All Forum Posts by: Shawn Mcenteer

 Hi Cory, House Hacking can be a smart move.  My wife and I leverage the strategy throughout North Jersey to accelerate our financial goals. JC is not bad but what we found over the years the cost to enter is high and there are lots of rules and regulations.  Not saying it can't be done in JC but there are markets that can be less head ache in North Jersey. 

Best decision I ever made was selling my single family home and moving into a duplex.  One of the worst feelings I ever experienced was making my first mortgage payment on a single family house knowing the only way the mortgage would be covered is if I worked 40 hours each week to pay for it.  I felt like a slave to my home and slave to my job.  

What alternative did I have?  That's where I found biggerpockets and became hooked on real estate investing.  I realized everything has a price tag, cost of a down payment or cost of time.  If I kept the single family home it would always cost me 25% down payment if I was unwilling to owner occupy, If I called 100 new people everyday looking for the seller financed deal it would cost me my time. Selling the single family I lived in worked best for me becuase I could then use the equity I had and put down under 5% and own an investment property that my tenants paid the majority of the mortgage on. 

Hi @Hyeonji Oh happy to help. STR and MTR market is very strong in North Jersey.

Hi @Mark Bennett why not stay local to where you live, perhaps sniff out some of this sketchy business before it happens?

Hi @Lisa Annitti tough to say without more information.  A few things to consider is the interest rate on your condo,  if the rate is low enough paying down could be hurting you more than helping you.  Next question I would ask is is it possible to turn your condo into a rental?   Moving out and have it as an asset may have potential to help with you goals.   

@Sami Gren notice to vacate means you are telling the tenants to leave.  You must give tenants written notice at lease 30 days prior to lease expiring stating the amount you'll be raising rents.  If tenant does not agree to rent increase then you can provide notice to vacate.   I can't say I know what the attorney is saying here in this context you are mentioning but I think what the attorney is trying to say is if you send notice of rent increase and notice to vacate together it could potentially save you sometime assuming tenants do not agree to increase.

ex: rent is increases to $xxxx if you do not agree, please vacate property by xxxx date. 

 Area and markets play a huge part but it more so comes down to property itself.  I would say the major of homes being sold investors have no business buying, they are likely suckers possibly being told "live in one unit, rent out the other"  which to me is great idea but not a strategy.  

Strategy goes hand in hand with cash flow.  I have clients living for free in properties that were purchases in 2024-2025 meaning the day the move out they are cash flowing.  I have clients who are buying multi families and with minor tweaks are cash flowing early on.  Leveraging a strategy that will increase rents and attract quality tenants will get you break even to cash flow

 Its all negotiable. Wholesale option is very likely going to hurt you financially, seller tends to loose big going that route. Tough to give accurate advice without knowing more information but owning for 2 years and having some equity from the start may be enough for you to walk away with some cash.    

I’d argue one of the biggest benefits of staying local here in New Jersey is the high year-over-year appreciation in both property values and rents. Even if a deal just barely breaks even in year one, the growth trajectory tends to be much steeper than what you’ll see in many out-of-state “cash flow” markets.

While out-of-state properties can look attractive for day-one cash flow, those markets often stay relatively stagnant. You might collect a little more each month, but five years down the road the rents and home values haven’t moved much. In NJ, on the other hand, appreciation plus rising rents compound quickly, turning a breakeven property into a strong performer in just a few years.

For me, that combination of tenant demand, limited housing supply, and strong appreciation history makes local investing worth it, especially if you’re playing the long game.

On top of all this I have been investing in NJ for over a decade yet to miss a single payment of rent, the laws that give our state a bad name are not common with with small multi family.

Hi @Arun Maheshwari JC works but I have never been a huge fan of Hudson County because of land lording laws and price to enter. I will say right now JC is looking more favorable from the legal side of things but the city flops back and forth. I have multi family clients in every county from central jersey to north jersey, I will say from ROI to laws there are more attractive markets.