Troy or Albany house hacking / investing

[Michelle Backer]

I have lived in nyc my entire life. Have another place in Hudson, ny 

I am looking up near Troy, ny to buy multi property / house hack 

plan on using a fha loan 

is this a good idea?? 

any other areas you would recommend?

thanks! 

[Stefanie Gouvis]

Hi Michelle, Albany and Troy are definitely super different in some ways but similar in others. I would agree that neighborhoods are very different within each. Albany has many more colleges and employers in the area so I somewhat feel that opens up more options for interested renters. Our rental market in general all over our region is very strong so you won't have issues honestly no matter where you choose. The thing about both Albany and Troy is that they have very very high taxes, but Troy can be a bit higher sometimes. Typically older homes that actually have relatively LOW assessments, but the tax rates are so awfully high, something to think about is if the assessments ever go up it will only make the taxes worse. Are you planning to house hack, and looking for a MF with at least one unit available for owner occupied?

You mentioned that you would also consider single family. I think SF rentals, especially in our region, are SO underrated! I know everyone wants more doors, but with appreciation rates here routinely being 5-9% year over year, SF investments are also very good. The hardest part is because of the high interest rates right now, it can be more challenging to have something that cash flows vs just covers the expenses. But the deferred maintenance with a lot of SF homes in our area is most likely going to be less than the MF properties which are not always maintained very well.

Are you pretty settled on Albany and Troy, or would you consider other areas in the Capital Region?