Looking for advice on an Owner Occupied Investment in NJ

[Eugene Harris]

Hello everyone in the BP community, hope all is well with you all.  My name is Eugene Harris and I've been on BP site for a few months now and recently registered as a member about a month or two ago. I created my first forum post and received a lot of feedback and that really made me happy and thankful to know that there are people who are willing to give their advice and input regardless of how successful they are.  So again, thank you for all of the replies and warm welcomes everyone has given me.  Since then I've continued doing some research on real estate investing and just finished up Brandon Turner's book on Investing in Real Estate with No and Low Money Down.  It was a wonderful book and I've learned so many ways on how to be creative and invest in real estate.  

Now it's time to go ahead and jump in! I don't want to be that individual who reads ands reads daily about real estate investing but never jump in and try to do it. With that being said, I have came up with a starter plan where I think it's the best starting point for me before moving on to rehabbing and flipping properties. I would like to start with an owner occupied investment property. I want to find and purchase a duplex using a FHA loan and live in it while fixing it up and renting out the other side. With me being only 22 years old with no wife or kids, I feel like this would be a perfect starting point.

The problem/situation I'm dealing with at the moment is the numbers and analyzing the property.  I've read a lot and studied a lot to know that this real estate business is not easy and you can make a lot of mistakes if your numbers are not accurate.  So I can honestly admit that I'm stuck on the numbers and don't have a system in place at the moment where I could plug in numbers to determine the cash flow I would be receiving.  I know the basics such as first looking at the price of property, taxes and insurance, mortgage, monthly income from tenant next door. Are there any other factors I must include? So far, these are the questions I have for myself at the moment:

What factors must you include in your mathematical system?

How to estimate expenses on a rental property?

Best method for finding and analyzing properties?

What makes this is really a good deal?

These were the first four questions I came up with once I decided that I wanted to take the Owner Occupied route.  Please feel free to add in some questions I must ask myself and also any advice on what you would do if you were in my shoes.  Again, I am a complete newbie to real estate investing as you can see, but I am also a believer and I believe that I will become successful in this business down the road.  I love reading about real estate investing and I am determined to become great at it and make it my full time job, with proper guidance I know this dream can come true.  Please feel free to contact me at anytime, I'm always interested in discussing real estate investments and opportunities. Thank you all in advance and I apologize for the long post.