New Jersey Real Estate

[Luis Valdez]

I am new to real estate, After doing some research, I’ve been wanting to jump in head first. However, I have seen things that turn me off such as NJ having the most foreclosures in the nation. Also, NJ leads the nation in property taxes and are expected to go up. I would like some insight. What are NJ investors doing to make up for these bumps on the road? What’s the hottest type of real estate in NJ ? (Rentals, flips, buy/hold)

[Gary Mawson]

I don’t have any issues here. It is a tenant friendly state if you are doing rentals, but if you properly screen them up front you should not have too many issues in that department. I have always used 25/40 debt to income ratios. Taxes are high but rents are also high as well. There are tons of opportunities all over the state. I started investing by focusing on the markets close to my house. We have done well here.

If you don’t own anything consider starting by buying a fixer upper duplex. It will give you money to offset your mortgage payment. You will also have the opportunity to increase the value by renovating the units and raising rents. FHA you can qualify for up to a four family.

Good luck.