All Forum Posts by: Kibby Twong

Hi there,

I own a property with a very similar structure and now thinking about converting into a duplex. Did you end up getting this done? Can you share your experience?

Update: bidding war going on already. Not going to participate. Thanks for all your inputs. 

@Darren Sager - one unit is 3br/1.5 bath and another is 2br/1.5 bath - you're thinking over 3K each? or total? Realtor i'm working with said easy to rent out at 2500-2700 each unit. 

I think the appeal is the location and this property somewhat checks off most of everything we're looking for when we plan to move from NYC to the suburbs in a few years (ie., decent commute, good school system). Purely for investment it's not that great of a deal, but I wonder if it's still a bad deal if we plan to moving there in the future and having that extra income helps to offset the high property tax. 

@Joe 

@Joe P. - Do you manage the property yourself or have a property manager? Gloucester City is a bit too far for me to self-manage, esp with young kids and full-time job. I love to hear more and connect to talk about investment opportunities there? It'll be a dream to buy a duplex for $100K with rental income of $1900!! 

Hi all, 

Not new to investing but by no means an expert. I've gotten very lucky (#blessed) in the past where I have been able to buy cash flow investment properties.. I would love your opinion here. The property we are interested in is a duplex listed for ~750K, in an area that's high tax, but good school system and close to train station. Right now we're not looking to move, so our thought to purchase and fully rent out until we are ready to move-in. The reason we are buying now is b/c its rare to find duplex/multifmailies in that area. So here's how the numbers play out:

Listing price $775K

2 unit/duplex. Each can be rented out for $2500-2700

close to train station

Taxes: $18,00 :( :( 

Our plan is 20-25% down, and after everything we're pretty much net zero. BUT, this is an expensive town so in the long run, to be able to live on one side and have some rental income helps with the property tax. For just purely investment purposes, I'm sure this is not a great deal. My mult-family investment in JC Heights gives me the same cash return, but at only about 1/2 the cost, so I know from personal experience. 

What would you do? 

Hi all, 

I also have an investment property in the Heights. It's a multi-family right off of Palisades, so for now it's been a pretty good investment. Inventory is low, which is why I think prices are kinda over-inflated for some properties..IMHO.

I recently just closed on a condo on Church St (across from train station) for $300K... I put 25% down. I'm not making a killing on cashflow, but I do cashflow positive ~200/month. There's a current tenant in place paying $2700/month... That said, I did post a question here in BP whether it was a good investment... everyone said NO.. I still don't understand why.. (1% rule, taxes too high, etc) but I bought it and I guess only time will tell if it ends up being a good investment. At the end of the day, it's not a negative cash flow, tenants paying equity, and SOMA area is pretty hot now... and I think will continue to be as long as BK is expensive :) 

Good luck

@Rich Vogel, do you buy and hold in Millburn, NJ? The investment property is actually one town over from Millburn (South Orange).. its across from the train station... I know I can rent the unit for a few hundred more (~2800) which is the going rate for the area there, so there's always that when the tenants move out. 

I always wonder how people buy and hold in high cost markets (not that South Orange is that high cost) but most of what i've read here are properties for 75K, and rents out for 900/month (generalizing here).. I wonder how investors do it areas like NYC, LA, SF.. even Millburn... 

My only experience is from my dad who has a few buy and hold properties in Manhattan, NYC ... given all the "formulas" and stuff here, it would have been a horrible buy for him. The cashflow is not the best, but he does quite alright when the properties are paid off. 

Anyways, just wanted to get public forum opinion. I'm still on the fence. Thanks for all the replies so far. 

We are putting 25% down.. so mortgage is around $1100. There's no getting around the high property taxes.. its all high, esp around that area where the school system is top notch/blue ribbon....oh and b/c it's in NJ... 

I thought the 10% rule is taking the annual rent amount, then dividing it by sale price...again, looking at it for long term investing for appreciation so we're ok with not a high cash flow.. as long as its possible, which based on our numbers, it is (25%) down.. 

We'll think about it some more. Thanks for your input!

Wait.. I don't know what the bankruptcy does to your credit score, but i'm assuming if you just recently filed for bankruptcy, it would be very hard to qualify for any loan. Will your rich step dad also loan you the money to get started? I'm in the NYC area, which I know is a different RE market. My husband and I make about 3x your income, have above 800 credit score and still jumping through hoops to qualify for a 3rd investment property (@350K with 25% down). Not dashing your dreams!! I hope it works out, but I'm surprised no one highlighted your bankruptcy as a red flag to getting a loan...unless your step dad is helping you out on your first couple, and you're able to save enough to buy more houses in cash.