Here it is! The first look at pending home sales (contracts) for Northern NJ.
(Source GSMLS, except Bergen- NJMLS)
December Pending Home Sales (Contracts)
——————————-
Bergen County
December 2011 – 489
December 2012 – 505
December 2013 – 510 (Up 0.1% YOY, Up 4.3% Two Year)
Essex County
December 2011 – 222
December 2012 – 223
December 2013 – 252 (Up 13.0% YOY, Up 13.5% Two Year)
Hunterdon County
December 2011 – 67
December 2012 – 78
December 2013 – 62 (Down 20.5% YOY, Down 7.5% Two Year)
Morris County
December 2011 – 207
December 2012 – 241
December 2013 – 275 (Up 14.1% YOY, Up 32.9% Two Year)
Passaic County
December 2011 – 146
December 2012 – 170
December 2013 – 192 (Up 12.9% YOY, Up 31.5% Two Year)
Somerset County
December 2011 – 167
December 2012 – 194
December 2013 – 185 (Down 4.6% YOY, Up 10.8% Two Year)
Sussex County
December 2011 – 82
December 2012 – 83
December 2013 – 109 (Up 31.3% YOY, Up 32.9% Two Year)
Union County
December 2011 – 199
December 2012 – 209
December 2013 – 213 (Up 1.9% YOY, Up 7.0% Two Year)
Warren County
December 2011 – 63
December 2012 – 49
December 2013 – 71 (Up 44.9% YOY, Up 12.7% Two Year)
Looks like contracts hit a wall in December, with many counties showing year over year declines, and others showing little to no year over year growth.
@MotherJones: Yellen Confirmed as Fed Chair Despite Knee-Jerk Republican Opposition http://t.co/lhEAaWLfAw
thrist
Looks like contracts hit a wall in December, with many counties showing year over year declines…
The inventory has been dwindling for quite some time. How long could the housing syndicate keep up the ruse with jockeyed numbers? There’s only so many times you can scrape the sides of the pot before you realize there’s nothing left. The upside? Guys like me get to jack the price once again.
Inventory looks to have set new lows in December as well, look like we’re running 10-15% less homes for sale than last December, and by far the lowest monthly print of this whole year.
From seasonal peaks (summer) – in many towns we look to be down 25% to 33% on average, with some outliers seeing inventory cut in half from the already thin summer numbers.
Take Glen Ridge for example, I had lots of folks tell me the inventory was very bare this spring and summer, with the numbers clearly showing that – we entered the spring market with 43 for sale in April, and peaked out in June with 53. Currently sitting at 21 homes for sale in GR, down 60% from seasonal peaks. Due to the wide pricing variation in GR, this essentially means no homes are for sale (if you are very lucky, you might be in a price range where you get to pick from 2) … closed for the winter.
And if you really must buy one of the two for sale, you better act fast. In December, 4 new properties came to market, and 19 were removed (9 went UC, 10 were sold). At this pace of sales, we’ve got 2 months of inventory, which would typically be considered very strong, add to this the fact that they’ve only got 2 months inventory heading into the slow time of year (which typically sees absorption rates rise), and that’s pretty damn amazing.
” The upside? Guys like me get to jack the price once again.”
The downside? Other guys get to jack the price to you once again.
Don’t bother asking for a discount in GR either – for the 10 that sold in December, the SP/LP ratio is hovering at 104% – up from the 100% ratio that held for 2 months prior.
@bendreyfuss: 14 states where you could probably get away with raping a horse http://t.co/UMSjJgrlTA http://t.co/HCYWh6SMZ0
anon (the good one),
Someone gets to pay for my next move. If I pay the price, they do as well. How far underwater are you?
I wonder why Sussex and Warren are way up. Maybe people are being priced out of areas closer to Manhattan?
I can’t remember, did they lag behind Bergen, Passaic, and Essex over the summer?
