Jersey City, NJ - Investment properties
Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 6 votes
What's up everyone,
I'm a recent home buyer/investor located in Jersey City, NJ. A few months ago, I closed on a condo in the Heights neighborhood (after going through a brutal sellers market), and am currently in the process of closing my first investment property.
I would love meet more people in the area as well as get some feedback from anyone with experience investing in the JC/Union City/Newark areas. There's definitely a lot of activity going on here and it reminds me a lot of what happened in Brooklyn, NY (lived there for the 8 years prior).
Particularly, I am curious about less touted sections of JC -- West Side Ave, Bergen-Lafayette and the areas around there. Do you see these areas being more popular for rentals now that a lot of JC has become expensive, and does anyone have experience with rental properties in and around there? I know crime and safety and still major issues in this area, which I'm sure is one of the reason why investors haven't piled in here yet.
Look forward to hearing any thoughts/feedback. Thanks!
-Ani
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See agentsHi @Ani Sanyal I would love to connect with you and here your thoughts. I have looked hard at JC Heights in the last 6 months and it's definately been a seller's market. Feel like I just missed the boat on this one although I am continuing to look. My primary residence is on the border of Union City and JC Heights and I can definately see the "Brooklyn" type of transition taking place.
I think your idea is not a bad one, although I haven't looked that hard at those areas of JC. Union City is also not a bad place to look, and it is very close to JC Heights. I have been focusing on this area as of late.
Let's connect in person and talk further. There are quite a few people on BiggerPockets in the JC area and it would be fun to all get together to talk real estate.
@Bony Mathew most get afraid of property taxes here in NJ when coming from other areas. The one thing I like to point out is to look at the rent/tax ratio. You'll see in most cases that NJ is right in line with other major metropolitan areas around the country.
Bony Mathew We don't really have standard condos in the more popular areas. They're mostly row homes and apartment buildings that have the condominium form of ownership, but not your typical condo development you're used to seeing. There is an area of JC on the other side of 440 that is a bit removed from the "up and coming" part of the city, but it's a beautiful development, very family friendly, clean and safe, and far more reasonably priced than down here. More comparable to Bayonne pricing probably. It's called Society Hill if you want to check it out. If you have a little bit more capital and want to invest Downtown to lease out, real estate is hotter than it's ever been, but price tags are steep and most of these places are old and need some love. The alternative if you just want some smaller scale steady income, is buying a unit in one of the newer buildings. You can usually collect rent far in excess of your carry costs, but again, big ticket initially and not as huge an upside as some alternatives. Then there is the option of buying in one of the neighborhoods that haven't quite gotten there yet, but should if you have a few years to hold onto the property, like JSQ or Bergen Lafayette, but the rental rates right now are pretty low as the neighborhoods aren't the most desirable and inventory is low on flips or fixer-uppers. Anyway, welcome to NJ and best of luck!
Hi Jessica, sorry for the late response! that you for all that info!
the area on the side of 440 you are talking about, i'm about to start doing some research there. i looked into Bergen Lafeyette neighborhood and you're right the area doesn't have the same excitement as some streets of JC! but there are some well priced homes in that vicinity.
Bony Mathew Congrats on your new job and good luck in NJ. We literally have everything here. Most people won't admit it, our state rocks, we have something for everyone. Side note, my sister and her family just moved to Charlotte from Bergen County in July of this year. Unfortunately, she informed me you will experience sticker shock when looking at the taxes on properties of comparable value in Northern NJ vs. Charlotte. Have you visited NJ in the past? And are you moving to Hudson County strictly based on its proximity to your new job?
Haha Robert! you're not kidding prices here in charlotte and jersey are not even remotely close to each other (nor the Sq. Ft you get for the money) but then again i kind of expected that lol. So no worries there. I grew up in Red bank, NJ so i'm familiar with jersey just not the NYC border areas. i'm moving to Hudson country with the proximity of my job and my wife's school in Newark! Hopefully i can narrow down to a property that has good investment potential in the 450k range in the next 2 months! We will most likely move out in about 3 years and it will become an investment property. I'm willing to do some fixing if it need to be...
@Bony Mathew most get afraid of property taxes here in NJ when coming from other areas. The one thing I like to point out is to look at the rent/tax ratio. You'll see in most cases that NJ is right in line with other major metropolitan areas around the country.
