REO deals in New Jersey

I am an investor in New Jersey and work primarily in the Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex county areas, however i do cover the entire state when a good deal is on the table.
Why don't you tell me a bit about what type of deals you are looking for and i can let you know if i have come across them.
From my experience to date with REOs, you certainly stand a far better chance at getting a low offer accepted when you are able to buy the prop for CASH. Would this be your method of payment? Tell me a bit about what you do and maybe we can work together on a deal.
Thank you.
Mati

What's going on everyone? I am officially a real estate newbie here in South Jersey. So new in fact that I haven't even received the books yet. I have virtually no money and relatively bad credit so I am very interested in doing a few assignments or double closings in order to raise capital to fund some of my future deals. NY, and Mati I see that you guys are working mainly in middle and northern Jersey, so I thought that maybe if we could all work together somehow it would be possible for all of us to make some money in this market. A few questions for you guys. Have either one of you found a good agent to work with yet? Do u even plan on using an agent? Should I be focusing on only REOs or foreclosures? How are you generating your buyers list? Using one search I was able to find 142 preforeclosures in a 10 mile radius, however having not received the book yet I'm not sure how to figure if I'm finding a great deal or not. I'm very anxious to get started, and am looking for any and all advice to get me started off on the right foot here in New Jersey. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Dear nygnyk30,

You are in the right place at the right time ! I'm new too,...just reading the books and the reality of obstacles has not yet hit me,....However, I noticed an underlying theme or vibe in your post: " Good deals in high crime areas / too far away / good deal seems unlikely / NJ one of worst states to invest in. "

Work on thinking of reasons " THIS WILL WORK ". Change your mind, Change your Life.

Remember why you ordered the books/program and surge forward !

Thanks to Mati for the " Glass 1/2 Full - ity "

It's good to see some fellow New Jersians! Alright!

Well Changeyourmind i guess your right. I just don't see a good deal in an area with high crime rate. I saw my dad have nightmares cause of a house he rented out in a very bad neighborhood.

I am though now starting to be more optimistic on traveling a little farther for that great deal.

As for Villaskids, focus on REO's, Foreclosure, short sales, Tax sales, Leasing. All of the above work in a down market that we are in jersey. Although not all of NJ is in a down market.

If and when you get the book, Be a Real Estate Millionare or Profit from Real Estate right now, i suggest read it alot. And i mean read it over and over again. At first when i read the book (BAREM) i didn't understand some but as i read it over and over again it started to make alot of sense and i learned something new every day. It was like that for me though probably cause i didn't know a single thing about Real Estate, heck i didn't even know how a loan worked! I'm young (23) and still live with my parents lol. So it may be a different for you. I still have to read profit from Real Estate though, im getting that book for my birthday this month!

And Mati, as for purchasing a REO with Cash i can't. Like said i still live with my parents and I'm 23 yrs old. I go to Rutgers University full time(graduating May 20th) and i have a part time job working as a security guard (I live just 10 min from Rutgers). So buying Cash is out the window. Last i checked my FICO score was 560 which is not really that good to get a loan i suppose.

I am though very hungry to get started as an Investor. I have been looking alot of REO deals through the banks like Bank of America, M&T bank, Wachovia and institutions like Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, Country home loans etc.

So my situation is not much money, fair credit. Since im graduating soon, i can maybe lease a home for a year or 2, i have been thinking of that.

What would you suggest Mati?

People are people and they need a place too call they,re own! Any neighborhood relies upon great people that call it there neighborhood, So take a chance on the people that will get your deal done. People buy houses...Not what we think will sell a house? Take a chance NJ, I am sure many people are looking for a chance too prove themself...So go get that (high crime area)deal that somebody will thank-you for...Taking a chance and giving them one too!

rand
2birds---1stone
"MAKE YOUR ACTIONS COUNT"

P.S.the high crime thing, Do that with in reason.Then again people make the difference! Happy Hunting

