All Forum Posts by: Mala S.

@Rafal Mielniczek What part of Northern NJ?

@Michael Baffuto , Union City could be a great place to invest. Union City is an easy commute to NYC and the Mayor (although controversial) has done a lot to improve the city like repaving sidewalks, adding trees and nicer street lights and adding parks, pools and sprinkler parks.  I prefer Union City south of the 495. Also, Union City hasn't experienced the same hype as its neighbor Jersey City Heights with its inflated prices. These are all reasons I think Union City still has room to grow. 

Some cons about Union City are that the taxes are really high - even for New Jersey. This might be a reason for slowed growth. Also, the schools aren't great. It's a little weird to have high taxes with bad schools in the same city...But Jersey City schools aren't great either and people a rushing to buy 1M+ multifamily houses in the Heights...

729K is on the higher end for Union City. I hope the property is in decent condition. Keep in mind that insurance goes up drastically for a 3 family house. This surprised me on my last purchase. My insurance for a 2 family was approx $1200/ year and my insurance on 3 family approx $3600/ year! I'm still shopping around for a better rate with not much luck...I've been quoted in the $4000's..uggh!

@Charles Hayzer What do you mean by multi-family? If you mean a 2 family house, the process and financing is very similar to a single family house. You can put 20% down. If you will be occupying one the units you can do an FHA loan with less % downpayment. Potential rental income is counted towards your income when applying for mortgage (but they may only count 50- 75% of potential rental income). Timelines, inspections, attorney review should all be similar to single family house.

If you get a 3 family house, one difference is that the insurance increases 3x of a single or 2 family house (at least in NJ). Otherwise, still very similar process to single family.

If you mean 20-100 units, well thats a whole other story...

You need to hire an architect first for a job like this. The GC won't know how to design a new unit to meet building code. You will need architectural drawings to file for building permit. Architectural drawings will also help you get a more accurate (and therefore likely lower bid) from contractors. 

@Luke Wolmer Yes, I'm familiar with the Communipaw area. It looks like a great area to house hack. The Foundry is a great development in the area. (https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Foundry/@40.... ) 

And I forget the name of the street with a few  unique little shops....definitely has potential.

Liberty State Park is nearby which is a beautiful park. 

I heard the commute can be disappointing (the train can be infrequent) but maybe this would change over time as more people commuting to Manhattan move in. It can also feel more disconnected from the rest of JC with all the highway off ramps and underpasses..kind of reminds me of a mini version of Red Hook, Brooklyn... 

Fantastic renovation @David Bergmann! Great design choices. Beautiful furnishings too!

@Charles Mitchell Jersey City varies greatly depending on the neighborhood. The neighborhoods span from luxury highrise condos to 1-2 family class D sketchy neighborhoods.  Jersey City Heights and Journal Square are hot and expensive but have multifamily houses that are house hackable. It makes sense to house hack in these expensive neighborhoods if you are commuting to NYC for a job/ salary that justifies living in an expensive area. You can lower your housing costs by house hacking but you will not live for free or make any additional cash flow in these areas. A 2 family house sells in the 750k-1.5M range in these areas.

Bergen-Lafayaette is another area that is hot these days. Personally I find this area still too sketchy to live in for me. But the hipsters are moving in and this neighborhood will be totally transformed in 5-10 years. A 2 family house sells for 500k-950k  in this area. 

There are parts of JC where you may be able to get a 2 family house for 350K. Or more realistically 400-600K. These are class C/D areas so you need to visit these areas to see if you would be comfortable living there. 

I would recommend checking out Union City, North Bergen & West New York. These are more affordable than the better areas in JC and still relatively safe, nice places to live within easy commute to NYC. A 2 family house would go for 400-900K. 

On the lower end (400k) you could get a 2 bedroom with a studio in-law suite and if you could live in the studio and rent the 2 bedroom then this would be a great idea! 

@Jennifer Meier if this is your house and money on the line you should be more proactive. You need to put pressure on your contractor to do what you are paying him to do. He should be at the building department every day until the permit is approved. I would say some harsh words are in order... Definitely don't let months go by. 

Although your contractor should be taking care of it, you should still get the list of objections they have and address them yourself, one by one. If your contractor says he already addressed them, ask for proof and then go to the building department yourself with all responses itemized. Be organized, polite but persistent, get a meeting with an examiner and leave with permit in hand.

@David Olson looks great so far! Great choice to open up that kitchen, it makes a huge difference. 

@Zoey T. Are you sure you would prefer to have a community facility tenant? In NYC there are incentives to providing spaces in residential developments reserved for community facility uses. Many new developments have them and just from my anecdotal experience, developers seem to have trouble finding tenants to fill these spaces. They still keep including them in new developments because the incentives are still worth it. But if you have an existing house in the NYC area, without knowing specific details I would guess a residential tenant would be much easier to find and more profitable for you.