Trying to rock Rockland county

[Aram Hambardzumyan]

Hi all,

Newbie here... so bear with me, please. New to REI but want to go big. Quick background recap - own a condo, $150K loan, property should cost around $190K. looking to buy a buy-and-hold, in $200K-$250K range in Rockland county. I'm thinking single family house or a 2-3 bedroom condo. Have about $40K on hand but would prefer to not spend any of it yet. Very nervous about spending my last penny (literally) but really want to start with this RE thing. Read some books (good stuff, Brandon), understand the basics but have some questions that boil down to this:

1. Does anyone have any advice regarding investing in Rockland county - Spring Valley, Suffern, Nanuet, New City? Single family houses or condos?

2. Does anyone know a good RE agent or anyone who is selling that they can refer me to? I know a few agents but not personally so can't be sure how much to trust them. 

I'm sure these questions have been asked a thousand times before but would appreciate any help or advice.

Thanks, all.

Aram

[Allyssa Compton]

Hi @Aram Hambardzumyan. I thought I would chime in here since @Kristen McShane gave me shout out! Thanks Kristen :)

There is definitely money to be made here in Rockland especially if you are thinking about buy and hold for Single Family Homes. Condos can be a bit tricky since many of the HOAs restrict renting to some extent but if know which complexes are rental-friendly, it is definitely do-able. @Angie Williams is dead on when it comes to Haverstraw. The majority of residents are renters so vacancy rates are very low there. 

I think the most important question here is whether you are looking for turn-key or something that needs work (and how much work?). If you are worried about using up all of your reserves, it sounds like something turn-key is more of the priority. In that case, @Michael Gessner is correct that you are up against investors who are all-cash and quick close. But if you are willing to put work into a SFH, that's a different story.

Feel free to PM or reach out to me! I work with investors here in Rockland and would be happy to help answer any questions you have. In addition, I run the local REIA which meets on the second Wednesday of every month. We would love to have you out for a meeting and you can talk to people who are making it work here in Rockland.