
The bubble is coming to its max.. timing is everything and I hope I can be in the right place at the right time.. having a brother in law as a broker has been a huge help
Click to expand...

Yes that's a big help - I was gonna reco that you get a good real estate agent that knows your area, and don't pay more than 5% commission. Not sure what bubble you are talking about tho, it has already burst and we are on the down slope. Make sure you price correctly for the market to sell fast - and that means what similar house are selling for right now if you plan to sell in 6 months. Prices 1 year or older are likely up to 10% higher than what they are now. Good luck!
 
D

djm

Well-Known Member
I'm all for renting. Being a successful landlord gives you a leg up but risk is everywhere. If your numbers allow you to rent it and make a few hundred bucks each month then go for it. Bonus points if you have enough equity to fund another project- then your tenant pays for that too

Unless they have rentals the last thing I would do is rely on a brother-in-law or some expert broker to make decisions. It's not them lying in bed awake at night when shit goes wrong and the tenant decides to stop paying you.
 
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soundz

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
most people who rent their property make money . otherwise there would not be any rental homes
 
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