New member from Jersey city, NJ & NYC

[Sunny K.]

Dear fellow BP members,

I am a newbie in NJ/NYC area just starting out in REI(buy & hold). I am a software engineer in my day job. My field, contrary to popular belief, drains out the life out of people, so I am seeking opportunities to get passive income from other sources and after reading a few general & RE specific books and listening to BP podcasts, I landed here. Have to say, Great content and community here so far.

Hatsoff to @Brandon Turner and @Joshua Dorkin - Great job guys ! Totally appreciate your efforts and down-to-earth attitude.

I am currently looking to invest in my first buy & hold rental property. Unfortunately, my area being near NYC is too expensive for the math to work out favorably so I'm looking for properties within driving range(NJ/NY/PA/MD/VA/CT). To keep maintenance low, I am thinking of buying a well kept property using a property manager for my 1st rental and want to get into rehabbing & other avenues once I have some experience. Ideally, a 2-3BR SFR or a small multi family (2-4 units) in a safe area in above states in good condition and not too old (built after 1960s) with good cashflow and appreciation chances is what I am looking for, hopefully with occupied tenants.

Location wise, an alternate thought is to find properties in developing cities in other states such as NC (Charlotte, Raliegh), TX(Dallas/Austin), AZ(Phoenix) etc where I can fly out if needed but the thought of remote investing out of state is frightening me after reading the property manager horror stories.

Unlike a lot of people who come in excited and slide off after their 1st post, I am generally persistent about my ambitions and goals in life.

Hence, I am looking for a good team to form my network, especially for long term strategy and execution. If you are an experienced investor, realtor, property manager, turn-key rental provider or serve in any other capacity, contact me as I would like to bounce some ideas and work together. If you are nearby my area, we can meet in person.

Lastly, I have a few questions that I hope some of you can answer :

(1) Is my location/criteria above too narrow or too broad ?

(2) What are some ideal places/zipcodes in the above cities/states that are worth diving into ?

- I have a few for each city that I found interesting, should I create a new post for each city for further discussion?

(3) What do I need to know before my 1st deal so I won't screw up ?

- I know this is vague and I've read the rules of thumb (2%, 50% etc) and general red flags, but hoping you can mention some mistakes to avoid / link some posts so that others can avoid those mistakes.

Feel free to let me know if I missed anything obvious or ask any question so I can clarify more.

Also, there are a few ways I can contribute to the community here, but if someone has any thoughts, let me know so I can do something useful.

Looking forward to great things,

Sunny

[Ryan Donohue]

@Sunny K. welcome to BP, you certainly found an excellent source for guys just starting out(myself included)!  To answer your questions to my current knowledge: 

(1) Is my location/criteria above too narrow or too broad ?

-I'd say there's nothing wrong with digging deeper and research each of those areas but definitely you'll want to narrow in on a certain county(s) for your first few(my opinon).  Think about how much travel you'd like(i.e. a water heater breaks in Texas rental and you need to be on site for an eviction in NC the same time).  Maybe once you have a few in one area then snatch up another and start over so you have groupings in some hot areas?  

(2) What are some ideal places/zipcodes in the above cities/states that are worth diving into ?

- I have a few for each city that I found interesting, should I create a new post for each city for further discussion?

-I'd really narrow down the criteria you're looking for with cash flow you'd like, budget, vacancy you can afford, repairs your willing to do yourself etc...Personally, I know theres a few areas that are hot now from Montclair NJ to Bloomfield NJ.   

(3) What do I need to know before my 1st deal so I won't screw up 

-I havent done one yet so I cant speak to loudly about this but I'd just say to know the numbers until you're blue in the face.  Make sure you have done your homework on that house and know every piece of information you can in the area and have a good network of people local to bounce things off of.  (Feel free to PM if you're interested in meetups in NJ)

        I wish you the best of luck and congrats again on taking your first step by posting and taking action.  Everyone is very helpful here and dont hesitate to reach out.