All Forum Posts by: Christopher Gerena

You can only increase the rents through capital improvements, the town ordinance has a formula for allowable increases based on the cost of the improvements. There are some towns that allow you to bring the vacant units to market without any additional work, this is known as vacancy decontrol, however, North Bergen is not one of those towns.

In the area that I work in, Hudson County, most landlords will charge a non-refundable pet fee (one time only) up front, it can vary from 250-500, and/or additional rent because of the pet. But the "security deposit" cannot be more than 1.5 months rent.

While greenville is definitely rising in price, I see a lot of deals between the mid 300's, and lower that may need some work. Under 300 would be pretty unrealistic but between 300-350 is possible. I like the condo idea as well, I know some people who focus on those in the journal square area.

Where in hudson county are you looking to invest in, in my experience the more local the property management the better.

100K-200K is not a realistic budget for multifamily in Hudson County. The lowest priced / decent areas of Hudson County may be Kearny or Bayonne, and greenville area of Jersey City, but it would be hard to find a single-family  (one that does not need to be completely renovated) for that price range, let alone a multifamily. Even in the worst neighborhoods that price range may be too low. If that is your price range I would try Newark, Orange, East Orange, or towns in Passaic County like Passaic or Paterson. Garfield is also appealing with their relatively low taxes but the price would have to bump to 200-300k at least. 

I definitely second trying to get some comps. There has been 3 family properties in Union City that have traded in the last 3 months, and while they may not be exactly the same, I think they will be able to help you get more clarity. Also when you say "border", do you actually mean border, I lived in Weehawken on a block where all you had to do was cross two streets and you were in Union City, while the proximity is close, the towns are not that similar for a variety of reasons. Then again that is reflected in the difference of prices between the two towns. It is tough to speculate without knowing all the info but I would stick closer to your offer than the counter just based off the little I know.

@Brian Ellis I work in property management, the area I work in is extremely dog centric, as well as dog frIendly. So many peolme have dogd, as well as cats , but durIng the day you see dog walkers walking dogs, a lot of the restaurants allow dogs to be sat outside with their owners, so in this area not allowing pets would restrict your self from a lot of qualified tenants. As someone already mentioned, It Is case by case. Most of the landlords I work with, require a non-refundable pet fee, and very strict language in the leases that we have, regarding both cats and dogs. Verbage that states after a certaIn number of complaints from the tenants the pet may have to be removed, things along these lines. It never usually is a problem, the strong wording deters most people that would be a problem , and most responsible dog people know whether their dog is a problem or not. And also, unless the dog barking is a serious issue , other people in the building won’t really complain in my experience.

Try to contact a local agent, as that "Days on market" and "expiration date" can usually be filtered and searched for on the MLS. I'd be more than happy to help, but I am only licensed in NJ.

@Odie Ayaga appreciate the kind words!

@Alina Trigub thanks for the response, and yes , it is a great place to learn. I have learned a lot and want to continue to learn and help others as much as this resource and community has helped me. In the immediate future I definitely want to house back a multi family home, in Hudson County (which is a very tough market for any numbers to make sense) but as an agenT with access to MLS , and networking with varIous contractors due to the nature of my job, I think I’m in a good position to find something that has some value - add potential , as to not pay a premium , because I have the knowledge and means to improve it either myself or through people I knoW , so that would be my immediate short term goal. I would eventually want to invest into more properties , but my first immediate goal would be acquiring some sort of house hack.