Thoughts about investing in NJ multi-family properties?

[Peter Fokas]

Been researching multi-family properties in Newark NJ and Harrison NJ based on their proximity to mass transit (path train). Anyone have any experience in these areas. Any recommendations whats a good cap rate? NJ is in a state of flux if you ask me with the oustanding foreclosures and Hurricane Sandy so would be interested to hear from current property owners.

[Freda Johnson]

A great resource is REIS. Multifamily market data can be viewed as well as other commercial real estate data can be found there. Another great resource is Loopnet. I caution you however to never trust the cap rate in the property listing! However, if you sign up with Loopnet and pay the annual fee, you will find it as a great resource for market data i.e days on market, price sold, property financials, employment statistics, zip code / city statistics, demographics, etc. At then end of the day, as an investor, you have to analyze the deal, run the numbers and look at the other factors that have a direct and indirect impact on the property and neighborhood. As I mentioned I specialize in the commercial properties and also hold my Masters in International Real Estate. I can send you a few quick ratios that can help you analyze the deal and better understand cap rates.