Beginner Investor in NJ. Struggling to find deals

[Saif Mohamed]

Hi everyone,

I've been searching for my first rental property over the past 3 months in north jersey. I'm searching through the MLS and Zillow and finding it hard to come across good deals (12%+ cash on cash return). I'm able to find a few deals at or slightly above 12% factoring in mortgage, taxes, insurance, and 1 month vacancy. However, when I factor in 10% property management, 5% capex, and 5% misc repairs that usually brings the return down to 6 to 8%. Does anyone have any advice on finding better deals in NJ? Am i overestimating the costs with capex and misc repairs especially if it's a newly renovated property? Is 12% the wrong benchmark and is 6 to 8% actually good?