I am a guess what you call a newbie but would like to think of myself as a 'smart newbie' given my long financial career. My goad is to generate some retirement income so sticking to criteria seems important as per Jason's comments. At the same time, things change, as per Arn's reply. Given I am so new to this I guess I am wondering what different criteria people use. Somehow I got in my head that I should be buying things at a 10% cap rate. In greater NYC area, that is not at all realistic. I have identified some smaller cities in the Northeast, like Albany, New Haven, Hartford, Springfield where there are much better opportunities but realize 10% cap not realistic. What I am trying to understand is if anyone on this thread has any information about the historical cap rates in these types of cities. Thanks very much for any info you are able to provide. This is my first time logging in and stumbled across this interesting exchange. If there is a more appropriate place for me to post this question where people in the northeast would be more likely to see it would appreciate anyone pointing me in that direction!!! Thanks.
