Why Invest in Real Estate in New Jersey?

New Jersey real estate investors can find real estate clubs in most of the large cities, including Mountain Lakes, Alpine, Chester Township & Newark. These groups can be formal New Jersey REIAs and Meetups or might be informal gatherings of BiggerPockets members in the state. Investing in real estate can be a pit of snakes or a pot of gold. First off, are you looking to invest for the short term “Fix up & Flip? or are you looking to buy and rent for a few years?
Each answer will have it’s own set of questions. If you are going rent, I would ask are you going to be your own landlord? or hire a management company? When you rent you need to factor in management fees, also use a vacancy factor of 25%. This 25% entails not only actually vacancy periods but also ongoing repair costs. You know renters do not take care of a home the way a homeowner would.
Next I would say don’t get caught in the trap of buying in an area that is unfamiliar to you  just because the prices are really low. There’s a reason the prices are really low and it may not be just the housing market in general. I live in Maryland and have bought, fixed up and flipped a few houses here. I also have a rental in Florida, it was an inherited property and fortunately have a good management company so have not had any issues to this point. I did seriously look at buying a few more properties because the prices were low but decided against it because, well I just don’t know the neighborhoods well enough and being so far out of state it is impossible to keep up and even do a drive by  of the properties on a regular basis.

Newark

In a typical three-family real estate investment in the Union / Essex County region of New Jersey, the property is acquired for approximately $100,000 – $130,000 per unit and will rent for $1,000-$1,200 per unit.  Thus, the projected purchase price will typically be $300K-$390K and the typical rent roll will be $3,000 – $3,600 per month.  The down payment that banks will require on an investment property is usually 20%-25%.  Many banks have lowered their required down payment to 20% in recent months, and my Firm fully expects that trend to continue as the economy recovers.  Typical buyer’s closing costs, covering title insurance, government recording charges, mortgage fees, and an attorney, will run approximately $10,000 in this type of transaction.  You will also want to have $5,000 as a reserve, just in case an unforeseen expenditure arises… Read More.

Hoboken

The condo market in Hoboken and downtown Jersey City is hot; people are are attracted to the cities’ proximity to New York City and its (still) relative affordability compared to Manhattan. But buying a piece of the Gold Coast isn’t easy: Condo inventory is low, meaning several potential buyers vie for the same property and need to find ways to make their offer stand out.

Some buyers choose less orthodox methods to stand out. Kristin Ehrgott, broker/owner at Avenue Residential, said sometimes sellers will request that prospective buyers also purchase furniture along with the condo. Sometimes the buyer will even offer to immediately close on a property but… Read More.

Cape May

Cape May is America’s oldest seashore resort, and it’s more than just a summer getaway. We have shopping, sightseeing, birding, architecture and house tours, fine dining, and nature – all year long. Cape May is known for the Mid Atlantic Center for Arts, gingerbread houses, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Cape May Music Festival, Victorian Week, and the New Jersey Film Festival … and many more events year ‘round.

Originally called the Borough of Cape Island, the City of Cape May is located on the southern-most tip of New Jersey, where Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Where the bay meets the ocean is locally known as The Rips. The fall striped-bass fishing is the best to be had anywhere. The area offers many luxurious homes on the… Read More.