New to Real Estate and looking to get started out of state

[Amil Muminovic]

Hello, my name is Amil. I am 25 years old and from New Jersey. I currently work an 8-5 as a Civil Engineer in the Construction Industry. I've been working for as long as I can remember from hard labor, restaurants, and retail to engineering based work and a home painting side hustle. I paid off all of my student debt before most of my colleagues even found a job out of school, and I do not have much expenses since I am living under my parents' roof. 

And old saying goes "work smarter, not harder". Although I will continue to work harder, I do want to work a little smarter. And by smarter, I am thinking passive income, Real Estate being a gateway. I have been listening to BP podcasts and doing research for well over a year now, but it was not until earlier in 2023 where I actually began pursuing properties. 

It's been quite difficult for me to get started in my home state (New Jersey) because everything is so expensive, listings and property taxes. After a lot of spent time trying to pursue homes that would always go into bid wars and get sold for 10-20% over asking, I have decided to begin pursuing properties out of state. I have been looking for properties in the Poconos, PA. I chose this area because I am quite familiar with it since I spend a lot of time there in the winter to snowboard. I am looking to pursue a property in the Poconos and turn it into a STR to infiltrate the Airbnb market.

Does anyone have any advice for pursuing properties out of state? First short term rental? How to pursue a property in New Jersey in 2023 with this influx of multi-property owners? Or any advice for getting in the Poconos market?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to connecting with you. 

[Jake Ernst]

Amil,

Connect with a real estate agent in the Poconos that specializes in STRs. They will be able to give you insight into which areas are better to invest in because some associations and townships are more strict on STRs. They can also be a good source for getting an idea of what a property would rent for and give you an idea of your return on your money. Biggerpockets has a tool that can give you recommendations for these in agents in the area. 

Best of luck!