All Forum Posts by: Domenic Bussanich

Hey Andrew, I am very familiar with the area you speak of as I grew up in palisades park. The area has seem tremendous appreciation. Taxes and property values are high, but as you here on most BP podcasts, you can make investments in any market as long as you put in the time and effort and stick to your numbers. Good luck on your investing career and feel free to PM me with any questions.

Hey Andrew, I got my start in REI from meeting people through BP. I was able to offer my skills in technology to build the brand's website, create real estate scripts, and automate other parts of the business. In exchange, I gained a very valuable mentor. I recommend this route. Offer to help someone (bookkeeping, accounting, RE Valuations, etc.) in exchange for som education and hands on experience. You will learn a lot, not only about the Northern Jersey market, but about real estate investing in general.

Dylan Pereira I would give the same advice for finding both investor friendly contractors as well as real estate agents. You want to use people who invest themselves. It is very important to work with people who understand how REI works. I would recommend a mortgage broker as they can shop around for you to find a bank that will approve you today rather than waiting.

Prem Schoff The northern Jersey market, at least from my experience, is difficult to find cash flowing deals especially living in one unit and with the high property taxes that the area demands. You will find that the older properties will have lower property taxes, but beware these houses have much more risk. I've been looking at areas such as Garfield, Jersey City, and Union City, which have older 3-4 family homes that cash flow positive even while living in a unit. Continue looking and you will find.

I have similar advice as Michael Lee and Dave Cali . You will be better served looking at areas outside of Bergen County. The reason for asking about your sources for your property search is that the more creative you can be about sourcing properties, the more successful you can be in this very competitive market. Good luck Nikolaos Makridakis

Nikolaos Makridakis How have you been looking for properties? What resources have you used?

Riquelmy S. Welcome! One of the best experiences for me was finding a mentor. It will really help you get started and understand Real Estate investing. Thankfully there are many great resources out there, and BiggerPockets is one of them.

Chris L. It is a challenging market, but work hard enough and put yourself in a position to succeed and you will. Do your homework and you can find worthy deals in either area, you just have to be creative!

Hi Bill Leonard - Thanks, will reach out as I am looking to work with a private lender in the near future.

@Mark Nolan - Gotta love those podcasts.  Put them on everyday during my long work commute.

@Account Closed - Zillow is a great tool to learn about all the neighborhoods around you including ratings of schools, average property taxes, and median household income.  There is so much information you can obtain from different real estate websites to allow you to learn as much as possible about your neighborhood.  One of my expertise is working with data, especially in Excel.  I'd be happy to help you organize your data making it more manageable and easier to interpret.

I share the same strategy as yourself.  I would like to build a portfolio of cashflowing properties, at least to start.  I think its a great way to get your foot in the door, but only after you know and understand your market so you can make the best educated decision possible.  But as you will hear on almost every podcast, there will always be a learning curve when you start out - hardly ever will you hear someone strike gold on their first deal.  It's about being persistent and learning from your mistakes.