All Forum Posts by: James Northrup

I am owning/occupying a 2 family in the north part of East New York (cypress hills). Happy to answer any questions/give my opinions.

@Ron C.

I was in the same place as you about a year ago. I recently bought a two-family in Cypress Hills for zero money down. I used a loan program called NACA (naca.com). I don't work for them or anything, but they saved me a ton of money so I'm grateful. There are some drawbacks to their program, but I considered it a safe investment.

I definitely listened to BiggerPockets podcast and read the forum.  I read a lot.  Talked to a lot of people.  Home buying is a bunch of details, but it's not rocket surgery.

Personally, I don't find Cypress Hills "rough", but @Account Closed is probably right to call it "rougher" in comparison to some of it's neighbors.  We are finding the quality of life pretty high around here and if we want something more, like a nicer restaurant, we just go over to Bushwick.

Hope that helps.  Good luck.

Jermaine McIntosh NACA is a non-profit loan program available to anyone who doesn't already own property. They help guide you through the process of home buying. Check out their website - Naca.com . There are some serious benefits: no down payment, no closing costs, lower interest rates. It's pretty great. The loans are through Citibank or Bank of America.

@Anthony Gayden

The big expense, in my limited experience, is the home repairs. So the bigger the house you get, the more expensive the repairs are.

So far, living in a two-family house has been pretty easy. The tenants are quiet. I see them all the time and I keep it professional and friendly.

We just didn't want to bite off more than we could chew. It's all about how much time you have to do the job and the skills you have in this area. You have to deal with a lot more people in a big building.

No one ever answered my questions about how they are so different... I was worried about legal/tax differences.

In conclusion, I would just buy the best building you can. Then get the best tenants you can.

Happy to answer any more questions.

Just to follow up.  We did buy a 2-family house in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn.  It's great.  Saving a ton of money and learning a lot.  

The mayor is putting a couple Billion into this area in the coming years, so we'll see what happens.

I just bought a two-family in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn using a loan program called NACA. They don't require any money down.

The real problem in Brooklyn is that you need to pay cash for any properties in upcoming neighborhoods like Bushwick or Bed-Stuy

My wife and I will be purchasing a multi-unit building in Brooklyn in the next year, but we can't decide on how many units. We will be living in one of the units and renting out the rest.

I understand the obvious differences: sale price, downpayment, mortgage, repair costs. However, beyond the numbers, I don't really know what to think.

Are these types of buildings radically different from each other?

Which is a better investment?