Newbie to real estate interested in investing in the Jersey Shore

[Maureen Campbell]

Hi everyone, 

My name is Maureen and I am completely new to real estate and to BP. I currently live in Washington DC, but I was originally born in Philadelphia. Due to my Philly roots, I have been going to the Jersey Shore (Sea Isle) for most of my life and am interested in buying an investment property in that area. Ideally, I would like to get a duplex or triplex so that I would have the option to use one unit while renting out the other unit(s) to defray the costs. I have strong ties to Sea Isle, but I am also interested in other towns further north that are a little more affordable, such as Ventnor, Margate or Brigantine (although I would like to avoid Atlantic City proper). Any recommendations that folks have regarding these areas or suggestions for good real estate agent to work with would be greatly appreciated. 

While my immediate goal is to acquire one property, I would eventually like to expand my property portfolio and create a solid passive cash flow stream for the long run. 

I stumbled across BP while I was looking for some answers to specific questions and trying to sort through conflicting advice, so I am very eager to tap into the wealth of knowledge the group has. Looking forward to sharing this adventure with all of you. 

Maureen 

[Nick Intrieri]

Welcome to BP @Maureen Campbell!

I'm primarily investing in North Jersey now, but I went to college in Philly and I was casually looking at the Atlantic City area over the summer. Atlantic City is an interesting case. There are some crazy, and I mean crazy, cheap properties down there right on the MLS. AC is very spotty right now, a lot of riff raff but some pockets of blocks in certain areas are nice. If you read some of the articles on major projects in AC it could turn around in 5 years. Richard Stockton college trying to come in plus Glen Straub trying to turn Revel into a more family friendly water park. Def a big risk right now but still interesting...

Brigantine and the surrounding beach towns are nicer but much harder to find deals. 

In every case anything in a flood zone you are going to pay out the wazoo for flood insurance. That makes it tough for the numbers to work unless you get a crazy deal.