Pondering a deal in Northern NJ

[Mark McGillicuddy]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking into purchasing my first property, a multi-family house in Northern NJ to live in. My ideal scenario is to live here for a few years and eventually purchase a single family and keep this for rental income.

The house is currently vacant and already has 5 offers. It's been on the market for less than a week.

Here are the stats:

• List Price: $450,000
• Annual Taxes: $10,500
• Units: 2
• Rent Est Unit 1: $1500 (i would live in this unit)
• Rent Est Unit 2: $2500

Putting down 20% I estimate my PITI to be $2,771 (at 4.25%)

Positives on this property:

• Located in an "up and coming" part of town, where the town is in Phase 3 of a development program
• The second unit is two floors and has the bones/access to be split into two separate units with relatively minimal investment (basically adding a kitchen).. pending zoning approval of course

My concerns are that while the property certainly has potential, the current rent rolls are a lot more attractive in the 425k range than 450k.

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!