Newbie from South Jersey (Philadelphia suburbs)

[Tim Dastis]

Hello all,

I'm on the verge of turning 30 next month and really want to begin investing in real estate.  I don't ever plan to make this a full-time gig as my career as an engineer is fun and rewarding, but I like the idea of owning multiple properties and the financial flexibility that comes along with that.

My wife and I purchased a new construction home in 2009 and took advantage of the $8k homebuyer credit.  6 years later we are selling our home at roughly a $15k loss, which is certainly unpleasant.  Due to the neighborhood never being finished by the developer, the area in general, and my 1 hour+ nightly commute, we were just ready to take the loss and move on.  

We are very interested in buying an owner-occupied duplex as a short term (2-3 years) plan. We would then purchase a SFH for ourselves and continue to own the duplex and rent both units. At least thats the plan for now.

If all goes well we will be closing in mid-November and moving in with my mother-in-law (yikes) while we find a place.  I think we rushed into the last place and we paid for that mistake.  My wife and I are on the same page and really want to take our time finding a deal that works in a location that improves my commute and can pull decent rent for the one unit while we live in the other and both once we move on.

We have about $15-20k liquid right now which I know isn't nearly enough.  There's about $15k in other investments that I would rather leave untouched (Roth, employee stock).  We should be able to squirrel away roughly $4k a month during our stay with family so we should be able to get enough cash together quickly.

I'm really looking in the area along the 295 corridor from anywhere north of Rt. 42 up to Mt. Laurel. Would also consider something down in the Mullica Hill/Swedesboro area (close to NJ turnpike exit 2). I've joined my local REIA and hope to make some connections through there, but would also like to hear from local investors and agents through here. I like my current realtor for selling my home but I don't know if he has the investment property experience I am looking for so if you have some experience as an agent please contact me through here.