Trenton, NJ

Real Estate Deal Analysis & Advice
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Trenton, NJ

Mark Resnick
Renter · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2014 · 33 posts · 5 votes

Hi Everyone,

I am new and looking for a place where I can buy an investment property to rent out. I was told Trenton, NJ is a great place to get good cash flow. Can anyone tell me more about their experience owning there? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks

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Aly W.
Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y

All true about Trenton. We bought our first rental property in '08 for $60K, when the market was crashing. It seemed a great deal since the previous investor had paid about $80K. It was a 4/1.5 row house, basement, yard, rented for $1000 a month for most of the 10 years we had it. 

Our first tenant was an education in just about every way. Section 8 sounds like easy money, but it's not, same with TRA/TANF. After our 3rd disaster with those programs, we rented to those with jobs. Our 2nd property was a 3/2 rowhouse, paid about $55K for it, rented mostly for $900 a month for the 10 years we had it. Sold them last year in the low $40s. At least the mortgages had been paid down enough to walk away with money, and they had cash flowed well most of the time - minus vacancies, damage and evictions.

Late fees sound great in theory. Our experience was that once a tenant got behind on the rent, late fees only added up to an eviction. Many people, and not only in Trenton, don't have enough savings to sustain a job loss for very long. If they don't/can't/won't pay, file the eviction immediately. Sometimes they can get help through Social Services or Catholic Charities, but those organizations are also strapped for cash. 

We had an excellent attorney in Trenton, who does most evictions there. Have an attorney write your lease in Trenton, since they'll be handling the eviction - $300 (at the time), 6 weeks, $100 for the sheriff, and done. Evictions for non-payment are easy. For anything else, plan on more time and money.

Things may have changed, but you'll need a landlord license and every 2 years, a chimney/boiler inspection. The city loves to send violation notices for overgrown yards, whether they get the address right or not. We'd gotten quite a few of them over the years, for the vacant properties on either sides of ours. You'll spend quite a bit of time on the phone straightening that out. No matter if your lease says the tenant must maintain the yard, plan on paying for lawn care and extermination.

Water/sewer is lienable...if your tenant doesn't pay the bill, you'll have to or the city will put a lien on the property. If the bill is in your name and you plan on charging the tenant, great - but if they don't pay, you cannot shut it off. You'll have to evict. If it's in their name and they don't pay it, the city could take months before they shut it off...and at that point, the tenant will likely abandon the property, and you'll be stuck with the bills.

Insurance and taxes are high. If the property is vacant for more than 60 days, the insurance company can, and likely will, cancel the policy. They will not insure what they consider a vacant house. And not too many companies will insure in Trenton, and lack of competition keeps the rates high. Maybe they won't notice the house is empty - maybe they will.

We were ignorant about a lot of things as first time landlords. Trenton was  great education. Pricey at times and extremely stressful at other times, but we don't regret it. Just don't expect to sit around counting easy money. You'll work for it - or pay a management company to work it for you.

And keep in mind that almost all pets in Trenton are pit bulls. 

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  • Aly W.
    Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    Hi Mark,

    My husband and I own 2 properties there. Are you familiar with Trenton at all? Yes, good cash flow but a challenging area.

    3Reply
  • Mark Resnick
    OP
    Renter · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2014 · 33 posts · 5 votes
    12y

    Hi Aly,

    I am not that familiar with Trenton. What can you tell me about it? Why do you say it can be challanging?

    0Reply
  • Aly W.
    Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    Trenton has a lot of Class C and D areas. As a new landlord, you'll certainly learn the business, likely trial by fire, as we did. And if you're nowhere near your rentals, you'll need a team to help you manage them. Do you have any landlord experience? I would suggest you research the area to learn more about it. You can PM me and I can tell you more.

    1Reply
  • Justin Fraser
    Rental Property Investor · Fuquay-Varina, NC · Member since 2013 · 381 posts · 308 votes
    12y

    Hey @Mark Resnick there happens to be another recent thread about Trenton here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/105...

    In my experience, I've found that Trenton has many different neighborhoods, some better to invest in than others. You'll want to make sure you really learn the area, or partner with someone who does.

    1Reply
  • Kunal Doshi
    East Brunswick, NJ · Member since 2013 · 21 posts · 2 votes
    12y

    I get tons of leads in Trenton. These people want to sell their house for cash but I'm not in that area and not really looking for rentals right now. If you're interested in purchasing some of the leads or buying houses in Trenton, please email me: [email protected]

    I would say in the last 6 months I've accumulated close to 100 leads in Trenton. 

