Investing in Trenton, NJ

[Bryanna Lashley]

Hi All. Wondering if anyone has purchased rental property in NJ? The good, the bad, the ugly of it all. Any extra advice would be helpful!

[James Wilby]

You have to know the city, one street can be a cashflow haven when the next street can be your worst nightmare.  You are going to be dealing with a lot of low income families if you invest in the inner city.

Also, many property owners / landlords are greedy when it comes to rents and experience a high eviction rate.  They do not live in the city nor do they build any roots in their areas where they own property so they tend to charge rents based on where "they" live and the rent is often too high for low income families.  I am a Trenton, NJ native, I live here and I have bought and held property here so I know the town from first hand experience not from what Zillow or Trulia or an agent would tell me.

If you are going to buy and hold, know the median income of the population so you can charge within the fair market value rent.  If you are going to buy and flip (fix and flip) look at areas of Trenton that piggyback close to the townships like Ewing, Hamilton and Lawrenceville.  Areas like Hillcrest, Glen Afton, Cadwalader Heights and Berkeley Square.  Also, homes that border Olden Avenue near Shoprite (Parkside Ave) headed into Ewing, NJ (Moody Park) are good areas to farm.

Good luck!