New York City · Member since 2018 · 161 posts · 75 votes
Hi guys, I currently own a duplex in Flushing and 4 rentals in the midwest and south. I'm looking to househack with a 3.5% FHA down payment in my homestate (or Jersey) but I'll be honest I have no idea where. I looked at Hicksville/Syosset and did find something close, but not quite cash flowing. Are there any neighborhoods/areas in NY (or Jersey) where this would be possible?
Investor · Forest Hills, NY · Member since 2014 · 101 posts · 52 votes
7y
@Wei Jie Yang How do you define cash flow when house hacking? In the NYC metro area, I'm thinking the best you can you do is to have the other unit or units reduce your PITA but won't cover all of it or would it cash flow, but maybe I'm not understanding correctly. I've considered Long Island too but the high property taxes makes it tough especially with the new tax laws. Plus I rarely see 2-3 families out in Long Island.
There was an investor profile on Chad Carson's real estate blog where an investor was house hacking in NJ (Garfield and North Arlington). Not sure about those areas but here's the link to that post (not sure if I'm allowed to link?)
New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 60 posts · 82 votes
7y
i was looking to do the same with house hacking in NJ while working in Brooklyn. Commute will be 1hr-ish. the bigger challenge is moving 2 toddlers and a baby. otherwise I wouldn't even second think it! the struggles.
Investor · Forest Hills, NY · Member since 2014 · 101 posts · 52 votes
7y
@Wei Jie Yang How do you define cash flow when house hacking? In the NYC metro area, I'm thinking the best you can you do is to have the other unit or units reduce your PITA but won't cover all of it or would it cash flow, but maybe I'm not understanding correctly. I've considered Long Island too but the high property taxes makes it tough especially with the new tax laws. Plus I rarely see 2-3 families out in Long Island.
There was an investor profile on Chad Carson's real estate blog where an investor was house hacking in NJ (Garfield and North Arlington). Not sure about those areas but here's the link to that post (not sure if I'm allowed to link?)
Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 3 votes
7y
Its to hard to put cash flow and nyc in the same sentence as that rarely happen around here. Unless you're putting down 50% or all cash, haha. Any decent neighborhood in brooklyn, queens, long island for 2 family are well above 900k+. New Jersey is a bit different and there it does offer more bang for the money.
@Wei Jie Yang How do you define cash flow when house hacking? In the NYC metro area, I'm thinking the best you can you do is to have the other unit or units reduce your PITA but won't cover all of it or would it cash flow, but maybe I'm not understanding correctly. I've considered Long Island too but the high property taxes makes it tough especially with the new tax laws. Plus I rarely see 2-3 families out in Long Island.
There was an investor profile on Chad Carson's real estate blog where an investor was house hacking in NJ (Garfield and North Arlington). Not sure about those areas but here's the link to that post (not sure if I'm allowed to link?)
If I can do slightly better than break even after year 1. I would probably airbnb in the meantime. I was able to find places in the edges of Jericho that almost broke even ($-500 a month) if I rented it out but no cigar just yet.
Rental Property Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2015 · 490 posts · 301 votes
7y
@Wei Jie Yang Jersey City is a great option for you. Locations near the trains will get you to midtown in about 20-30 minutes. I own properties on the West Side and in Bergen-Lafayette and i get a lot of renters who are leaving NYC for something lower priced but with easy access to their jobs in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Prices have gone up a lot in recent years but there are still good deals available and still way cheaper than NYC in most areas.
Rental Property Investor · Scotch Plains, NJ · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 11 votes
7y
@Wei Jie Yang
Check Rockland and Westchester Counties in NY. Otherwise you would have to look at central jersey but commute might be longer than 1hr. There are more multifamily properties in those areas than Long Island. Good luck.
Investor · Forest Hills, NY · Member since 2014 · 101 posts · 52 votes
7y
@Wei Jie Yang I've considered Airbnb as an option too if I ever am able to buy a property here. I haven't really run the numbers but I feel like it might be able to bring in more than a traditional rental. I have an Airbnb upstate and it does pretty well. Since you said you would probably Airbnb in the meantime, have you checked the numbers on AirDna/mashvisor?
@Wei Jie Yang How do you define cash flow when house hacking? In the NYC metro area, I'm thinking the best you can you do is to have the other unit or units reduce your PITA but won't cover all of it or would it cash flow, but maybe I'm not understanding correctly. I've considered Long Island too but the high property taxes makes it tough especially with the new tax laws. Plus I rarely see 2-3 families out in Long Island.
There was an investor profile on Chad Carson's real estate blog where an investor was house hacking in NJ (Garfield and North Arlington). Not sure about those areas but here's the link to that post (not sure if I'm allowed to link?)
Hey those are my properties! My suggestion if you want cashflow in NNJ is to buy Lower-Property Tax towns (Garfield, East Rutherford, etc.) and buy Triplexes or Quads.
@Wei Jie Yang I've considered Airbnb as an option too if I ever am able to buy a property here. I haven't really run the numbers but I feel like it might be able to bring in more than a traditional rental. I have an Airbnb upstate and it does pretty well. Since you said you would probably Airbnb in the meantime, have you checked the numbers on AirDna/mashvisor?
About equal to renting out a whole house for the area of Jericho if maintenance isn't an issue. Definitly less since I have't researched how much Vrbo/Airbnb takes as their cut.
Rental Property Investor · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2019 · 69 posts · 51 votes
7y
@Wei Jie Yang Hi Wei. I'm in a similar boat as you. I work in midtown Manhattan and looking to house hack with an FHA somewhere within an hour commute from work. I've been seeing pretty consistently that NJ is the way to go (still trying to pinpoint the exact city/neighborhood), but I'm very interested in seeing where you choose and how it works out for you! Sending you a request.
@Wei Jie Yang - I am in a very similar situation - We currently live in Port Washington which surprisingly has a decent inventory of two families. It is not the most affordable area in Nassau County, by far. However, the commute into the city is fairly quick and the neighborhood is the anchor for us.
Depending on your situation, maybe you just need to get a little bit more creative with your arrangements (like @Craig Curelop) Maybe you cannot break-even by renting out the second unit but have you considered perhaps renting a room in addition to the 2nd unit?
Queens, NY · Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes
6y
I'm in the same boat. I recently accepted a job in Great Neck and was considering using FHA to purchase my first home and maybe generate some rental income. I've run a few properties in Queens and the Bronx through the calculator and am quickly finding that cash flow might not be a realistic expectation. I'm new to the area and wondering if Newark or other places in NJ would be better options. My job is near the LIRR and I could live with a 1 hr train commute.
Real Estate Agent · Westchester County, NY · Member since 2017 · 73 posts · 48 votes
6y
Hi All,
I’m a buyer’s agent that finds house hacks for buyers in NY and CT. Feel free to reach out! I would recommend lower CT (if you can handle the commute) for best cashflow, lowest taxes etc! Westchester and other NY areas have greater appreciation potential (nice to limp in 3.5% down) but not as good cashflow. NYC is impossible to cashflow without a substantial down payment!
New to Real Estate · NJ · Member since 2020 · 124 posts · 63 votes
6y
@Andrea Hayes There are some great options in Newark and Elizabeth. I work in NYC and the commute is about 30 minutes.
Bayonne is exploding right now. There must be a thousand units being built right now (mostly apartments and townhomes), but there’s also quite a few big businesses starting to come in as well. Bayonne is about 20 minutes from NYC.
Any in-depth questions include the area, let me know!
Real Estate Agent · Bayonne · Member since 2019 · 52 posts · 80 votes
6y
I second @John Walter's comment about Bayonne. Lots of new development (mostly luxury rentals) here, easy commute to Downtown JC and Downtown NYC, plus a ferry coming in September to Downtown NYC. Big brands have either already opened (Costco, Lowe's, Walmart) or are coming soon (Starbucks, LA Fitness, Lidl). Yet prices are still below $300/sq ft. And the area is safe and offers a good quality of life, which is important if you plan to house-hack and not just buy and use purely as a rental property.