Rental Property Investor · Centereach, NY · Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 0 votes
I live on Long Island where homes are expensive and the market is competitive. I feel like being physically present for my first investment is very important. I live close to a ferry that comes and goes from Bridgeport, Conneticut where homes arent as pricey as Long Island homes are. My question is this, Should I invest in my first rental property on the Island or should I find one in Conneticut that is just a ferry trip away?
@Dylan Hensley, there's a saying in REI, "Live where you want, invest where the numbers make sense." If they don't make sense on the island, you need to look elsewhere. Bridgeport has a lot of rental properties. Make sure you connect with a great agent who understands the needs of an investor and knows the area well (there are several here on BP). Bridgeport has some pretty terrible areas and you want to minimize your landlord headaches.
@Dylan Hensley, there's a saying in REI, "Live where you want, invest where the numbers make sense." If they don't make sense on the island, you need to look elsewhere. Bridgeport has a lot of rental properties. Make sure you connect with a great agent who understands the needs of an investor and knows the area well (there are several here on BP). Bridgeport has some pretty terrible areas and you want to minimize your landlord headaches.
Hey @Dylan Hensley I’m from Staten Island NY and have been investing in Bridgeport for 4 years now. The numbers are incredible if you do your due diligence correctly. I have an incredible agent I can put you in touch with.
In bridgeport, I have two single families, and one multi-family. I am in the process of selling one of the single famiy homes and buying another multi. At the moment, I don’t have any interest investing in NY. I hate the landlording laws and the eviction process here. Safe to say I probably will never buy in NY since CT provides a much greater opportunity.
For me, the eviction process in NY, especially the borough areas, is very long. If we made a mistake with the person that we allowed to live on our property, it could take up to a year or more to evict them. In bridgeport, I adopted some tenants as part of a home acquisition. As soon as I closed, a tenant refused to pay rent. I was able to get the whole eviction process done in less that two months.
As far as investing numbers go, there’s no competition between bridgeport and NYC. A 3-family home in bridgeport for $180k-$250k could net you anywhere from $1,000-$2,000/month. In NY, even Staten Island, you won’t find a single family in a decent area for less than $350k. If you’re going to spend that much, the law better be on your side, can you imagine paying a $350k mortgage out of pocket while trying to evict someone? Also, the rents in bridgeport are cheaper than NYC area of course but not by much.