This is my experience and my opinion. First thing, be mindful of brokers looking to sell you or saddle you with unprofitable properties just to make a sale. Protect yourself by truly learning what it takes to maintain a property and understanding all the obvious expenses and the not so obvious. Everybody wants to be a real estate investor, but because very few understand what it really takes, lots of people walk away disillusioned and losing some of their money. New York, NJersey and Connecticut have lots of very high income people with equally high net worth. Real wealth not hood rich. For the few properties that might make you some money, you will be competing with tho$e people. The very few profitable properties are in need of significant repairs or the result of a situation or a rare set of coincidences (divorce, estate sale, bank short sale, etc). Again very few and far in between. You must have a team lined up, an honest broker who will work for you to bring you what you have defined you want. A mortgage broker and an attorney. If it needs repairs, you'll need a good contractor and have him be part of the inspection process prior to making the actual purchase. You want him prior because he will see repairs that your untrained eyes just won't see.
Spend time learning how to identify profitable properties. BiggerPockets published the enclosed link to help with that. Study it and learn how to do it quickly. BiggerPockets has many amazing episodes also. Listen to at least 100 of them before buying your first property.
I have been sitting on capital for quite some time and unable to catch a profitable multifamily, let alone an apartment. Main reason: even with a hefty downpayment, the numbers don't work out. The acquisition price is too high making the income one could get for the rental not enough to make a profit.
I concentrate in The Bronx because pricing there is lower than other boroughs. I'm fully aware that rents are also lower, but when you look at the ratios of purchase price to income, you'll see what I mean. This is also a borough that I know well and can identify the renters that certain areas are likely to attract. I also know which areas to stay away from because The Bronx has a lot of low income housing that I don't have the experience to deal with. Know your market and know what you are willing to do, how many hours per week can you devote to manage your properties in case you choose to self-manage.
Once you identify a property you like, do the footwork. Assuming that you already know a bit about the area and the population, drive to the neighborhood and walk around at different hours. I have sat inside my car and watched an area for hours just so I could get a real feel for the area. Is there a neighbor that places his speakers on his windows to blast his music? How is parking? Learn a bit about the schools in the area so that you can contribute in writing a good ad for your rental. This is your hard earned money and you must protect it by doing all you can to avoid surprises.
Good luck and come back and tell us how you did.
