Newark, NJ investor

[Michael Palma]

Hi all,

I'm looking at purchasing my 1st rental property in the North Ward of Newark, specifically a duplex for 100k at most including rehab. It's been about a month now that I've put the word out to a broker and have come up with nothing to date, but there are two bigger issues I was hoping someone could lend some feedback on:

- I have received a pre-approval from the bank that holds my current mortgage, and I've been advised they require 25%. I was hoping for 20% as this puts me above what I was looking to spend and suggested a 401k loan which I am not interested in doing.  Is taking a loan against a person's 401k really a good idea or common for people do do when buying property?

- My broker recently told me that deals at this price are rarely accepted on financing contingencies mainly due to appraisals. He says banks have become really strict on fixer uppers. I've read quite a bit on the forums of people buying houses in Newark with financing so I'm not sure if this is an 100% accurate and before I go and re-strategize I'd like to confirm this with some seasoned investors.

I am very interested in starting my investing career in Newark, but if there are this many barriers for me I may need to re-think things, which is fine (partner, save more, change locations etc.) Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks