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.
$1M Offers 💸
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.
