NYC Native Looking to Invest Out of State

New York City · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 1 vote

Hi,

I'm in my early 20s. Landed a solid SWE job. I have 100k saved up. I live with parents in NYC. Low expenses. I have been in the market for 1 year now. I started looking for Multi fam units in NJ around 550k. Price's increased. Now scarping the pot for SF in CT, NJ, or upstate NY for 450k or less.

That search is going nowhere. Hence, I am interested in doing investment property out of state. Any locations in mind where I could buy for a price that can earn decent cash flow after property management fees?

I'm looking for a area 1-2.5 hrs away. Ideally 2 units or a area I can rent rooms.

Am I doing things out of order?

1 Reply

250 views

Most Popular Reply

Divin KanyamaBusiness Member

Accountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 470 posts · 194 votes

You are not necessarily doing things out of order, @Deondrae Francis I would avoid choosing a market simply because the purchase price is lower. Start by defining your return target, financing limits, reserve requirement, and how actively you want to manage. Then compare markets using realistic rents, taxes, insurance, vacancy, repairs, capex, utilities, management, and local landlord rules—not just the listing price.

For a first property, being within a few hours can be valuable while you build experience and a reliable local team. A small multifamily or owner-occupied house hack may offer better financing and lower operational risk than remote room rentals, which can be management-intensive and may face zoning or occupancy restrictions. Keep substantial reserves after closing, interview managers before making offers, and underwrite several actual deals in each candidate market. If none work conservatively, continuing to save and waiting is a valid decision—not falling behind.

[email protected]

WEMBO CPA532 Reviews

Website View Page

2 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

8 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Aaron Zucker
Realtor · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 39 posts · 10 votes
1d
You're not doing it out of order — your budget is just telling you the truth about the NYC metro. With $100K saved, by the time you cover down payment, closing costs, and reserves, a $450-550K purchase is basically all of it. That's why the search feels like scraping.
A few practical points from working this market:
1. At 1-2.5 hours from the Bronx you're not really going 'out of state' — you're in drivable territory, and that's an advantage on a first deal. Hudson Valley (Newburgh, Poughkeepsie), parts of CT, or the Lehigh Valley in PA will teach you more than flying to a market you've never set foot in, because you can actually walk the properties and meet your team.
2. Go 2 units over single-family room rentals. Renting rooms in a single-family is a zoning and management headache in most of these towns, and the income is fragile — one bad tenant is your whole rent roll. A duplex underwrites clean, and if one unit empties you're not at zero.
3. The biggest decision you haven't made yet: owner-occupy or pure investor loan. If you'd live in one unit for a year, your down payment drops dramatically and that $100K stretches much further. If not, budget 20-25% down on a 2-unit, which puts your real ceiling closer to $350-400K once you keep 6 months of reserves. Do not spend the reserves — that's where new landlords get hurt.
4. Underwrite every deal with management at 8-10% even if you plan to self-manage at first, plus vacancy, and use real tax and insurance numbers. In NY/NJ/CT, taxes and insurance kill more 'cash flow' deals than purchase price does.
Pick ONE market, drive it a couple of times, and analyze 10 duplexes a week in it. Depth in one market will find you a deal faster than skimming five states.
1 Reply
- Deondrae Francis
  OP
  New York City · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 1 vote
  1d
  Thanks for responding! This seems AI-ish. Regardless, good info, I had an idea that SF room renting will be a nightmare but this highlights it further. The Owner occupancy portion won't work as many jobs are pushing for in-office attendance
  0 Reply
Andrew PostellPro Member
Lender · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 6k+ votes
1d
@Deondrae Francis yeah, I know what you mean. When I lived in NYC I also had to invest out of state. My recommendation is to ALWAYS choose whatever city you have the most trustworthy contacts in. Keep in mind that you may never see your asset. That's an ENOURMOUS amount of trust/money to put into a stranger's hands. What I mean here is that if you know someone in a different city...but that city may not have as good as numbers as this other city...then stick with the city where you know people. When I lived in NY I invested in Jacksonville, Florida. Not because it had the best returns in the US...but because I knew people there already. One wrong move, one wrong contractor, one wrong vendor…will erase any "benefit" one city has over another. Your network is the most important piece for any potential returns when you invest out of state.
1 Reply
- Deondrae Francis
  OP
  New York City · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 1 vote
  1d
  This is awesome advice, thanks Andrew :)
  0 Reply
Jimmy LieuBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1d
Welcome, Deondrae. Saving $100K at your age while living at home is a real head start, and you're not doing things out of order. The NJ and CT search sounds like it is mostly a price problem, not a you problem.
One thing I'd add to the drivable-market advice above: if the 1-2.5 hour radius keeps coming up empty, the numbers can look very different once you widen the lens. In my experience, Midwest markets like Columbus are still finding single families in the $120K-$180K range, so the same down payment covers a much bigger share of the purchase and leaves real reserves. The caveat is that you'd be running it remotely, so the team (agent, lender, manager) matters more than the property.
A house hack is also worth pricing out even if it feels far off, since low down payment owner-occupant financing changes the math completely.
I enjoy networking with investors working through this, so feel free to connect and I'll see where I can help.
[email protected]614-300-7535
Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9120 Reviews
Website View Page
1 Reply
Divin KanyamaBusiness Member
Accountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 470 posts · 194 votes
1d
You are not necessarily doing things out of order, @Deondrae Francis I would avoid choosing a market simply because the purchase price is lower. Start by defining your return target, financing limits, reserve requirement, and how actively you want to manage. Then compare markets using realistic rents, taxes, insurance, vacancy, repairs, capex, utilities, management, and local landlord rules—not just the listing price.
For a first property, being within a few hours can be valuable while you build experience and a reliable local team. A small multifamily or owner-occupied house hack may offer better financing and lower operational risk than remote room rentals, which can be management-intensive and may face zoning or occupancy restrictions. Keep substantial reserves after closing, interview managers before making offers, and underwrite several actual deals in each candidate market. If none work conservatively, continuing to save and waiting is a valid decision—not falling behind.
[email protected]
WEMBO CPA532 Reviews
Website View Page
2 Reply
David C.
Real Estate Consultant · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 1 vote
17h
You should run the actual PITI on a $350k duplex at today's rates before you pick a market.
at 7% with 20% down that’s roughly $1,860/mo just on the mortgage, add taxes and insurance.... a duplex in the lehigh valley might be $4k/yr in taxes, same price in upstate NY could be $8-9k.
that difference alone is $400/mo and it’s the thing that breaks most first deals from out of state. i’d honestly pick 2-3 markets, pull actual tax records on sold duplexes, and see where the math actually works before you start driving around.
1 Reply
- Deondrae Francis
  OP
  New York City · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 1 vote
  4h
  I will give this a try. Do you suggest any other areas besides Lehigh valley?
  0 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.