New York City market - investing in rental apartments

[Derek Melander]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to purchase my first investment property (apartment in condo building) in either Manhattan or Brooklyn. I am just wondering what kind of GRM i should expect in such a competitive market? I have learned that in other areas of the country I should not purchase a property for a GRM of more than 8 but I'm sure in NYC I will not even come anywhere near that. My main goal here is to pick up a decent NYC apartment, rent it out, have an ROI around 10% and hold the property 20-30yrs. Would love to hear thoughts from experienced investors out there, especially those in NYC if possible.
Thanks,
Derek

[Steve Wilcox]

IN NYC and many other major metro markets with super high prices you are not buying for cashflow. The sales prices simply do not match up with the rental amounts. People who are buying there are either doing major re-positioning - i.e total renovation of building or space and/or betting on huge appreciation.

Waiting for the investment to pay off for 15 years is a very slow slow process. I for one do not feel like waiting 15 to get a few thousand a month assuming that the market stays as hot as its been for the past 20 years. (at one time NYC was a dangerous place to be and not highly sought after in the early 90's)

You need to expand you horizons to less expensive areas if you hope to get cash flow from rental properties, or be a very patient person with lots of disposable income to park