4. I have been back on zillow now and see lots of inventory in many towns. Decent places on sales for weeks and weeks. Leads me to believe either they have not got everything buyers want or they are problematic somehow. But I see at least at a glance lots of stuff to buy.
I’d urge some caution with smaller volume counties like Hunterdon and Warren, the low numbers make for volatile percentage changes. They don’t quite have the same mass as the larger counties where some of that volatility is smoothed out by sheer volume. To put it into perspective, big towns like Clifton or Parsippany sometimes see more houses sold in a month than for the entirety of either Hunterdon and Warren.
Sussex is an interesting case though, they had been a laggard in comparison to the eastern counties. Big winners in Sussex in December were Hardyston and Vernon. A number of towns are seeing some big year over year price increases as well. Sussex has been surprisingly strong heading into the winter.
Leads me to believe either they have not got everything buyers want or they are problematic somehow.
You answered your own question. Go see some of these places in person and justify why one should pull the trigger. You’ll be sick from the stench in the joint or the sound barrier running the length of your yard or the water stains around the perimeter of the basement.
The houses any of us would buy are already sold. The sale gets recorded but it’s a back door deal. The only way to get a house you want is to target it personally by sending a letter and sending to only those with positive equity. Otherwise, you’re just a pawn used for a transaction.
For example, Sussex County overall:
Second Half 2011 – 606 Sold – $237,619 Average Sale Price – 134 DOM – 93% SP/LP
Second Half 2012 – 697 Sold – $240,997 Average Sale Price – 138 DOM – 94% SP/LP
Second Half 2013 – 902 Sold – $252,141 Average Sale Price – 125 DOM – 95% SP/LP
It would be interesting to see a search function on zillow that sorts by architectural style. With a unique catagory for “fugly” .
I’d be happy with a way to exclude Contemporonials and houses with anything floral print.
One of the big booms in US manufacturing is in companies making Fracking equipment. Aside from the environmental impacts and the earthquakes …
Got Tulips?
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-10/u-dot-s-dot-shale-oil-boom-may-not-last-as-fracking-wells-lack-staying-power
19 – Because 600 burning oil wells in Kuwait was great for the environment, right?
Oh wait, that doesn’t matter, out of sight, out of mind. Shouldn’t we be fighting to kill the plan to place a wind farm off the Jersey Shore? God forbid we kill a migratory bird, and think of the negative impact to the view, oh god, the view. I heard that an inventor out in Phoenix invented a carburetor that ran on hugs and folk songs, but the oil companies killed it.
grim [20],
LOL! It’s only bad when there is an “R” after the person’s name. If there is a “D” after the name, a viable fable will be invented regardless of the situation.
I drive what is arguably the most tree-hugging car in existence. I live in a house lit by the most energy efficient lighting available (for which I’ve paid thousands of dollars), I will plaster my roof in solar cells, and cut down trees to do it.
However, every night when I plug in my electric car and light my living room, I dream of the US power plants burning American Coal and Shale Gas, electrons liberated from American Soil, and not from the Middle Eastern oil republics. I dream of wind turbines on breezy mountain passes, and solar panels on every roof. I bask in the warm hydrionic goodness produced by my NG boiler. Every electron that we consume that doesn’t result in a dollar being shipped back to the Middle East is the equivalent of an American battalion winning a small battle in some godforsaken mountain pass. I dream of the day where the middle east starves, drowning in oil that nobody wants or needs anymore. I doubt very many tree huggers really understand the Fuck the Middle East bumper sticker on my EV, after they’ve given me the thumbs up at a light.
Frack baby frack.
1 degree in the Grove, get that Fracking going!
#22..I became interested in energy, egc after the 1973 LNG blast on S.I……I had seen the smoke when driving with my father …I remember writing a “fake” newspaper article a few years later heralding the end of OPEC…I dated the article 1999! I hope better late than never!
22 grim
Too bad the govt tariffed solar panels. I wished they would tariff the Chinese toys I could not stop my wife and in laws from buying .
