Hello from Forest Hills, Queens! Newbie looking at Albany area.

[Michael Powers]

I'm new to this website and to real estate investment in general. I've learned a lot from listening to the podcasts and reading the wonderful BP articles.

I've been looking to invest in buy and hold multi-family homes in the Albany area. As of right now, I am very interested in Watervliet, NY.

I can't really get the cash-flow numbers to work in the Queens area, (I'd love to talk with investors in Queens) but the numbers seem to work very well a few hours north from here. It appears that there is a good number of multi-family homes, and a reasonable unemployment rate in Watervliet.

Troy, NY also seems good, but the unemployment rate is a bit higher, and that seems like it may cause some problems with rent collection.

I'm looking for any advice that the BP members can offer. If anyone also invests in the area and is willing to talk with a newbie who has a lot of questions, please say hello.