Water Crisis in Newark

[Ley Nezifort]

Hello Newark Investors, 

        I wanted to reach out to a bigger audience and get some thoughts regarding the Newark Lead crisis which has contaminated the water and how this might impact the real estate market there. Do you guys think this might be as bad as Flint Michigan? From my experience, it seems like the market is still very competitive there because a lot of properties have multiple offers, but could it just be a matter of time? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Thanks, 

Ley  

[Mac F.]

1. The idea that there will be no cost for replacement to property owners is political spin. The plan is for the replacement to be funded by a bond taken out by Essex County.  My guess is that the bond will be funded (at least partially) by property taxes.
2. There is a piece of this that may have a bigger impact on Newark and NJ landlords:

Since the pipes are laid mostly under private property, the city cannot act unilaterally to excavate them; residents need to request a replacement and then grant access to the city’s contractors. In Newark, where 70 percent of residents are renters, it can be difficult to track down landlords.

[Mayor] Baraka said he was seeking to change that, working with state legislators to create a law or ordinance that would allow city contractors to work on private property and to fix lead service lines without permission.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/nyregion/newark-lead-water-pipes.html