All Forum Posts by: Carol C.

Recommendations for a RE attorney who has experience with short sales? I’m in Bergen. Thanks. 

I'm looking for a broker who can help me find and analyze properties in Bergen County. I own my home but this would be my first investment--looking at either a condo or a small 2-family. If you have good recs, please let me know. While you're at it, if you have good lawyer recs that would be great too. Thanks.

Hi, anyone here have experience investing in Englewood, NJ or know the town well? I live in Leonia so I am very familiar with the southern portions but not as much with the rest. It’s such a big and funny town with lots of very different neighborhoods from a socioeconomic and demographic standpoint. Am curious if anyone has invested there and what your thoughts are on it from an investment strategy perspective (I know the taxes can make it rough), and if someone could give me some feel for how the neighborhoods are divided up. I am keeping an eye out for buy and hold deals but know that rents vary wildly depending on where you are in town. Thanks

Hi, anyone here have experience investing in Englewood, NJ or know the town well? I live in Leonia so I am very familiar with the southern portions but not as much with the rest. It’s such a big and funny town with lots of very different neighborhoods from a socioeconomic and demographic standpoint. Am curious if anyone has invested there and what your thoughts are on it from an investment strategy perspective (I know the taxes can make it rough), and if someone could give me some feel for how the neighborhoods are divided up. I am keeping an eye out for buy and hold deals but know that rents vary wildly depending on where you are in town. Thanks!

@Margharita Silva I would love to stay updated on what you’re seeing in Passaic. I am just starting to research the area.

@Alex V. perfect. Thank you

@Alex V., do you know if there is mortgage insurance with buying homepath properties if putting down less than 20%? And are there different requirements for homebuyers vs investors? 

@Alex V. thanks! I'll sign up for Homepath.

@Michael O. Thank you! I'll take a look. 

@Sunny Burns thanks for the helpful info. What do you mean Garfield has subsidized property taxes? I don't know that part of Bergen well since I'm more north, but I will do some research. I know people who have invested in Rutherford and been happy with it.

Sheriff sales can be great deals but those are cash purchases, correct? 

@David Michael that's my concern--been analyzing some properties just for my own education and to get a better sense of the market, and when I crunch numbers, most are not worth it because the taxes/maintenance eat up any meaningful cash flow. Duplex would be great, but obviously they're pricier so having enough for a down payment is the issue. 

@Noreen Eddy that's awesome! I would love to buy a multifamily and live in one unit, but now that my daughter is already in elementary school, I don't want to displace her and move. Unfortunately, multifamily homes are very rare in Leonia, and the taxes are so high so it's often not worth it from a cash flow perspective. I'm trying to figure out what my target market is. I have a good handle of prices in my area (Leonia, Fort Lee, Edgewater, etc.) but because it's so expensive, I'm wondering if I need to branch out a little bit. For now, just doing lots of reading and research. This is my day job anyway (doing lots of reading and research) so I'm ok with it. :) 

@Daniel Green a lot of people I talk to say the same thing--that it's really hard to find a deal on MLS. I definitely don't have enough cash to do a cash deal, so I would have to finance my first investment purchase. Where do people (who don't have enough cash for all-cash deals) find good deals--is it just a matter of finding a real estate agent who will bring you good off-market deals?