Trouble finding deals - Northern NJ

[Matthew Smocovich]

Hi BP,

Newbie here trying to house-hack his way into real estate investing. For background, my lease is up in July and I’d ideally like to have a property purchased and in my possession at that time. Does the timing seem doable?

I’m fully qualified for a mortgage and have a realtor that I’m working with, specifically in the Hudson County and Bergen County areas outside NYC.

I’ve been analyzing at least 15 deals a day, with cash flows consistently in the negatives. Usually within -$500 to -$1000.

Levers: 5% vacancy, 3% capital inv, 3% util, 3% leasing costs, 8% property management, and another 3% to account for PMI.

Purchase price is ideally within the range of $300-$400k.

I can’t figure out if I’m going about this in the wrong way so any advice would be much appreciated!!

Thank you,

Matt Smocovich