Tweet of the week:
The tweet didn't perform well, but getting our estate plan done was the highlight of my week.
PSA: If you have children and/or a sizable amount of debt (mortgage), get a term life insurance policy from my friend's mom: Brigitte Bromberg. Tell her I sent you 🙏
Once the policy is written, hit up JP Dziuba to set up your estate plan.
Livin' La Vida Luna y Luca
Luna got a new bed. Luca uses it every chance he gets.
This is pretty much every morning.
I'm itching to find my next project.
So much so that I've made more offers in the first 6 weeks of 2024 than I probably made in all of 2023.
The competition is fierce (or dumb).
Here are a few of my rejections so far...
151 Center Ave
151 Center sits on a 50x150 lot. That's the same size lot I had for Washington.
I bought Washington for $525K in late 2021. Seeing this house for sale at $825K was a real sticker shock.
I made an offer for $725K a few hours after the listing went while citing 24 N Summit (which sold for $725K) as my comp.
There was no counter.
A few days later I bumped my offer to $795K and the seller's agent seemed annoyed.
The home is under contract and the rumor is it went in the low $9's. ☠️
208 Southern BLVD
208 Southern BLVD is in the Rolling Hills section of Chatham. The house sits on a corner lot. Although it currently faces a double-yellow (Southern), there's an opportunity to turn the house towards Robert Dr (one of the most desirable streets in town).
I wasted no time here either. A few hours after the listing went live I put in an offer at $999,999.99 (to avoid the mansion tax) and included the following:
- Cash
- Close in 2 weeks
- No Appraisal Contingency
- Environmental (Tank Sweep) Only
- Buyer pays:
- Seller's Agent Commission (up to 2.5%)
- Buyer's Agent Commission (up to 2.5%)
- Seller's State Transfer Tax (up to 1%)
- Seller's Attorney (up to $2,500)
My $1M offer was more like $1,062,500, but the seller would net more, and pay less in capital gains tax.
I found out a few days ago that I didn't get this one either.
17 Londonderry
I made the same offer here. $999,999.99, no contingencies except environmental and I'd pay the bulk of the seller's costs associated with the sale.
My agent said they received an offer for $1.3M, but ultimately ended up doing something unexpected.
*Tim Allen Voice*: HUHHHHHH!?!?!?
Left $300K on the table to do a solid for a friend??!! WILD. 🤯
Multiple More
Then there were a handful of other offers I made through other investors in hopes that we could do a JV.
- 5 Briar Cliff in Livingston
- 20 Cambridge in Livingston
- 74 Chatham in Chatham (now listed as new construction)
Did I Make a Mistake?
I turned off my direct-to-seller marketing efforts at the end of 2023.
- I canceled my Propstream subscription.
- I canceled my CallPorter subscription.
- I canceled my RESimpli CRM subscription.
- To make it final: I handed over all of my leads to a local wholesaler.
While I don't regret turning off my marketing, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be able to buy my next project off the MLS.
I'm going to stay the course for now:
- Try to be the first offer on anything interesting
- Continue expressing interest in Joint Venture opportunities
- Follow up on offers made in the past that never ended up exchanging hands.
