Hello from Hoboken, NJ

Hello from Hoboken, NJ

Danilo A.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Summit, NJ · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 8 votes

What's going on BP!

My name is Danny Ayala and I am from Hoboken, NJ. I am currently working for a private asset manager in NYC as a fund controller. The firm invests primarily in structured products, but it does have a non-performing loan business which has sparked my interest in real estate and the many paths I can take to become an investor myself. I am looking to connect with as many people as possible and learn as much as I can about this business. After listening to the podcasts and reading through the articles on BP, I am most interested in the BRRRR strategy, house hacking, and a live in flip. The idea of investing out of state sounds nice, but I think investing locally first is probably the best course of action for me (a given if i choose to house hack or a live in flip). I am biased to some of the higher end markets located along the rail lines such as Summit, Maplewood, Chatham, Madison, etc....but would be open to other areas such as Bloomfield and Clifton to name a few.

Are there any investors or agents out there who have had recent success with any of the these three investing strategies in the NJ market?  I would love to have a conversation about your experience.

I look forward to connecting with all of you!

Thanks,

Danny

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Real Estate Agent · Belleville, NJ · Member since 2015 · 408 posts · 94 votes
8y

Hi @Danilo A., welcome to BiggerPockets. It sounds like you are definitely on the right track. So far as you mentioned, those are higher end towns. From a few other investor friends of mine, it seems like the market is softening on the higher end so I would advise to be careful with your numbers if you get any deals in those areas. Regardless, I would love to connect. I am actually working on a 3 family in Bloomfield at the moment and a 2 family in Belleville. 

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  • Rental Property Investor · Hoboken, NJ · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Jumping onto this thread rather than starting a new one, but I'm also in Hoboken and would be open to an informal meet-up.

  • Rental Property Investor · Hoboken, NJ · Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 7 votes
    7y

    @Danilo A. I didn't go all cash in Asbury but like I mentioned, it was a unique situation and I agreed I would sign all of the tenants to one year leases at their current, below market rents which I assume most other investors/contractors wouldn't be interested in.  It ended up working out, they delivered the property with 3 vacant units and a fourth just asked if they could move out early.  I've been able to lightly renovate those and get much better rent.  On a purchase price of $800k and another $40kish in improvements, I'm now getting around $9,000 in rent which is a cash flow around $3,500 per month right now.  

    For the Rahway one, yea, I had to buy it cash without knowing anything other than what I could piece together online.  I got it for $107k and condos in that building go for around 150k for renovated 1 bedrooms and 170k for renovated 2 bedrooms.  I figured worst case was around $40k in repairs which would put me at a break even if it was a 1 bedroom.  It ended up being a 2 bedroom with a tenant paying $900 per month.  I got him to agree to an increase to $1,300 which is a cash flow of around $575.  I was too busy to deal with the renovation right now so I'll let him stay at that for now.  

  • Hoboken, NJ · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 9 votes
    7y

    Hi Everyone, I sent out a connection request to everyone based in Hoboken.. I think we should start a small group in Hoboken to get to know each other. It's great to see that there are already meetups in the county, but I guess I'm not the only one who doesnt own a car :) - starting local is the best way to move forward!

    Please accept my request or send me one if you want to join - happy to coordinate for a meeting and getting to know each other.

    Alessandro

  • Nutley, NJ · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    Welcome to BP! 

    I am also new but very interested in real estate investing. I am extremely interested in the BRRRR method but also have interests in house hacking as well. I'm from Nutley and would love to connect/discuss about real estate investing with anyone who's willing to have a conversation!

  • Real Estate Agent · Minneapolis · Member since 2019 · 338 posts · 219 votes
    6y

    @Danilo A. @Frank Molinaro @Alex Staunton @William Kwong 

    @Kunal KapurHi All! I'm hosting a small group discussion/meetup re: investing in Northern NJ (JC, Hoboken, Union City, etc.) on Sunday at 3pm. You've all expressed interest in networking in the past so I hope you can make it!

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/782896-group-discussion-investing-in-northern-nj@Kunal Kapur

  • Developer · Maplewood, NJ · Member since 2019 · 56 posts · 30 votes
    6y

    Hi.  I have flipped over 100 properties in the towns you discussed.  I prefer Maplewood, which is where I just opened my office building.  Plenty of opportunities but you need the right team around you.  And you need a mentor or partner to help you with the first couple deals.  Happy to discuss as I train people how to flip houses and find deals.

  • Real Estate Agent · Bayonne · Member since 2019 · 52 posts · 80 votes
    6y

    Hi @Danilo A., just seeing this thread that you started a year ago.  Did you end up buying your first property?  If so, what strategy did you use?  

    Besides being a licensed NJ agent, I'm also an investor with one out-of-state Airbnb (Catskills) and a 2-family house-hack in Bayonne, NJ.  Given how much competition there is for BRRRs and flips these days in NJ, I personally think that new investors looking to get skin in the game are better of either house-hacking a MF or doing a live-and-flip.  I went from being a tenant in a high-rent area (Brooklyn) to being a home-owner and landlord in Bayonne, which is booming right now, and my monthly housing costs have gone down as a result.  I've also been able to force a lot of appreciation through renovations, and with a tenant unit, I'll be able to depreciate a part of my home value annually, write off certain rehab and maintenance expenses, and benefit from rising rents over time, while gaining landlord experience in my own primary residence. 

  • Real Estate Consultant · Short Hills, NJ · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 28 votes
    5y

    Would love to connect being I live in Morristown and am an agent in Short Hills area. 

  • Property Manager · NJ · Member since 2017 · 786 posts · 396 votes
    5y

    @Danilo A. Welcome to BP. The areas that you're targeting are really good if you're looking for stable class A investments, the problem is that the price of entry there is really high and your cash flow, cap rate etc is usually pretty low (unless you find some off market deal on the cheap) Bloomfield has been experiencing a resurgence since 2018 pricing there can be mind boggling though as the numbers tend not to make sense for an investor, Clifton has a solid tenant base and there is opportunity there too mainly in the 07111 zipcode prices can be high there and taxes are middle of the road by NJ standards. Keep us posted on how things turn out for you. Good luck

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