Also monopolies like the electric co don’t want you in their business. Which is why they only a pittance on your generated juice.
Hmm, that’s odd, water pressure just got really low.
I’ve read that one of the reasons the Soviet Union failed was because of cheap plentiful oil. It’s their largest export.
Today there are plenty of enemies to the US who’se largest export to the world is oil. Let’s tell them to go Frack themselves.
26 – hopefully not a burst or frozen pipe.
28 – Thought the same, doesn’t look like it.
Queen Latifah Lists in New Jersey
The musician, actress and talk-show host, has listed her home for $2.399 million
Jan. 2, 2014 6:01 p.m. ET
Queen Latifah, the musician, actress and talk-show host, has listed her New Jersey home for $2.399 million with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the firm said.
See the Homes
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Queen Latifah has listed this New Jersey home for $2.399 million. Tom Marasco
Over 7,500 square feet, the home has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and three half baths. It sits on roughly 9 acres in Colts Neck, N.J., in Monmouth County, according to the listing agent Robin Jackson. The home also has an exercise room and game room. On the grounds is a five-car garage and a heated, Olympic-size swimming pool.
Queen Latifah—the stage name used by Dana Owens —is originally from New Jersey, and the house was the site of many family gatherings hosted by the Oscar-nominated actress, Ms. Jackson said.
But since the debut of her daytime talk show, “The Queen Latifah Show,” Ms. Owens is spending more of her time in California, Ms. Jackson said.
For those in the market for stately home with six bedrooms and a hip hop pedigree, Queen Latifah has listed hers for $2.39 million. Candace Taylor reports on the News Hub. (Photo: AP)
“Many incredible memories have been shared with those closest to me and my family in this home,” Ms. Owens said in a statement. “I am confident that the new owners will love the home and the Colts Neck community as much as I do.”
Ms. Owens bought the home for $1.685 million from a developer in 2001 when it was partially completed, Ms. Jackson said.
On display on the ground floor of the home is a Yamaha piano emblazoned with a New York City skyline. The piano was played by Alicia Keys in the Jay Z music video for “Empire State of Mind.” Ms. Owens bought the piano at a charity auction. But “I don’t think she’s going to sell the piano,” Ms. Jackson said.
19 – The most amazing thing about that article is the first comment, posted by one of the analysts (mis)quoted in the article.
What the author included:
“Production from wells bored into these formations declines by 60 percent to 70 percent in the first year alone, says Allen Gilmer, chairman and chief executive officer of Drillinginfo, which tracks the performance of U.S. wells. ”
What the analyst posted in response to the quote:
“Actually, all I was quoted as saying is that unconventional wells decline at 60 to 70 odd percent in the first year. Although they have first and second year decline rates higher than many conventional reservoirs, their initial rates are an order of magnitude higher. Even after 2 years of declines, the typical unconventional well will be producing at a rate that most conventional owners would be ecstatic owning, and their declines start looking like most other wells. Although there are many skeptics about unconventional reservoirs, with payouts of the better operators approaching one year, I am not one. Hydraulic fracturing coupled with horizontal drilling, in an oilpatch that uniquely boasts thousands of operators and oilfield service companies, producing on privately held minerals, is the recipe for a geopolitical shift that is tectonic in its scale and beneficial to every American.”
Agenda anyone?
I heard similar information last week….but what is the meaning of Got Tulips? I would posit that should this information be correct, it is a very unfortunate development, because it gives the exploration and development guys an excuse for more mayhem….
Fabius Maximus says:
January 7, 2014 at 7:57 am
One of the big booms in US manufacturing is in companies making Fracking equipment. Aside from the environmental impacts and the earthquakes …
Got Tulips?
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-10/u-dot-s-dot-shale-oil-boom-may-not-last-as-fracking-wells-lack-staying-power
Dana still owns the house around the block from me, the first house she bought once she “made it”. Her mom lives there and Dana is a regular visitor. My wife has met her numerous times when she’s gone to the animal hospital, says she is very nice and down to earth. Nice house in a nice neighborhood, but nothing at all ostentatious, you would have no idea it was her house.