I am also in Jersey - near the shore by Sandy Hook - Middletown to be exact. Since getting Deans book last year I have experienced everything all of you have posted. I jumped right in and found a perfect FSBO 3 months after getting the book and flipped it successfully (21,000 profit!). Then I worked really hard hours and hours for months and couldnt find another deal. At that point my perception was that all the 'good' deals were either out of my price range, in undesirable areas, or being scooped up by cash buyers. Actually these are all true facts. But also true is that there are ways around this to find your deals. I did a long distance assignment with Rina on a house in Wisconsin that I am going to rent or do a lease purchase on, and on my current Jersey deal I gathered money from family, friends and a credit card or two at 0% interest for a year. This allowed me to make a cash offer which, as everyone states - cash is king. I realize that most of you are not in my position to actually buy and rehab, but dont give up! Start to build an investor/buyer list so you have someone to go to once you find a deal and bird dog it to start if you cant lock it up for assignment. I will make one comment about buying in "bad" areas...and that is that remember that a deal is only a deal if you can do something with the property on the flip side. So location IS important and it pays to know your areas and invest smart. So - if any of you find a really good deal - let me know. Perhaps we can network among ourselves here and help each other out on the road to success! Post here or send me a PM! We CAN all make this happen!!!

I just finished reading Dean's book and like everyone else i am eager to get started. I pulled my three credit reports to get an idea what i am dealing with and to my surprise there was only one item i had to dispute ( due to it was not mine ) and once that is removed i hope i will have a decent credit score. but in the meantime while i am waiting for that item to come off the credit report ( about 30 days) what can i do/ where do i start? this site is full of info but at the same time alittle overwhelming. I am just starting out so my money situation is not where i would like it to be but i know there are ways around that just need to be pointing in the right direction. I am looking to go the foreclousure route at first and rent it out where do i look for those type of properties on this site and elsewhere?

thanks for ANY help that is provided.

As you can see i was eager to get started i just started asking questions and did not realize that i was in the "REO deals in NJ", sorry about that guys, but if you have info that could get me started that would be great.

Congrats on getting Deans books! And actually, they tell you where to get started. First you need to figure out what strategy you want to use - bird dogging, assigning, investing your own money. Then you need to spend the time to study your target areas - where its good to buy - what neighborhoods are in demand, etc etc. Getting started means TAKING ACTION. Write down your goals - for tomorrow, for the week, for the year. Then start moving toward them one step at a time! Start talking to realtors, join an investing club if there is one nearby, etc etc. In addition to Deans newest book, I would also strongly reading Be A Real Estate Millionaire as well. It teaches you how to study the market and get started with knowledge and confidence. Good luck to you! And read through the different forum topics - they are divided by information and many of your questions will be answered already in them. Happy reading and happy investing!

It's ok CT. You want to talk about your deals in CT that would be great too. Congratulations on getting the book. It is a heck of a book! I read it everyday!

Hello Laura,

I have thought about doing that actually. Flipping a house in a bad neighborhood would be the great idea and there are many huge REO bargains in Newark. I'm not sure if your familiar with Newark, NJ but crimes rates are heavy over there. Although downtown Newark has become pretty busy with alot of new jobs lately.

That's one big dream i have is to help rebuild that city. I lived there when i was 10 yrs until i turned 14. Newark back in the day used to be what Manhattan is today.

Wow, I didn't realize how many Jersey heads posted here. I'm working out of union county and Ive found a ton of foreclosures..Fanwood, Millburn, Elmora Hills in Elizabeth, all areas that are selling at better then 300,000.00 in THIS cycle, imagine when they start creeping up..I just posted a thread of an REO I found that was just posted today..If anybody is willing to start an investment group, send me a private message.

Hello Everybody,

Enjoy the posts, sounds like all of you are in the same boat im in now. I have worked for a title co. before so I have seen Brokers doing deals like this in the upmarket at the time. I'm sure they're still doing this now in today's market!! I'm about to read the Todays Market book again to see if there was anything I missed!! Currently repairing my credit and applying for a small loan credit card to fix up any issues credit wise on my report. I do have one question for you all who have been doing this regularly or even at all!! How much of a discount are you asking for on a REO deal below the value they have listed as the selling price? and if it's listed with a Real Estate Agency have you encountered any unforseen obstacles? After my "SlaveMaster" of a co. beyond stuck it to me a few days ago I'm that much closer to taking that final step. I'm meeting with a Mortgage Broker whom I'm good friends wtih to discuss this JOURNEY i would like make happen and he has even mentioned a Relator / Real Estate Agent he has a good relationship with!!! I'm excited for what could be!!! I want to be even more excited doing!!!! thinking of joining the success academy today also....I would much like to work out a win-win w/any of you Jersey peeps if the opportunities should arise! I'll keep you posted on how it works out for me!

