Newbie Brooklynite looking for first house-hack in Jersey City

[Ashkan Eslami fard]

Hello Everyone. 

I am a new member of the forum (though a seasoned consumer of BP media of all sorts). I am currently in Brooklyn, looking to buy my first two-family house-hack in New Jersey with a low-down primary residence loan and live in it for a year or two before moving to the next. I already have an official approval letter and am working with an agent to find deals (I am going into this with my partner).  

My strategy with this is a buy-and-hold mixed with a little bit of BRRR -- I would renovate the unit I live in slowly and move on to the next before considering a refinance but this will all depend on how things play out. As an architect/designer I am confident I can make my units more desirable than the average listing in, say, Jersey City. I keep analyzing deals but I am realizing that none seem to cash-flow (starting in 2nd year considering I will be collecting only one unit's rent in the first).

If anyone has similar experience in this market, I would really appreciate your feedback. Is this not a beginner friendly market? We're considering being close to the light rail (that connects to NYC) to ensure appreciation and demand as people get priced out of the city.

Thank you for your time and looking forward to your thoughts!