Speaking of cool NJ rappers, Darryl McDaniels (DMC of Run DMC) lives in town too, and is a regular at my gym, also a super nice guy. He is way cooler than Rev. Run.
The Star Ledger is reporting there are a lot of water main breaks due to the cold weather in NJ.
re: # 34 – Freeze, Thaw, Freeze is very bad for anything. I am worried about my pool actually. The ice formation on the cover is larger than it should be because the pump did not activate for some reason to clear the pool cover. I was was out there last night listening to the ice crack as it froze and the wind added to the pressure on the pool. I hope the cover does not tear or worse the walls collapse. I have a friend who lives in the freezing Chicago burbs, pool guy drained too much water and the walls collapsed do to freeze thaw.
@HarvardBiz: Being Underwater on Your Mortgage Reduces Your Earnings http://t.co/WcUuhPQqPd
Fast Eddie says:
January 7, 2014 at 7:31 am
anon (the good one),
How far underwater are you?
Update on my co-worker’s adventures in being a landlord. My co-worker who traded up in 09 and decided to rent his old place no net gain on the rent instead of selling for had a water-main break in the basement in his rental yesterday. Pipe froze yesterday and cracked and leaked and basement carpet is now ruined. Plumber charged his $600 for the emergency fix.
Something like this happened.
http://hopatcong-sparta.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/advice-for-preventing-and-dealing-with-frozen-pipes_9f95e987
Also deadbeat tenant is now 4 months arrears. House is covered in dog crap and wood floors are ruined, plus other damages. He is going for the eviction ASAP, and he says tenant is going to try and fight him in court to drag it out.
36 – Gee, there’s a revelation!
Core Logic HPI for November just released:
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ CBSA – Up 7.4% YOY (including distressed) – Up 7.9% YOY (excluding distressed).
NJ Statewide – Up 5.6% YOY (including) – Up 5.8% YOY (excluding)
[35] juice,
Great, thanks for giving me a new worry. Likely your pump line froze. That happened to me earlier this winter. I took it in the garage and let it thaw out and then knocked out the ice. Fortunately, my pump was working well just before the big freeze so there isn’t much on my cover. Not very concerned anyway because it is a looploc cover and pretty strong. The guy who closed my pool actually walked out on it to place the pump.
Polar Vortex: What a “cool” term. It “warms” the little bit of geek in all of us. ;)
http://tinyurl.com/lw3rkdx
[37] juice
I was concerned about pipes as well, especially in the basement. Fortunately this house still has its old electric baseboard heaters So I turned them on low in the basement overnight. This morning, the basement was warmer than the first floor so I had to use the baseboards on the first floor to get the house warmer.
The first floor has lots of windows but the sellers left behind all the window treatments including very heavy (lined) ceiling to floor drapes. I think I’m going to use them at dusk in order to keep heat up in the first floor at night.
re # 40 – Nom I have a mesh looploc cover with springs attaching it to my patios brass anchoring system. It is very very strong but there is allot of ice. Maybe not an Elephants worth but it has to be putting a strain on the pools walls. Between the Sunday night rain and the 10 inches of snow that melted during the rain, it all froze up by the time I got home from work yesterday. I did not think the electric pump would have an issue..until I went outside to take a look last night. It is a thick cover of ice about 4 in thick in the middle of the cover you could easily skate on it, then again the ice skates could tear the cover. I am more worried about wall collapse but apparently the pool would need to be drained about 3 feet as was my friends pool in Chicago was instead of the skimmer level like mine. I should be fine… 3 inch of ice should be ok however 1ft of ice?
Let’s do the math. 1 cubic foot of ice weighs 59.3 lbs. If pool was around 250 sq ft and had a foot thick of ice it would be weighing down nearly 15,000 lbs on the cover. Which is about 3 times the weight of a fully grown female Asian elephant.
Speaking of cool NJ rappers, Darryl McDaniels (DMC of Run DMC) lives in town too, and is a regular at my gym, also a super nice guy. He is way cooler than Rev. Run.
DMC is one of the best Catholic Rappers around
McDaniels grew up in New York. He attended Catholic schools, and later enrolled in St. John’s University in New York City.
Got Generator?
All we need now is a blackout.
“PJM Interconnection, whose region includes New Jersey, is requesting consumers conserve electricity today, as heaters blast, driving demand to record levels.
The frigid temperatures have caused some power plants to shut down unexpectedly, PJM said. This morning, PJM said the estimated peak power usage set a record and is poised to climb higher tonight. With windchill, temperatures are expected to descend into subzero temperatures throughout New Jersey, according to the National Weather Service.”
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2014/01/as_bitter_cold_sets_in_regional_electricity_grid_operator_advises_conserving_electricity.html#incart_river_default
Friend told me years ago (I never found out if it’s true or not) that the power grids that have a hospital in them are the ‘strongest’ or at least the very first to come back on during a blackout.
45.Juice Box says:
January 7, 2014 at 11:13 am
Got Generator?
All we need now is a blackout.
Grids do come back on line in order of priority. In fact when shutting down or bringing up a grid hospitals, firehouses, police stations, even libraries come back on line quicker.
My DR-BCP plan we mapped them out by home address of distance to critical employee’s home. Also places closest with a generator and public space.
In a power outage they can report to nearest hospital, sit in lobby plug in their laptop/phone etc. and get cracking.
PSE&G took for for LIPA on January 1st. So far so good, although they raised rates $16 bucks a month on day one.
Unemployment benefits bill clears hurdle
http://news.yahoo.com/unemployment-benefits-bill-clears-hurdle-161831232–finance.html
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House-backed legislation to renew benefits for the long-term unemployed unexpectedly cleared an initial Senate hurdle on Tuesday, clearing the way for bipartisan negotiations in the opening days of an election-year session of Congress.
At the same time, the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said he and his rank and file would seek changes so the bill’s $6.4 billion cost would not add to deficits.
Senate Democrats have so far rejected that approach, although there were signs they would eventually yield.
Shortly after the Senate vote, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a statement expressing views similar to McConnell’s. Almost simultaneously, a senior Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, signaled a willingness to consider changes to offset the impact of the bill on the deficit, calling that “the second best option.”
The vote came at the dawn of an election year in which the two parties have made it clear they intend to battle for the support of millions of voters who have suffered economically through the worst recession in decades and the slow, plodding recovery that followed.
The political phrase is income disparity — the difference between the rich and the economically squeezed. In pocketbook terms, Democrats chose first to seek an extension of long-term jobless benefits, to be followed by a proposal to increase the minimum wage that many Republicans also are expected to oppose.
Among the GOP proposals is a suspension in the requirement to purchase health insurance under “Obamacare,” a change that would potentially save billions of dollars in federal subsidies to the lower-income.
As drafted, the unemployment bill would restore between 14 weeks and 47 weeks of benefits averaging $256 weekly to an estimated 1.3 million long-term jobless who were affected when the program expired Dec. 28. Without action by Congress, thousands more each week would feel the impact as their state-funded benefits expire, generally after 26 weeks.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada noted that a recent spate of positive economic news doesn’t “match the darker reality” of the lives of millions. “They sit at the kitchen table, if they’re lucky and have a kitchen table to sit. They’re juggling bills.”
McConnell countered: “Yes, we should work on solutions to support those who are out of work through no fault of their own.
“But there is no excuse to pass unemployment insurance legislation without also finding ways to create good, stable, high-paying jobs – and also trying to find the money to pay for it. So what I’m saying is, let’s support meaningful job creation measures, and let’s find a way to pay for these …benefits so we’re not adding to an already unsustainable debt.”