Darren you're absolutely right regarding rent/rax ratio.... I'm more concerned about a property that will appreciate better over the years especially if i can put some work into it while I live there than tax :)
Bergen Lafayette still has some... I'll call them, "less-desirable" areas, although some parts have really come a long way. One of my close friends owns a beautiful brownstone there and bought it for very little compared to Downtown, but she won't really walk around alone and not at all in the dark. As far as investments go, BL is considered to be a great one if you can snatch up the right property. The City is doing a lot over the next couple years to better that area and in 5-10 years, I predict something like a triple in investments there, but as far as living there now, and with a family, that's entirely up to you. I would drive through a few times and see how you feel. There is also very little private parking there, so you would have to street park, most likely, if that's a consideration for you. As far as Society Hill, it's a very big development, so lots of neighbors and kids, but the area is more commercial, not really nearby anything other than some big box stores and a few restaurants in strip centers, but it is safe, family oriented, parking spots for every home, and they're really nice inside and well maintained common areas. I almost bought there, but the draw of Downtown and walking everywhere and being only a few blocks from the path and all of the action made my decision. Feel free to email me with any other questions and best of luck with your search!
Glad this thread is getting some action - I have also been eyeing Bergen Lafeyette, but was wondering about vacancy in the area, what with new construction & proximity to transportation pulling desirable tenants Downtown. I know there are buses, but figuring that much of the population influx coming from BK/ Hoboken /NYC may rely more heavily on regular transportation into the city.
Having similar questions in Newark (university heights area) where I'm currently evaluating a wholesale deal. Appreciate any input.
Bony Mathew Congrats on your new job and good luck in NJ. We literally have everything here. Most people won't admit it, our state rocks, we have something for everyone. Side note, my sister and her family just moved to Charlotte from Bergen County in July of this year. Unfortunately, she informed me you will experience sticker shock when looking at the taxes on properties of comparable value in Northern NJ vs. Charlotte. Have you visited NJ in the past? And are you moving to Hudson County strictly based on its proximity to your new job?
Haha Robert! you're not kidding prices here in charlotte and jersey are not even remotely close to each other (nor the Sq. Ft you get for the money) but then again i kind of expected that lol. So no worries there. I grew up in Red bank, NJ so i'm familiar with jersey just not the NYC border areas. i'm moving to Hudson country with the proximity of my job and my wife's school in Newark! Hopefully i can narrow down to a property that has good investment potential in the 450k range in the next 2 months! We will most likely move out in about 3 years and it will become an investment property. I'm willing to do some fixing if it need to be...
Hey Bony,
Any progress with your NJC search? I'm in a very similar situation as you as far as budget, expected "live in" time of 3 years and desire to make it into an investment property afterwards. I've spent some time in the area and have spoken with some real estate brokers and it seems it's definitely a sellers market, but more accessible than Brooklyn or Manhattan. From what I can gather there's not a lot of inventory that comes on the market and when it does it tends to go fairly fast if it's decent. I've mostly been looking around the downtown area. The Journal Square area seems interesting from an investment stand point, but from what people have told me it's still a little "rough around the edges" and sounds like it's going to take some time before it's "up and coming". Interested to hear your progress in the area...
@Mark J. Journal Square "rough around the hedges"? If it is, not for long with the huge residential and commercial developments planned!
@Mike Lambert haha...thanks for enlightening me. To be honest I need to better familiarize myself with the area, I'm just going on hearsay at the moment. I plan on spending some time out there in the next couple of weeks.
Hello everyone,
I am knew to the area and country. I moved from Toronto, Canada last year and would like to get to know the Jersey City market. It definitely is not like the Toronto condo market. My wife and I live in JC area near Grove Path station. We love how the gentrification is happening all around us.
I am in search for a mentor who has great knowledge in the JC area. I would love to connect with any of you over some coffee and chat. I would also be interested if there are local real estate investment meet ups.
I read all the comments and it seems Ani Sanyal has very good familiarity with downtown JC and a active investor. I would love to meet with you.
Look forward in hearing from you guys!
Thank you,
Kapil
Welcome to BP @Kapil Patel! Another way to find out what local investor meeting/events are going around your area is Meetup. Definitely take the time to network with many investors of all experience levels to help you get a feel of what's going locally. Best of luck getting started in your local area!
