House hacking opportunities within an hour commute to Midtown NYC

[Sean Tracey]

Hi, 

I kind of gave up on the idea of house hacking within my area because of a few factors:

• High prices in NY for not much value in my opinion.
• Currently like where I am living and am a bit stuck there due to it being a co-op and gf not being able to rent place out for more than 2 years at a time.

Then I thought:

• FHA loan could allow us to buy a higher cost multifamily property (if it makes sense) for very little down, and use a 203k loan to force a bump in equity if done right.
• Can live there for a year, then move back to co-op and rent out unit we're vacating. 

I haven't thought about this for too long, so I'm not sure of exactly what type of property and price point I'd be aiming for, but something like a triplex or quad for 450k or under within an hour's commute to midtown by some type of public transportation. I could potentially drive if it was an absolute necessity, but I'd rather avoid it. I'd like to buy a place that needs some work, so that I can increase my equity and try to borrow against it to fund more RE purchases. 

Any suggestions for markets or tips for making something like this work would be much appreciated. 

[Ryan Goldfarb]

@Sean Tracey - I'd recommend a few different places depending on where you need to get to in Manhattan.

If your commute takes you to Midtown East, areas along Metro-North make a lot of sense, though I don't know a ton about those areas. Guessing you'd get a little more bang for your buck in those areas as they're more suburban once you get up toward Westchester. 

If you work near Penn Station, anything along NJ Transit or the LIRR could leave you with a reasonable commute. Keep in mind that those trains will run less frequently than, say, the PATH, but they're convenient if you time the train properly. Most of these areas (in addition to Westchester) are more suburban than the options below...

Buses from the cities near the Lincoln Tunnel are an option, too, if you're looking to get into the vicinity of Times Square - Union City, West New York, North Bergen might make sense in that price range. 

For commuting downtown, anything off the PATH is convenient. Parts of Jersey City are still feasible in that price range. If you're open to taking the Light Rail to get to the PATH in the morning, that'd open up a few additional options as well. 

Other things to keep in mind - taxes and rent control laws. These will all vary by city. You should be safe on rent control on 2-4 unit properties but some towns around here can be quirky. 3-4 unit will also require a NJ state issues green card every 5 years I believe. Not a deal breaker - just nuances to be aware of.