Breaking: Obama discusses Unemployment Benefits.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/abc-news-plus-special-report-220000361.html
[43] juice
I hear ya. Don’t know how that will fare, just glad I don’t have that issue. Pump kept up with thaw and rain before freezing.
I have no problem using up all M.E. oil first. There will always be a market for M.E. oil, may as well be us burning it up. Once they’re out, they’re screwed.
“I dream of the US power plants burning American Coal and Shale Gas, electrons liberated from American Soil, and not from the Middle Eastern oil republics”
Targetmaster in PA had best prices I’ve seen on .223 and 5.56 I’ve seen in a while. Better than ammoman who doesnt ship to NJ anyway. In fact, price for both .223 and 5.56 was identical, something you rarely see. Only better price was sale on Russian made .223 at Cabelas.
Since 5.56 is same price and I can fire either, I picked up a case.
Looked at Bushmaster version of AR-15. Tight, light, and prices starting to get back to pre-Newtown levels (but still high).
Doubtless that Fabian cobbler and anon would shoot the messenger when it comes to the source of this story, however I found the premise to be plausible even though I have not reviewed the underlying analysis.
http://freebeacon.com/study-minimum-wage-hike-would-do-little-to-alleviate-poverty/
My rationales for that premise are based on the fact that hiring criteria would likely be increased if wages are increased, therefore the jobs would go to more attractive candidates then to people who actually need jobs. If you had the choice of hiring cashier that came from a good part of town and was well educated, versus hiring someone from the hood, who would you go with? Paradoxically, because these positions now pay more, and would carry a commensurate level of perceived responsibility and risk that is greater, you have more opportunities to screen out the poor, minorities, etc.
Further, prople will tend to give jobs to relations of those they know in a backscratching sort of situation, It is easily foreseeable that business owners would give positions to sons and daughters of their clients or friends, Who are likely of the same social strata as they are. When I was in banking, I saw plenty of jobs that went to sons and daughters of important clients. These jobs did not necessarily pay very well, and sometimes the children were screw offs, but they had jobs. Naturally, that would extend across lines as well so if you gave your vendor’s kid a job, there would be an expectation that he would give one to yours.
Finally, consider a situation where you have some staff earning minimum wage or just above, and suddenly their wages go higher. You could actually make out better by promoting one or two to exempt “management”, give them some additional responsibilities, and increase their hours such that they are actually making less per hour. And because they are working more, you let some low paid slug go. At the end of the day, you might actually make out. Of course, the ones you will promote will be those who you deemed to be most trustworthy, i.e., who are better educated and look and think more like yourself. Two guesses as to which group benefits there.
I haven’t read the study that is the subject of the article, but I was merely spit balling above and easily came up with scenarios where the hike in the minimum wage would actually hurt the people it was intended to help. Like I said, I expect this to get pushback and quite frankly I hope it does. If I am advising clients to do these things, I don’t really want people to be paying attention.
No more pizza delivery for you.
Ridgewood bans private lunch deliveries.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/Private_lunch_deliveries_to_Ridgewood_schools_to_stop_Friday.html
the United States decided to throw weight around…
Who is it?
Mr. Pizza Guy.
Again?
Mr. Pizza Guy, sir.
Who ordered the double cheese and sausage?
Right here, dude.
For you, dude.
Am I hallucinating? What in the hell do you think you’re doing?
Learning about Cuba, and having some food.
Mr. Spicoli, you’re on dangerous ground.
You’re causing a major disturbance on my time.
I’ve been thinking about this, Mr. Hand.
If I’m here and you’re here, doesn’t that make it “our” time?
There’s nothing wrong with a feast on “our” time.
You’re absolutely right. It is our time.
Yours, mine and everyone else’s in this room.
But it is my class. Hamilton, Brandt, Cornfeld, up front!
Mr. Spicoli has been kind enough to bring us a snack.
Be my guest. Help yourselves.