I live in Bayonne and have for most of my life.
I was born in Jersey City and I just want to say
something about high crime areas.

Jersey City is one of the lowest crime areas in... LOl just kidding.

Really though, High Crime to one person is low crime to another.
We are known for having high crime up here but being from here it's
not a big deal to us living here.

Did that make sense? ... Seriously, it's nice up here. I love it.
I do love south Jersey .. and Central ... and West .. OK I guess I
just love Jersey in general. My father has 77 acres in central and I
grew up spending a lot of time there. I love the country though.
I want at least one of my homes there and my girlfriend already
agreed.

I am new here but would love to get my first deal going within
at least 2 weeks from now. I am very motivated and I am already
looking for investors to hand the homes off to.

Let me finish reading this thread as I did not yet.
Maybe I should have before posting but I love getting
involved in discussions.

Also, I don't have any money to start with either, if it makes
you feel any better.

I know I am going to do just fine because I BELIEVE and BELIEF makes
things happen.

Take care and good luck my friend

Don't make this harder than it has to be. If you have a list of investors already, even if it is 3 or 4 of them, starting looking in the areas that they are telling you they are interested in purchasing ... that simple. If they are telling you they want to have Sec8 rentals in slum areas, then go to those areas to find your foreclosures and REOs. If they want nice family communities to rent or hold, then go to those areas. Remember that you can't get EMOTIONAL about these properties, they just need to make sense to your investor and money for you! I have found a variety of REO's on the market, some i am terrified to even go in to because you think the floor beneath your are going to cave from rot and others i would move into immediately. Get a good agent to find you these deals, deal hard with the banks and get them assigned or buy them yourself for investment. I have a great rental home in Keansburg now that i'm looking to assign, with over 130K before repairs, about 30K in repairs and a ARV over 250K, selling it for 120K. There are good deals, we just need to get the banks to let us help them move their bad asset without resisting us so much!
Mati
Mati

I know what you mean Mantus! People just get "used" to it i guess. With no money i now know assigning contracts is the way to go!!

As for Mati, i got a few investors in line! Looking forward to building that list first then taking advantage of assigning those contracts.

Good luck to you all!

thank you everyone who responded to my question on how to get started. Here is my update, i will be meeting with a Realtor this week to " get the ball rolling " andi also have been looking at certain areas i would like to invest in. After i meet with the realtor i hope to have a clear/better understanding on what is available( which should be alot based on our economic situation). and again everyone for taking the time to point me in the right direction, i'm sure i will have more quesions until i do my first deal and feel more at ease with the process.

There's nothing wrong with New Jersey. Especially Newark. There are some of the most hateful crimes commited in the best of areas. Opportunity can come from any place. Even Newark. Many of these homes appeal to first time buyers with low incomes. A starter home. They are great for investors who are looking for rental properties. Maybe they won't produce the large capitol that you may want but there is for certainly a profit to be made. Much Success............
Sincereley,
Lubertha

Sometimes people always think the deals are better in the next town rather than their own. Dean had stated that sometimes you walk past an unpolished gem in your own town looking for that perfect deal in the next town. I would suggest a good rental market area where maybe you can find the least attractive home on the block or in the neighborhood. Also, as Dean and Matt Larson discussed, make a lot of offers on middle of the range homes but offer 30-50% of the asking price. Then you may have a decent deal in a decent area at half the cost! Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! Indiana-Joe

Have any of you fellow jerzians made offers on reos without pof? Or do most banks require it. If I use HM how do I get loan before I have a property to show for? I am from Ocean County, if anyone would be willing to network.

Shawn

Looking to partner up with someone in North Jersey If interested please let me know you can IM me on xmevrickxx AOL

I would have to agree with MyDESTINY. Newark NJ is a good place to invest in especially in the Heart of the Irounbound Section. You just need to do some searching!

Just re-reading through this thread - and was wondering how you ever made out with your home in Keansburg?