Northern NJ first home buyer

[Adrienn S.]

Hi BP community!

I currently rent in NYC but planning to move into my first home this year (my lease is over in December so that would be my preference to find something till that time). My goal is to find a single family home about $300k or a multi family up to $400k, I would prefer the latter. As NY state has a higher price range or it is far away form the city I started looking in northern NJ in the past weeks (just browsing Zillows/Trulia..). Location wise I don't really have a preference if it is in one hour commute to Manhattan and safe. I have couple of questions concerning me now and would be really helpful to know your thoughts.

- What do you think about the current market? Is it the right time to buy in NJ now or should I wait another year to see how it looks like post-COVID?

- Do you think my price range is realistic? Prices I saw in most cases are higher but in the sold properties I see a lot which would be fine for me too.

- Which town/areas would you recommend? I was looking at Bayonne, Newark etc bc of the price but found some bad articles about safety.. so happy to hear thoughts from those who are not journalist or blogger but really know those places.

Any other considerations are more than welcome.

Thanks,

Adrienn

[Anthony Marin]

Hi @Adrienn S.I would definitely suggest you buy a multifamily property.  I started with house   hacking and it put me in a very good financial position to start my life.  If you can wait, I would suggest waiting til the end of this year or early next year to buy.  Buying in the winter is always better.  As far as location, Newark is growing at a very good pace but you do have to do your research on area.  Belleville, Elizabeth, Bloomfield and Union are all areas that are within 1 hour of NYC and you can buy a multifamily within your budget.  Hope this helps and good luck in your search.