I'm in Aberdeen NJ- looking to get my first deal as a multi family property house hack, open to having to rehab it, in process of getting approved for mortgage now. I plan on using FHA loan and living there. Any person with experience in this area, or even anyone looking for a partner or someone to network with, I welcome it! Everyone I know buys real estate to live, not for investing... Need some like minded people in the mix.
Rental Property Investor · n/a · Member since 2019 · 143 posts · 117 votes
6y
Hey @Alison Niko ! Welcome to the forum. I really like the Aberdeen/Matawan/Keyport area since you are close to the train station and I've seen great improvements in those downtown areas over the years. House hacking is a great way to get started, but the competition on multifamilies is fierce! I looked for about 6 months and couldn't find anything that met my numbers so eventually bought a single family down in Ocean County where it made more sense for me.
Keansburg was mentioned, but from my experience that is a risky area. I haven't driven through in a few years, but last time I did, it wasn't a pretty sight. I heard from a local agent/friend there's a big drug problem there, and troublesome especially for rehabs, where people may break into the house and steal whatever they can find. But I'm sure you know this being a couple towns over. Big shame too, I used to always go to the Keansburg Waterpark as a kid growing up, but that was probably 20-25 years ago.
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 824 posts · 1k+ votes
6y
@Alison Niko welcome! I'm interested in a shore house myself but only to have a vacation home (and have others rent out units to help pay). Any thoughts on Keansburg? Looks like a fairly priced shore town...
Edison, NJ · Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 6 votes
6y
@Alison Kopcko
In Dec. 2019 my wife and I purchased a duplex house hack with an FHA 203K loan in central NJ close to that area. The 203k was great for us and we found a very reliable 203K contractor in the area. If you have any question please reach out.
Rental Property Investor · n/a · Member since 2019 · 143 posts · 117 votes
6y
Hey @Alison Niko ! Welcome to the forum. I really like the Aberdeen/Matawan/Keyport area since you are close to the train station and I've seen great improvements in those downtown areas over the years. House hacking is a great way to get started, but the competition on multifamilies is fierce! I looked for about 6 months and couldn't find anything that met my numbers so eventually bought a single family down in Ocean County where it made more sense for me.
Keansburg was mentioned, but from my experience that is a risky area. I haven't driven through in a few years, but last time I did, it wasn't a pretty sight. I heard from a local agent/friend there's a big drug problem there, and troublesome especially for rehabs, where people may break into the house and steal whatever they can find. But I'm sure you know this being a couple towns over. Big shame too, I used to always go to the Keansburg Waterpark as a kid growing up, but that was probably 20-25 years ago.
Real Estate Agent · Cranford, NJ · Member since 2011 · 149 posts · 54 votes
6y
@Alison Kopcko you will have to be prepared to put in a ton offers over a period of time before you land a deal. With the amount of cash buyers competing against you it’s tough for a seller to accept your offer contingent on financing and rehab. Just keep working at it. You likely need to go to areas that are less desirable because right now everything at the shore is being built up like crazy ...even areas that were not on the radar over the past 1-2 years.
@Alison Niko I second a lot of these posts, multifamily market is very competitive and houses are taken off the market very quickly, I too used an FHA to purchase but to be honest, I think I was lucky. If you have any towns in mind, let us know.
Attorney · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2020 · 50 posts · 24 votes
6y
@David Czech - Hey do you have an reliable contractors you’d recommend? Looking to do a big renovation in Long Branch NJ (on personal vacation house). Also curious if you have views on investing near the beach in Long Branch and Keansburg (obviously very different markets). I’ve seen what look like potentially good opportunities in both.
Attorney · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2020 · 50 posts · 24 votes
6y
@Brett Baginski - very interesting about Keansburg. I’ve been looking there. I’m going to drive through this week and see. It looked like there are some very nice new homes being sold there and big reasonably new and pretty nice rental development on the waterfront.
Realtor · Moorestown, NJ · Member since 2019 · 86 posts · 24 votes
6y
@Alison Niko
I know it’s probably not what your referring to when you say NJ shore but you may not be limited to house hacking if you looked into a less competitive market..Or it could make it that much more profitable if you could take advantage of lower prices in the path of progress at Atlantic City right off the beach. I read an article just the other week on that area and have been doing some research also virtually walking the streets and I was surprised how it’s starting to look. Investors have been buying up multiple lots and building new or doing full renovations on the old properties. It’s probably the only ”NJ Beach”place you’ll be able to compete with a low barrier to entry. I personally would love to be apart of just cleaning up the area. This is just my personal opinion and observation. If I had additional money that I could invest for more of a long term appreciation game that’s where it would go. Some may disagree but I still see potential there. I don’t want to speak on what cash flow numbers would look like in that area because I’m not investing there but I would assume you could make it work. I’m curious to know others thoughts are on that area?