First investment , North NJ

[Eli Aviel]

I am from New York looking to do my first fix & flip in north NJ or even suburbs of New York.

I have 40K In capital, 800 credit , I'm trying to find a way to get my first deal with those numbers (If I am too optimistic let me know in the comments) .

I'm at the point where I'm looking for areas and neighborhoods that I can make the most of with the tools I currently have, but I don't even know what to look for.

I think I'm on the right track but any suggestions or advice would be super beneficial.

[Jonathan Greene]

What kind of deal do you want to do? House hack, straight investment, single-family, multi? 40k may sound like a lot, but if you are buying a straight investment property in Northern NJ you will need 20 percent down, closing costs, and reserves of at least 10-15k. You definitely have the ability to make a deal, but you don't want to rush it because as you said, "I don't even know what to look for."

If you don't know what to look for, you have to learn more by going to meetups and reading the forums and seeing properties. You need to see 25-50 properties in person before you should make an offer and be comfortable with understanding what the costs on the calculators look like in real life. You need to build a relationship with an agent who is willing to show you properties and help you learn the values and spreads in the areas you are interested in.

You need to know your why and your goals before you put down the cash. There is also a good meetup in Montclair twice a month called Brick x Brick. You can find it on Meetup.