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Anyone investing in Cypress Hills/East NY Brooklyn?
Hi everyone. I am looking to invest in a property this year, through an owner occupied FHA loan. I am renting right now close to NYC by Long Island City. As much as I love this area, prices are extremely high and not affordable for my budget. I did a search, and East New York, Cypress Hills area has been showing some very affordable multi-families. My plan would be to live in one unit, and rent out the other unit.
My only concern, is the safety. I have heard that this is a rough area. Is the area as a whole dangerous? Or only certain pockets? I did a drive through of Bed Stuy and Bushwick to scope out the area. It seems like there was a mix of nicer buildings, and older properties as well. I noticed a "hipster" vibe in some parts. Those areas are crazy expensive though.
Does Cypress Hill have potential as an up coming neighborhood for investment? I would consider the Bronx as well, but I am not familiar with the area as a whole. Are there any other areas recommended? Thanks.
I would recommend cypress hill.
I actually posted a longer message on here but for some reason it would post through
Thanks. I was browsing some listings and seen some really affordable properties (200-300k) which would be perfect price range for me. Definitely will be doing some more due diligence.
HiMichael Charles I woul also recommend cypress hills but as far as 200 or 300 for property is going to be a challenge unless you a get a one bedroom or studio but multis could reach high numbers 5,6,7s on up.
If you find anything within that price range then you should buy it tomorrow!
Average price is norm 600k + renovated sometimes you need to renovate.
The 200-300k deals in general need gut renovating and are all cash deals.
Originally posted by @Daniel Montes:
HiMichael Charles I woul also recommend cypress hills but as far as 200 or 300 for property is going to be a challenge unless you a get a one bedroom or studio but multis could reach high numbers 5,6,7s on up.
500's could be doable. Some of the lower listings I saw were actually short sales.
Originally posted by @Remo F.:
If you find anything within that price range then you should buy it tomorrow!
Average price is norm 600k + renovated sometimes you need to renovate.
The 200-300k deals in general need gut renovating and are all cash deals.
True, the 200-300k deals did look like they needed a ton of work.
Brooklyn is over unless you have a partner. East New York straight crack town because of all the project buildings. All the "hipsters" get off the L and J train just before Broadway junction. I would only invest but not live there myself.
I live in Bushwick which is also over. The worst house in the neighborhood is $800k. My family owns property there for the past 20 to 50 years. They could not have planned this. They bought when Bushwick was crumbling and even before white flight. If you want to get into east New York I believe property value will always go up. It's New York after all. There are some new construction buildings around too.
@Michael Charles I live in Cypress Hills. My wife and I purchased a two family in 2014 and it is going great. There is very low crime north of Atlantic, which is around a mile from the Cypress Hills projects. I posted about the crimes levels a while back (https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/13...). My experience and the statistics show that Cypress Hills has less crime than Bushwick, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy and even Williamsburg.
There was one house on the block that was full of squatters when I moved in, but has since been fully renovated put it on the market.
I'm very happy with our investment. It's a block from the J train, neighbors are friendly, housing prices are going up, they rezoned Fulton, Atlantic and Pitkin Ave. The first large scale developments are just starting along Atlantic.
@Tiffany Campbell Most of the hipsters get off before Broadway Junction, but a lot of the artists get off in Cypress Hills and East New York.
Good luck with your purchase! Keep in mind that an FHA loan would need to pass certain criteria to purchase a home. I saw that you mentioned 200 - 300k for a multi in Brooklyn. More than likely it would need a gut renovation, has violations, tenant issues, etc.. For renovations you can get FHA 203k loans, but for the other things you may need to pay all cash. Also note that with FHA's and multi-families, in this market, there is tough competition. The discounts that you may have once found are not easy to come by in NYC. I have had an influx of buyers who have come in to the market and think they can offer the same prices as cash buyers and that their offer would get accepted. Think about it, if you were a seller and were willing to take a 20-30% discount on a property, would you choose an all cash buyer with no contingencies, or an FHA/VA buyer with all types of contingencies, that takes an average of 2 months to close? I've seen a lot of these same buyers waste a lot of time and miss out on some potentially good properties because they were stuck on that 20-30% discount.
Check out the Bronx, I live in Throggs neck, a great area. There are other areas the are just as good.
@James Northrup correct. They don't go past Broadway junction. Just letting him know how deep they go and it's nowhere near east New York.
also the L train will be out of commission for at least a year possibly around 2018 so hopefully that's not the only train line near his investment.
Originally posted by @James Northrup:@Michael Charles I live in Cypress Hills. My wife and I purchased a two family in 2014 and it is going great. There is very low crime north of Atlantic, which is around a mile from the Cypress Hills projects. I posted about the crimes levels a while back (https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/13...). My experience and the statistics show that Cypress Hills has less crime than Bushwick, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy and even Williamsburg.
There was one house on the block that was full of squatters when I moved in, but has since been fully renovated put it on the market.