Get a good one.
re: # 52 – “Once they’re out, they’re screwed.” That might come sooner than you think. A real problem right now in the Middle East is the oil may not actually be there. Iraq was expected to delay peak oil for another decade or so however that is not going to come to pass. They have reduced their estimates for output by 25% already of 12 million barrels a day by 2017. They have only reached their old peak set back in 1987 of 3 m barrels and are a long way from 12 m barrels. The oil may simply not be there.
When I was bloviating about unpricing risk to Michael a couple of weekends ago, it was to these types of issues that I was referring. He may never face something such as this situation, but if he ever does, it completely blows up the economics of everything dating back for years.
Juice Box says:
January 7, 2014 at 10:00 am
Update on my co-worker’s adventures in being a landlord. My co-worker who traded up in 09 and decided to rent his old place no net gain on the rent instead of selling for had a water-main break in the basement in his rental yesterday. Pipe froze yesterday and cracked and leaked and basement carpet is now ruined. Plumber charged his $600 for the emergency fix.
Something like this happened.
Also deadbeat tenant is now 4 months arrears. House is covered in dog crap and wood floors are ruined, plus other damages. He is going for the eviction ASAP, and he says tenant is going to try and fight him in court to drag it out.
Also, the polar vortex is now being paraded as “proof” of global warming…..
nom[54]
I don’t see anything wrong with this analysis. Currently, minimum-wage employees (if this is the only income) stay in poverty, anyway – so the increase may allow at least some of them to escape it. Private sector jobs should go to the most qualified candidates; as for “backscratching”, nothing prevents the business owner from creating a do-nothing high-paid position today, it’s nonsense. [Public sector may and should create workfare for those unemlpoyable due to the lack of skills, but with acceptable attitude, and not limit time they are in the program]
Oddly last time I was a landlord the annoying coop board that let me sublet forced me to pick great tenants and my noisy board would rat them out if something was amiss. A pain to deal with in placing the tenant but a pleasure the whole four year.
My condo my tenants are pretty good. I mean rent comes on time. But Saturday I had a frozen pipe in utility room and management company fixed it and during snowstorm tenant was impressed when I check in that they salted her steps pre-storm and followed up with timely shoveling.
More money is make by far renting out a single family house as you dont have maint to pay but tenant blunders can set you back thousands of dollars. Plus I am now on condo board and my neighbor to unit I rent out is condo president. My building also just hired its first handiman my suggestion. He will do small repairs on your unit and you are billed by management company. Good luck when you are in Florida on vacation in a single family house. No management company and small fee to pay to send someone over.
chicagofinance says:
January 7, 2014 at 3:53 pm
When I was bloviating about unpricing risk to Michael a couple of weekends ago, it was to these types of issues that I was referring. He may never face something such as this situation, but if he ever does, it completely blows up the economics of everything dating back for years.
Juice Box says:
January 7, 2014 at 10:00 am
Update on my co-worker’s adventures in being a landlord. My co-worker who traded up in 09 and decided to rent his old place no net gain on the rent instead of selling for had a water-main break in the basement in his rental yesterday. Pipe froze yesterday and cracked and leaked and basement carpet is now ruined. Plumber charged his $600 for the emergency fix.
Something like this happened.
Also deadbeat tenant is now 4 months arrears. House is covered in dog crap and wood floors are ruined, plus other damages. He is going for the eviction ASAP, and he says tenant is going to try and fight him in court to drag it out.
57- that’s why you rent multi’s. The risk is spread over multiple units. Single families are a big gamble indeed. I would not buy any income property that is not a multi unless it’s a vacation home/rental investment.
re# 60 – “My condo my tenants are pretty good.”
