Investing in Connecticut

Investing in Connecticut

Real Estate Agent · Mystic, CT · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 13 votes

Hello Everyone,

I am just starting my buy-and-hold investing career and I am located in southeastern Connecticut.  I have done some brief market research and I believe the local market I'm in, the Groton/Mystic area, would be a good place to start.  It is home to two casinos, Electric Boat, a Navy Sub Base, and a National Guard Base, so the potential for future renters is promising.  However, Connecticut as a whole is seeing a large population decrease as people are leaving the state to avoid high taxes, and there is fear in the speculation of adding tolls to our highways.  I do live about 30 minutes from the  Rhode Island line, so I am wondering if it would be a good idea if, as a new investor, I spent some time researching Rhode Island markets.  Has anyone had any luck beginning investing outside of their home state?

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Rental Property Investor · North Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y

Hi Tyler,

I am originally from Connecticut and have a portfolio of multifamily in New Britain. I am not sure about Groton but New Britain is a cash flow market, not much appreciation. CT is not a landlord friendly state but if you have boots on the ground and the deals are good, you will make money. I am now based in Florida where there is both appreciation and cash flow. If you are investing in a syndication, it is much easier to invest across state lines. Otherwise you need to build a new team in each market which is very time consuming.

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  • Investor · Groton, CT · Member since 2015 · 97 posts · 28 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Hespeler @Kyle Campbell Here is the link to the meetup Mark mentioned.  Hope you can make it!
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/67...

  • Real Estate Agent · Mystic, CT · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 13 votes
    7y

    @Jaclyn P. Thank you!

  • Matthew PorcaroBusiness Member
    Lender · Long Island, NY · Member since 2016 · 456 posts · 336 votes
    7y

    In my personal opinion, as a new investor, you should not buy in hopes of appreciation. 

    Keep it simple, are you getting more in rent each month than you pay for all expenses (mortgage, tax, insurance, capex..)

    Cash flow is king no matter what the market, so look for healthy rental markets using tools like rentometer.com

    The 203k Way
  • Real Estate Agent · Mystic, CT · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 13 votes
    7y

    @Matthew Porcaro sorry I'm not sure why I'm just seeing this now.  Thank you for the feedback.  I have definitely been treating appreciation more as "icing on the cake" and looking to invest based on cash flow.  I have been doing numerous property analysis' lately and since you mentioned it, how accurate have you found rentometer.com to be?  How about the accuracy of realtor.com in regards to their taxes and insurance under their Payment Calculator? Thanks!

  • Matthew PorcaroBusiness Member
    Lender · Long Island, NY · Member since 2016 · 456 posts · 336 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Hespeler No worries Tyler. Glad to hear your response. 

    Rentometer is like every other tool. It’s a rough gauge. Obviously there are nuances that you have to account for, but most of the time it’s ballpark. I also just use craigslist and look for comparable listings to gauge where I’m at in the market. 

    Taxes are public record and if you want to double check you just check out the towns online portal. Most everywhere you can find what the yearly property taxes are. Insurance is really just completely subjective; but you can get an average by looking it up online. 

    Also make sure it’s not in some kind of flood zone that would definitely boost the price a bit. 

    The 203k Way
  • Real Estate Agent · Mystic, CT · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 13 votes
    7y

    Awesome, good to know.  I hadn't considered flood insurance but seeing that my current market is close the waterfront I'll have to keep that in mind. @matthew porcaro

  • Member since 2018 · 63 posts · 52 votes
    7y

    Hey Tyler, I used to live in the area, worked for EB and my wife and I were visiting a friend last weekend in eastern point. We were driving through and noticing tons of SFRs for sale on the drive down Rainville and Shenecosset. One of which I had actually looked at renting when I started working there over a decade ago! Anyway, we saw all these for sale and mulled over what rentals are like in that area, we continued down the road and were reminded of all the apartments another mile down the street near Pfizer. If you are looking to do deals in that area I would suggest always measuring your deal and potential cash flow against those apartment complexes, they'll be your competition. Maybe you can beat them in price or maybe you can beat them in amenities. Just wanted to point it out. Good luck!

  • Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 69 posts · 38 votes
    7y

    Hey everyone, 

        Likewise I’m an investor in Connecticut. Based on the conversation I’m reading, college towns seem like a good place to buy properties? I just bought my first rental down the street from Wesleyan university. Any input would be nice!

  • Real Estate Agent · Mystic, CT · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 13 votes
    7y

    @Chris Babcock thanks, I’m not sure why I didn’t see this when you originally posted. I’m very familiar with that area but haven’t driven through it in a while. I’ll take a trip out there soon to check it out. Thanks again!

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