    1Reply
  • Matt FairclothPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Trenton, NJ · Member since 2014 · 136 posts · 155 votes
    11y

    Hey Mark,

    We do tons of business in Trenton. Our offices are here in the city also.  Send me a note on BP and I will get you more info, and we can talk more about Holly Nance as I see you posted about them in another thread.

     @Justin Fraser you are correct, there are good neighborhoods and bad ones.  There are also some big redevelopment projects in the pipeline that will change the landscape of the city in the next 5 years.

    Matt

    Podcast Guest on Show #101
    2Reply
  • Dave Anstatt
    Real Estate Investor · Maplewood, NJ · Member since 2013 · 33 posts · 18 votes
    11y

    Mark, 

    I've always been up on Trenton and like what I see you're doing there.  I've also followed a lot of developments on the Trenton Lofts site.  People always questioned why I invested in downtown Newark years ago and now with a couple of billion $ of large scale development going on in my neighborhood it's become pretty clear.  The migration back to the cities transport hubs is only going to continue.  Would love to take a closer look at what you're doing sometime.  Keep up the good work.  

    Dave

    2Reply
  • Mark Scarola
    Developer · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 294 posts · 70 votes
    11y

    @Matt Faircloth 

    Would you mind sharing any particular neighborhoods that you're watching over the next few years? I'm wondering if the redevelopment you mentioned is focused in on any particular area or the city as a whole. I know a little about Trenton and have it in the back of my mind as a possible interest going forward.

    0Reply
  • Aly W.
    Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    I have properties in Chambersburg and the Lalor Tract, and it's not there ;)

    0Reply
  • Matt FairclothPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Trenton, NJ · Member since 2014 · 136 posts · 155 votes
    11y

    Hey Mark,

    I think the area around the train station will change for the better in the next 2 to 3 years.  There are several projects in the works over there.   Also Mill Hill is strong, as is the section of South Broad that runs through Mill Hill - the 200 block to the 400 block.  Further out on timeline for redevelopment is the area around East Hanover - what I like about that district is that there is a really solid housing stock and a group of artists have started to take over part of that area.  It's really challenged with crime right now which is why it needs more time to develop.

    I am always available to chat more about Trenton, let me know.

    Matt

    Podcast Guest on Show #101
    3Reply
  • Amber Stout
    Lender · Tampa/Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2014 · 356 posts · 148 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Aly W.:

    Trenton has a lot of Class C and D areas. As a new landlord, you'll certainly learn the business, likely trial by fire, as we did. And if you're nowhere near your rentals, you'll need a team to help you manage them. Do you have any landlord experience? I would suggest you research the area to learn more about it. You can PM me and I can tell you more.

     Hey Aly. I have recently come across Trenton as a market to invest in for cash flow due to low housing prices vs rents. In researching, I came across the Trenton thread in which you posted. I do still need to do my own research and due diligence, however, figured I would reach out to you. What has been your landlording experience in this area? I know it's definitely a bit rough... I wanted to see if you thought it is worth it?

    Thanks so much, Aly. I appreciate your time. :)

    Amber

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Paterson, NJ · Member since 2016 · 119 posts · 18 votes
    10y

    I know I'm very late but I'm looking to invest in property in nj for rentals or flips can someone help me and tell me what's a good area ? I'm from paterson and looking to invest in muti family 

    0Reply
  • Edward Moses
    Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 0 votes
    10y

    Trenton is an interesting place to invest. You must do your homework and finding a reliable team has proved very difficult for me. I own a 2 unit property that I lived in and have been renting it out for about 4 years now. It's in Chambersburg and it's a nice place. I got tenants without too much hassle but had a horrible experience with a certain property management company. With that and a good amount of maintenance behind me it's time to focus the time and energy on my wife and toddler.  Also being very far away from the property is tough. So I am selling. I would suggest looking for investments that won't take more than 30 minutes to get to. 

