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Investing in Union City/Bayonne NJ
Hello dear BP members! I am looking to buy a multifamily property in North NJ and have been looking for a good town to invest in. Recently I have been analyzing deals in Bayonne and Union City NJ. Does anyone invest in these markets?
I like Union City neighborhood but I have heard that this town has strict rent control laws. I came across deals where the rent for 2 bedrooms was between $400-900 which I think is extremely low for Hudson county (6 units, 1930-year build, purchase price 630K, NOI 31K, cash on cash return ~2%). I wonder how hard would it be to raise the rents there?
Secondly does anyone invest in Bayonne NJ? I have heard that this area is beginning to grow and have a great potential for r.e. investors.
Would love to connect with like-minded people from the area. Thanks so much for your time and advice!
Union city’s market is exploding as well. I’ve see. 2 bedrooms for 1200-2k. Bayonne has been mixed; 2 bd for 900-1500. I have been looking in Bayonne myself. Saw a good deal and the property was under contract the next day.
Hi Juan,
Agree good deals sell very fast but they are out there. I believe this is numbers game as Brandon T keep repeating during seminars. I was also looking at properties in Jersey City, around Woodland Ave, they building multifamily apartments there. What do you think about that neighborhood?
If you're looking in JC and Bayonne I'd try to get something closer to the Light Rail.
Also, if you're not that familiar with the area the Trulia crime map can give you decent idea of how things change block to block, particularly if you're set on looking in Greenville. Not sure how accurate/up to date the data is but it's good for a quick look.
Hi Marta K.
I agree with Jason Lee . Jersey city is booming but some areas more than other. Woodlawn Avenue is in Greenville area of JC. The area is still a little under developed. PERSONALLY, i believe the area will still need some time to develop. I guess it’s a waiting and guessing game at this point. All other areas are full steam ahead
Jason and Juan thanks for advice. I did check the crime report for that neighborhood and the report was pretty scary to me around 100 offenders within couple miles from the property. I did not have a good feeling about it but someone still try to convince me that Greenville has a great potential. I passed on the deal because I though it would be tough to find a good tenant. This was a brand new construction and fully vacant.
Anyways still actively looking and BP is a great source of information so fare. Good luck with all your real estate goals.
Hey Marta - I am a Union City resident and own two homes here. As Juan said, it is exploding and usually there are multiple offers on homes that hit the market. I have been trying to find off-market deals, but that has proven to be difficult as well. My two bedroom units in UC can go from 2k-2500k depending on the finish. What I am finding in UC is that there are folks that either want the 1200-1400 apartments usually in buildings of 4 fam + which are rent controlled and then there are others that can afford the 2k-2500k for a nicer place. I think there is a market for the in-between though...the 1500k-1900k but as you said...its a numbers game.
Anyone that is looking for partners or team members...lets connect.
Hi Eric,
Great info thank you. I see that 4+ families in Union City are rent control and residential real estate are usually not? Can you recommend any good website to read more about rent control in UC? I wonder what are the rules/possibilities to increase rent in rent control commercial properties (4 + units)?
Have you heard about New Jersey Real Estate Investors Association meet up group? They have good events around the area where you can meet like minded investors, get motivated to stay on track with your r.e. goals. I go to the meetings if time allows as they are usually held on Thursday nights. Check it out and good luck with finding deals.
https://www.meetup.com/New-Jersey-Real-Estate-Investors-Association/
Hey @Marta K.,
The rent control rules varies by city, but I believe Union City and North Bergen are both 4 family plus are rent controlled and 3 family and below are not. Besides searching the various cities websites, do a search on biggerpockets, there are a couple posts on the topic.
I've heard of the NJREIA meet up group, but never attended. Thanks for the link. I am definitely going to try to attend. I've attended other meet-ups in the past. There is a great meet-up that meets in Union City.
Thanks again,
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thank you for adding valuable info to the post. Do you mind posting info about meet-up in Union City? Would love to come to one of the of the meetings.
Sure, here you go...
https://www.meetup.com/Bigger-Pockets-Hudson-County-Real-Estate-Investors/?_cookie-check=Bn6dfkdmyghYKuyi
Would someone be interested in creating a meetup foucesing only on Bayonne ?
@David Lichtenstadter I have been meaning to do this for quite some time. A monthly Bayonne meet-up would be great! How about Next Thursday June 7th at Houlihans in Bayonne. Plenty of parking.
I’ll be interested in a bayonne meet up, if it happens
Bayonne meetup group, would you consider meeting on a weekend? It may be tough to meet during the week, as it depends on a workload, traffic etc.
we would do it late in the day/early evening.
@David Lichtenstadter let’s move it to next week. I’ll start a separate page.
June 14th Bayonne meetup 7pm
That work?
@Marta K. weekend meet ups aren’t normally to successful. Especially in summer. 7pm should be a good start time
I am also interested in meeting in Bayonne, I advised here for the same like year ago, but couldn't materialized it.
hopefully me too. @Chris Daliani thanks
Hi all,
I've been looking into UC as well for multi families, not sure if anyone of you know/knew...UC amended their rent stabilization laws to include now 3 family dwellings for Non-owner occupied.
https://cecininilaw.com/uploads/3/4/4/9/34496198/o...
here is the UC ordinance online although it seems this has not been updated yet to reflect the above: https://www.ecode360.com/15397000
My question is, if you DO owner occupy a unit in the 3 family, can you then raise rents to market value?
If you acquire a 3 family, and house hack 1 unit and the other 2 units are rent controlled do you wait until their lease is up, and upon lease renewal raise the rent to market value?
Hi Terence,
Thank you for sharing this information. I did not hear about this update. I can imagine that you must wait at least until the lease is over to increase the rent and there may be a specific percentage that you can increase even for building that is not rent controlled. Maybe members who own in UC can help answering. In addition I have heard form multiple agents that UC has very difficult administration. I love the area though and still looking for a building there.
