Thread: Invest in rehabs/rentals

I am looking to getting into rehabs and buying 2 or 3 family units for cheap to rent out in NJ area and wanted some feedback. I did this years ago when I lived back in the USA but have been out of the USA for a bit now so have no idea how the market is. May be going back this year again.

I turned a real good profit on the last 2 family that I bought and I rehabbed in NJ that I sold in 2001. But the market was really good back then.

Anyone here do this in the NJ area? I was looking at some homes on realtor.com that seemed like they might be a good investment but the areas seem a bit bad.

One for example..
194 Columbia Ave, Irvington, NJ, 07111 - MLS #1013966 - Multi-Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

Also if I where to buy for rent I dont want to deal with renters myself, did this before and I cant stand it, I have no patience for slackers. What sort of fees do property management agencies charge?

Any thoughts, ideas or feedback would be appreciated. Even if you don´t do this in the NJ area.

Irvington is a rough neighborhood if i was going to do it in that area I'd apply it for Section 8 housing.

Try rentals in a little nicer areas (kearny, harrison, ect)

Property Managers in my area general charge a initiation fee and then 10% or 100.00$ minimum (whichever is more), per month's rent.

they also hold a retainer for emergencies that they can use without authorization in the case they can not get a hold of you.

Good luck

Originally Posted by slimmj0k3r

Irvington is a rough neighborhood if i was going to do it in that area I'd apply it for Section 8 housing.

Try rentals in a little nicer areas (kearny, harrison, ect)

Yes, I know Irvington is not the best. But once you get into better neighborhoods, the prices and taxes go up. I was looking at a nice 2 family in Elizabeth that is a short sale, taxes are $11,000, that is crazy. You would barely break even on it monthly.

I was considering section 8 if I where to rent these out. But I am not familiar with this.

I have several rentals and its taking twice as long to rent them. Vacancies are sitting 2-3 months instead of a month . Depending on your situation, If You have one go empty for a few months, all your profit goes down the drain. How about flipping them?

Selling is even harder than leasing them though.
Right now you can get in cheap but you can't sell easily, and in some cases (as people above have pointed out), you can't always lease them easily either.
Also, I'd be careful about investing from overseas - there's a lot of info you just can't get from having someone else walk through a property and tell you about it.
If you find a good deal, and you get a good interest rate on a loan, then I say go for it, but just make sure you have some cash reserves in case you have to carry the property for a spell.
Cheers,