    0Reply
  • Michelle Ross
    Wholesaler · Trenton, NJ · Member since 2016 · 62 posts · 9 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Edward Moses:

    Trenton is an interesting place to invest. You must do your homework and finding a reliable team has proved very difficult for me. I own a 2 unit property that I lived in and have been renting it out for about 4 years now. It's in Chambersburg and it's a nice place. I got tenants without too much hassle but had a horrible experience with a certain property management company. With that and a good amount of maintenance behind me it's time to focus the time and energy on my wife and toddler.  Also being very far away from the property is tough. So I am selling. I would suggest looking for investments that won't take more than 30 minutes to get to. 

     Edward I am wholesaler in Trenton. If you are interested in selling soon, let me know! PM me if you are interested. 

    0Reply
  • Eddie T.
    Rental Property Investor · NY · Member since 2013 · 844 posts · 350 votes
    10y

    @Michelle Ross Do you have any current leads that will hold a note

    0Reply
  • Fred Gonzalo
    Englewood, NJ · Member since 2016 · 47 posts · 4 votes
    10y

    @Edward Moses you should put them on blast bro. That property management shouldn't be managing places if they cant provide what they say. I also had a horrible experience with a property mgr in broad st Trenton nj. I think it was called extra property management. They sucked big time. I bought a property in February this year...  to make the long story short, they sold me the property promised me they would manage it..months and months later..it was still a sht hole and they would lie saying they were working on it..blah blah blah. nothing ever happened..but worst of all they would never ever pick up the phone or get back to you. I feel like I got suckered and got nobody to blame except me for not doing my research.  If anyone knows extra property mgmt., please tell them Frederick said hello and also tell them IF THEY HAVE SO MUCH WORK AND ALOT OF CLIENTS OR BUSY ALL THE TIME..WHY NOT BE UP FRONT AND SAY NO I CANT MANAGE YOUR PLACE INSTEAD OF WASTING MY TIME!   do your research guys..thanks.

    0Reply
  • Jeff Marcus
    Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 3 votes
    9y

    Hi, I live in NYC and I have 2 multifamily houses in Trenton, NJ. I've own both houses for 13 years. Both houses have 3 units each with tenants. I also have a handyman in the neighborhood who pretty much takes care of everything. You might be able to work around using a management company, but instead just use independant contractors when necessary (electricians, plumbers, etc.).  Even though I'm selling both my properties, I wouldn't have lasted this long without using them.

    0Reply
  • Michelle Ross
    Wholesaler · Trenton, NJ · Member since 2016 · 62 posts · 9 votes
    9y
    Jeff Marcus Hi Jeff, I see that you are interested in selling your properties in Trenton. I am a investor in the Trenton market and would like to chat with you to discuss the opportunity of working together. Private message me if you are interested. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
    0Reply
  • Jeff Marcus
    Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 3 votes
    9y

    Will do!

    0Reply
  • Anthony Williams
    Real Estate Investor · Atco, NJ · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    9y

    Hi, I currently have a great property in Trenton, New Jersey. Perfect for the buy and hold Investor. If interested, message me. Thanks Guys!

    1Reply
  • Stephen Chatto
    Rental Property Investor · Yardley, PA · Member since 2012 · 436 posts · 198 votes
    9y

    @Anthony Williams - Please send me the details on your deal in Trenton, NJ

    0Reply
  • Anthony Williams
    Real Estate Investor · Atco, NJ · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    9y

    @Stephen Chatto, Perfect I will send the details over as soon as possible. Thanks Buddy!

    0Reply
  • Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    9y

    I have a FSBO client looking to move a commercial property in Ewing if anyone in here might be interested. It was a furniture store. 17,500 square feet inside, .57 acre lot, parking right in front, but not in back so not ideal for a supermarket unless interested in buying the lot across the street (traffic study required). It is attached to a couple other small units, different owner. Client does not want to list, but we have an agreement in place to bring the buyer and I would work for the investor. It needs upgrading, but is on a well-trafficked street and has some potential at the right price. He has always been priced too high. Send me a PM for more info and address.

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    1Reply
  • Erik Cabral
    Investor · Trenton, NJ · Member since 2017 · 97 posts · 60 votes
    9y

    Reviving this thread... does anyone know what rent is going for in the Arm & Hammer Park area (specifically Lamberton St.)?

    0Reply
  • Christine Johanns
    Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2017 · 74 posts · 18 votes
    8y

    Revive this thread....again!  Any recommendations Property Mgmt A GOOD WELL RATED do it all  in Mercer County Trenton Area.  :) Thanks   This was a good old thread for me to find.

    1Reply
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