@Kapil Patel BL is Bergen Lafayette. I'm talking about the area right by the Liberty Science Center and Liberty Park.
@robert soto @yahav ben-shoan i am about to close on a multifamily in the greenville section of JC, around ocean ave. i see a lot of negative comments, and its def not for the faint of heart. Ive been hunting for almost half a year, owning a few in union city this is the last place that really made sense. Looked in newark for a while too. Returns are pretty good, although finding tenants has been quite tought, but it will work out. I hear some people say this 2 family might double or triple within a few years, talked with the neighbor about the hasidic jewish community moving in in large amounts all around greenville, this week started to see a big container on the ocean ave corner - taking down the corner deli most likely. IDK tough to say, there definitely police cars on my corner almost 24/7, but im ok to walk around alone.
to me it just seems like everything around greenville is now 2-3x priced for the same 2 families, around 2500-3000sqft w parking, garden. While there are still 350k-ish 2 families here, Union City is now around 600k for a new multifamily, Heights probably around 700k and JSQ 550-650k ish. So Greenville 2 families in my mind should trend around that 500k psychological price very quickly. Give it 5-10years, who knows. I mean there is just no other place 30-40mins to NYC this close still this affordable.
But maybe i am missing something and this area is a disaster to invest in? :)
@Drew Slew I once read somewhere, you can buy a run down house in a million dollar neighborhood, but never buy a million dollar house in a rundown neighborhood. With that said, I heard some of the positive things happening in Greenville section, so I guess all depends on your strategy. Will you be able to hold 5 or 10 years for future value, then I feel is good, but if you are looking to flip it next year, you may wan to reconsider.
@Brandon Arce yea good analogy. At the end of the day its all opinions. Greenville is a tiny area and that is literally the last untouched/still C/D area that is surrounded by expensive neighborhoods on all sides besides bayonne, and NYC only 30mins. When i bought a few years ago in union city i thought that was a pretty bad neighbordhood, and now that small condo almost DOUBLED in value since 2016..unreal.
Of course, greenville is def a different vibe than union city, but coming from chelsea/manhattan where i paid ridiculous rent and would have never owned anything so its all good.
To me, its a no brainer and it seems like to most hasidic jews its already been a no brainer to buy in greenville since a few years. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/nyregion/ultra-...hasidim-new-jersey.html
I see the new developments already being finished around ocean ave where i just closed on, and the corner deli is being torned down as we speak. It def has a long way to go, but something is in the air..
it is def rough still, but ive been able to get a 4 digit rental sum for just 1 of the rooms so far from the 6beds i am renting.
maybe idk what im talking about but i was first considering newark, as it is even cheaper but its so big and the ironbound section is pricy now, and its still so far out. in greenville a nice big 2 family w garden, brand new central AC, parking etc under 300-400k while union city is now 700-800k and then hoboken/JC downtown is millions. In union city on 15th st and central ave area a new single family with a 2 ping pong table sized garden just went up for 850k+. come on, who in their right mind would buy that, ridiculous prices.
from my greenville house the lightrail is literally 5-10min walk, can almost see the WTC from the windows. Money is/will be pouring in already, and the base premise is: the area could not be worse, so it will only get better. simple as that.
Not a fan of JC, there are plenty of other areas in train station towns that I am buying for development (new con. or Additons or full gut renos) or rentals that are way less saturated. Right now, MOST of JC is like Hoboken couple years ago, for the big fish. Don't be a little fish trying to swim with the big fish. I have heard good things about JC though, for me that just isn't my market. There are plenty of properties out there, the main thing is just knowing where to find them. All the ones I have are easily 50 cents on the dollar all in, but they aren't easy to find. Just gotta look
@Vinit N. I am mostly invested in same areas. My deal flow is mostly from distressed though and then BRRRR at its best. The investment prop listed on my profile is up for grabs if any JC aficionados want it.
@Juan Cabrera, you are absolutely right about to-the-moon because my data analytics indicates that pockets of JC are moving from being rental owned (high cap rate) to owner owned (low cap rate but high prices). So, load up anything over 5% cap rate and just ride out next 5-10 years.
@Drew Slew - your observation on greenville is on-the-money. I see them buying in sheriff sale all the time.
@Brandon Arce - Greenville is perfect for BRRRR strategy adopters for the next decade. Any dip in the market will attract cash-buyers immediately.