Friends of mine have been renting their place in Hoboken for a few years now, they have relocated a few times since the financial implosion of 2008 and need to move around to keep working. A nice stable couple of lawyers with one kid, rented the place. Sure they write demanding letters to replace the washer and dryer with a better model ASAP or face litigation etc but for the most they pay their rent on time and don’t wreck the place. Problem is my friend bought the Condo in 2006, after a move from Manhattan to raise their kids in quieter Hoboken. Realtor recently told them they might break “even” with their purchase price if they sell now in 2014. A cool 8 years since they bought the place. It still really isn’t close to “even” with the updates they added, and the fees to management company to keep the place maintained as well as the 6% off the top the realtor would want. It will still cost them to dump the place even if there was a cash buyer today 8 years later.
I wonder how many other first time landlords are in the same situation?
They are in reality out tens of thosands in gains. They should have waled away from it in 2008 and reinvested their capital elsewhere.
I am lucky I rent the unit on my own to good tenants and no fee to sublet. The condo is like 5 miles from my house.
Tenant goes perfect distance. I think she ment close enough to come if an issue but not so close she will ever run into me.
Kinda like geographically desirable when dating. I dont want a girl who lives walking distance from me I bump into when on a date with someone else. But I dont want a girl that takes more than 20 minutes to get to. The magic 5-15 minutes away
[63] Like that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Ray is trying to educate his wife on how far they need to move from his parents house. Far enough that they won’t come over all the time but close enough that they won’t have to stay over when they do.
From yesterday’s thread – It looks like Michael is now posting under a new handle.
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@MotherJones: These Republicans tried to kill the benefits bill. See the unemployment rates in their states: http://t.co/gxE7CCSPy3
37 Republican senators voted no. Some of them were from the hardest hit states.
Ending unemployment benefits might actually lower the unemployment rate.
anon (the good one) says:
January 7, 2014 at 6:02 pm
@MotherJones: These Republicans tried to kill the benefits bill. See the unemployment rates in their states: http://t.co/gxE7CCSPy3
37 Republican senators voted no. Some of them were from the hardest hit states.
The good the bad and the ugly – Some excepts from a long timr Landlord’s experiences:
The good:
L & C where the perfect professional couple. Refugees from South Africa. Gave me a Krugerrand for a security deposit (that’s a onc ounce gold coin). NO probs. with them excerpt…. The wife saw a ghost in the house. Told her I did too and, it’s harmless. Became Landords themselves (and paid me to help on some deals) then sold at peak and retired to Costa Rica. – They’re still doing well!
The Bad:
Small business owner, just married. Business failed wife left him. Tried to commit suicide by sealing up the house , turning on the gas stove and…..kaboom. All that happened was the stove blew up and the police woke me up at 3 a.m. to come down to the property.
Dude never returned. Had to clean out the place. Left EVERYTHING behind including a basement full of unsorted NASTY garbage (recycling mandatory in that township). Told him he had to pay for garbage pickup, gave him the number…nope, just threw it down into the basement. Still, sold the place for over 100% profit (not including positive cash flow and tax deductions over the years).
*Note -A skeleton was found by hunters not too far away in the woods several years later. Bet it was him.
The Ugly (several but only one for brevity):
Duplex, with tenants that turned into the Hatfields and McCoys with Woodstock type parties almost every weekend. Had to evict using the law after exhausting all other less costly methods. Worst refurb. ever, for me. Lucky I worked part-time for a construction contractor back in college. So, cost me peanuts but had to take vacation time to do it.
Oh wait, the Funny!:
Chick (lesbian – no, not the lipstick one) offered some ‘services’ in exchange for her share of the rent. Told her I’m not gay.
If you’re thinking about getting into the landlord business you need to have five things:
1) An attitude (or at least be able to project it).
2) Street smarts (Doesn’t work all the time).
3) Stomach for shit (literally)
4) Construction/renovation skills.
5) Good with numbers/accounting.
If ya got the above, a good credit score, some cash and are in great shape physically…. if not, forget it.
clot:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-06/unc-athletic-scandal-charges-of-fraud-could-be-tip-of-wider-revelations#r=rss
All day no one posts the story of the homeowner who fought off two would be invaders with his AK47?