Looking to get started - Looking to talk with an experienced NJ investor

[Mike Mullen]

Hi! 

I am looking to get started in real estate investing in Northern New Jersey.  I have an idea of what I want to do to get started but have a lot of questions and would love to pick someones brain about investing in NJ.

I would like to get started by house hacking for a year or so and build up some equity and save some cash for another after that.  

What are some of the things you would do first to get an idea of what and where I should start looking?

In the NJ market how likely is cashflow in the first two years?

Just a ton of beginner questions and would love to chat with someone about it if anyone is in the Morris County/Union county area!

Thanks in Advance!

[Nicholas L.]

@Mike Mullen

welcome.  I invest in PA and CT.  happy to help with any questions you have.  cast a wide net, get preapproved with a lender, and look at lots of properties in person.  but i want to point out something important about house hacking.  The goal is not to cash flow, and it never was.

a lot of new investors run the numbers on a house hack and get discouraged, because the rent they'd take in wouldn't totally offset the mortgage. but the goal was never to cash flow positive - that was just a feature of the market several years ago when interest rates were so low. but it's not 2016 anymore.

it's just to pay the same, or less than, you would renting.

I'm going to use simple numbers. say you could rent for $2000 a month, or you could house hack, and if you house hack, you'd still need to pay $1432 toward the mortgage after collecting rent. this is way, way better. why? because not only are you saving a few hundred bucks, you're building equity.

make sense? cool. go look at 50 properties.  good luck.