All Forum Posts by: Darren Sager

Anyone who doesn't think you can do well in NJ is just wrong in my opinion.  We've done very well over the past 20+ years.  There's plenty of upside and if you understand what's happening here long term (especially the big news announced in the last week) this will be a great place to make good money.  My personal opinion of course.  And why we're still investing here.

At this point I can't say I have a solid recommendation for a single GC in northern NJ which comes from actual experience.

@Miguel Bautista asking where's the best place to invest in NJ is always subject to many different things: Capital on hand, how much your lenders are willing to lend, how risk adverse you are, etc.   So the best place for one here in NJ may not be the best place for someone else.  It's easy to ask what I call the grenade question.  Just throw it out there and see what happens.  Regardless of where you invest in real estate you need to get more granular to make a better decision.  It could have a lasting effect on your bottom line.  

So perhaps give a bit more about yourself. How you'd buy, what price point you're willing to go to, how many units you're trying to acquire, any prior experience you have, etc. as all those things can only help the community here help you get to the best answer possible.

Whatever you find out on the subject, NYC I believe doesn't allow any stays via AirBnB or another similar site for under a month's stay.  Look into it for sure.

@Sade' McIntosh best you try to find an agent once you have a better idea as to where it is you have an interest in investing. NJ is pretty big (not Texas big) so many agents will be limited by geography and MLS access. Always find out what MLS' they're members of and how far of a reach they have, in addition to their direct experience in real estate investing themselves.

@Heba Girgiss

After being a real estate investor for more than 20 years I highly disagree with your approach for buy and hold in Newark. If you read the law you’ll see that it applies to even single family rentals of the owners don’t live in a unit. So on the short term can you initially purchase there as an owner occupant and skirt the law allowing you to operate in a free market? Yes. And the moment you leave will you ever be able to achieve market rents? No. Along with the paperwork required to raise rents and the rental registration procedures it makes operating there quite challenging hence why I personally don’t recommend it to a newer investor. I’ve had clients with multiple properties that owned in the iron bound for more than a hundred years sell because Newark made it so difficult to operate there. And they had systems in place. My thoughts on Newark have always been the same: Caveat Emptor. There are those who think they can do it their way and those who already know how things actually work. Doesn’t mean you can’t make money there. It just comes along with a whole lotta extra that no newer investors ever talk about here on BiggerPockets. Most likely because they’re not following the law and regulations to operate there.

Good places to buy is all relative to what you can afford and what your tolerance to adverse conditions. Is your friend chasing ROI or lower work? And what budget? Those all will change suggestions once you have that information. Anyone else just giving advice without it probably hasn't' been in the game very long.

My personal opinion is that no first time investor should consider Newark as it has some of the strongest language with rent control that I've ever read.  Unless you have serious systems in place you can easily get burned there.  Regardless of crime @Julia Sung.   As a first time investor you should chase easy & low maintenance for a good experience to build upon, not higher returns.  If you chase high returns and you're not set up properly for them, bad things can happen which effect those returns.   Just my 2 cents.  

As for which state overall is better? Personally I lean towards NJ as NY has put into effect state wide rent control. And I personally believe that NJ is a bit more landlord friendly, however not by much.  

@David Lee you'd be foolish not to 1031 into a property or properties down in NC that you may be able to pay for in full with $500K and cash flow a heck of a lot more than $800 a month.   To me it's not worth the hassle for the long distance.   We're at the lowest inventory levels I've ever seen in my 20+ years of small multi investing in NJ.  Take the money and put it to better use in NC. That would be my 2 cents!

In my 20+ years at this I've never seen inventory levels this low before on small multi family.