I'm very happy with our investment. It's a block from the J train, neighbors are friendly, housing prices are going up, they rezoned Fulton, Atlantic and Pitkin Ave. The first large scale developments are just starting along Atlantic.
@Tiffany Campbell Most of the hipsters get off before Broadway Junction, but a lot of the artists get off in Cypress Hills and East New York.
Thanks James! Very informative, I read your older post with the graph as well.
Originally posted by @Ceasar Rosas:
Good luck with your purchase! Keep in mind that an FHA loan would need to pass certain criteria to purchase a home. I saw that you mentioned 200 - 300k for a multi in Brooklyn. More than likely it would need a gut renovation, has violations, tenant issues, etc.. For renovations you can get FHA 203k loans, but for the other things you may need to pay all cash. Also note that with FHA's and multi-families, in this market, there is tough competition. The discounts that you may have once found are not easy to come by in NYC. I have had an influx of buyers who have come in to the market and think they can offer the same prices as cash buyers and that their offer would get accepted. Think about it, if you were a seller and were willing to take a 20-30% discount on a property, would you choose an all cash buyer with no contingencies, or an FHA/VA buyer with all types of contingencies, that takes an average of 2 months to close? I've seen a lot of these same buyers waste a lot of time and miss out on some potentially good properties because they were stuck on that 20-30% discount.
Check out the Bronx, I live in Throggs neck, a great area. There are other areas the are just as good.
Thanks for the advice. Yes, I am realizing that the cheaper properties are in terrible shape. I will take a look in Bronx as well. Morris Park and Pelham seem like nice areas. On the cheaper side how is Wakefield?
@Tiffany Campbell makes some pretty good points. I would not want to live in ENY and I would not want my wife walking home from the train by herself at night. Maybe Prices will increase and maybe not. But I wouldn't want to be stuck there if things take a turn for the worst. Listen to @Ceasar Rosas I actually live in Morris Park. You will get much more for your money and it is an extremely safe neighborhood. Prices are very reasonable there for NYC.
@Chris Rosenberg My wife has been walking from the J train in ENY (Cypress Hills) for the last two years. We both feel perfectly safe doing so. There are definitely rough parts of ENY, but everywhere I know along the J train is as safe as any part of New York.
Check out this link where I posted about this myth: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/133940-elusive-multi-family-deals-in-brooklyn?page=2#p1735922
@Tiffany Campbell Bushwick, Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, and Ridgewood are all adjacent to East New York. Those are now the havens for "hipsters" in Brooklyn. The reason I purchased in ENY is because it was so unvalued. Even when the L train shuts down, I still have the J train a block from my house.
Hi, I grew up and up until 2 years ago lived in ENY. It is much safer then it was years ago. Although certain areas are still kind of rough. (Anything past Pensilvania Ave) ex. ENY going towards Ozone Park is not bad at all though. J line (Crescent, Clevland) etc.
@Manny Vasquez Agreed. That has been my impression as well.
For some perspective on the history of ENY, check out the incredible documentary "The 75": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRTie0i_TQ
I grew up in the 75 from 63-81 we still have our house and yes it needs gutting. I don't want to walk away like my sisters do (have?). how do I save it when I can't afford the back taxes etc c 40/50 g plus 200 renovations?
Advice?
@Jackie Schnell. Hey, I will inbox you. There might be some solutions.
Originally posted by @Jackie Schnell:
I grew up in the 75 from 63-81 we still have our house and yes it needs gutting. I don't want to walk away like my sisters do (have?). how do I save it when I can't afford the back taxes etc c 40/50 g plus 200 renovations?
Advice?
Hi Jackie, your best bet would be to contact a mortgage broker and have them check out your finances, you can get the house appraised and pull some money out for renovations and to pay of back taxes. Your monthly mortgage payments would go up. I'm sure there is something that can be done in order to pay off the back taxes.
A good mortgage broker would be able to give you some sound advice on how to move fwd.
There are plenty of contacts on here who can point you in the right direction. If you need any contacts send me a message and I will pass you on some people to touch base with
@Michael Charles BUY! In about a year or two the neighborhood will turn. Millions are being poured into Cypress Hills right now. Bushwick became expensive its the new market along with east new york and Brownsville. Also try to buy a property with R6 zoning maybe one day they'll just buy your property for the land and not the house on it. BTW no one thought bushwick would ever gentrify and look at it now.
Originally posted by @Anthony Perez:
@Michael Charles BUY! In about a year or two the neighborhood will turn. Millions are being poured into Cypress Hills right now. Bushwick became expensive its the new market along with east new york and Brownsville. Also try to buy a property with R6 zoning maybe one day they'll just buy your property for the land and not the house on it. BTW no one thought bushwick would ever gentrify and look at it now.
He's right!
Bushwick took 30 years to gentrify after white flight. And the real estate market in nyc has just been way too hot. Now with the L train shutdown and prices and rents no longer increasing who knows what happens next.