All Forum Posts by: Max Vishnev

Hi Anthony and congrats on this first important step -- the decision to "house hack".  As some of the other members have mentioned, Jersey City has many different sections, all with different price points, housing stocks, and demographics.  Do you have a price point in mind?  That will really help narrow things down.  And on a related note, what are you targeting as your net monthly housing expense (all expenses minus rental income)?

I'm a local agent (and house-hacker) and would be glad to help you.  Shoot me a PM if you want to chat off line.

@Jerell Edmonds, great question.  If you can afford and get pre-approved for a duplex -- whether as a "house-hack" or as purely an investment property, why not do that?  Unless your market is mostly single-family homes.  The monthly overhead on a duplex won't be that much higher than on a single-family, but you can benefit from having 2 doors instead of 1.  So in a house-hacking scenario, you have rental income to offset your overhead and lower your housing costs and as a pure investment, you have rent from 2 doors instead of 1, which lowers your risk in terms of vacancies, dead-beat tenants who stop paying rent, etc.  And it's not like owning a 2-unit is "double" the work/effort of a single-family, so you'd scale up faster with a 2-unit.

Hi @Danilo A., just seeing this thread that you started a year ago.  Did you end up buying your first property?  If so, what strategy did you use?  

Besides being a licensed NJ agent, I'm also an investor with one out-of-state Airbnb (Catskills) and a 2-family house-hack in Bayonne, NJ.  Given how much competition there is for BRRRs and flips these days in NJ, I personally think that new investors looking to get skin in the game are better of either house-hacking a MF or doing a live-and-flip.  I went from being a tenant in a high-rent area (Brooklyn) to being a home-owner and landlord in Bayonne, which is booming right now, and my monthly housing costs have gone down as a result.  I've also been able to force a lot of appreciation through renovations, and with a tenant unit, I'll be able to depreciate a part of my home value annually, write off certain rehab and maintenance expenses, and benefit from rising rents over time, while gaining landlord experience in my own primary residence. 

Hi Alex,

Congrats on buying your first investment property and getting invaluable experience with the scouting, negotiating, financing, rehabbing, and renting a multi-family property!  That alone is worth celebrating, and to add to that the fact that it's cashflowing well for you is even sweeter.  Way to go and thanks for sharing the numbers.

When are you aiming to do your next BRRR? I know a good investor/house-hacker-friendly agent ;-)

Mike, I will provide another Loan Depot recommendation here and would highly recommend Shane Backer there, specifically.  He is sharp, experienced, responsive, informative, and knows the Hoboken market very well.  Feel free to PM me for his info.

@Kwame Darko as a Realtor in NJ (and Bayonne landlord), I'm amazed to find that so many landlords don't bother running credit and background checks. To me, it's a no-brainer and an absolute must for anyone looking to rent out an apt, especially since the applicants pay the $40 NTN fee.

Just to add my two cents to the many great replies here...

"Barely breaking even" can quickly and easily turn into "losing a little bit" of money every month (overestimating rents, underestimating maintenance and cap ex, higher-than-expected vacancies, just to name a few examples).  And what happens if you end up with a property that not's cashflowing (or worse, losing money every month) and there is a market downturn?  Suddently, you're stuck with a property that's not cashflowing AND not appreciating in value -- or in the worst-case scenario -- losing money every month and declining in value.

So I think the best advice is to focus on properties that would cashflow from the start and not bank on appreciation, at least not with a near-term time horizon.  That way, when the next downturn comes, you can hold onto the property and collect the positive net cashflow until property values recover.

Tamir, congrats on taking the first step, which was realizing you want to become a real estate investor.  To add to what others have written here, I would also recommend narrowing down your scope a bit by tightening your criteria.  That should help improve your focus and reduce frustration.  If you cast too wide a net, you'll just get pulled all over the place.  I suggest trying to narrow your search down to just a few markets (cities), having a max price point, etc.  And if you're looking in markets where everything gets sold way above asking, perhaps you're looking in the wrong markets.  

Also, your approach would differ if you're looking for a purely investment property (to buy and rent), or one to "house hack" (live+rent).  

Another important consideration:  Have you been pre-qualified yet?

@Jake May Hi Jake, as other members have pointed out, you're not going to get much in Astoria within that budget these days (or most parts of NYC, for that matter).  You may be able to find a single-family in ungentrified parts of Jersey City, if you have a higher risk tolerance. 

The good news is, since you work remotely and the price point is your #1 priority, you can definitely find great house-hacking opportunity in Jersey, just slightly farther away from Manhattan.  For example, you can get a single-family home in Bayonne, NJ, with a finished basement that you can Airbnb, within your budget.  Bayonne is booming right now.  Or you can get a legal 2-family in Elizabeth, NJ, and find a quality long-term tenant for one unit, while living in the other.

If you're open to looking for house-hacking opportunities in NJ, feel free to send me a private message.  I'm house-hacking a 2-family in Bayonne and have helped other young investors looking to house-hack in NJ.

@Jeff Byrne I've been there many times in my life. I think most people are generally pretty risk-averse and would rather maintain the status quo than "rock the boat". They then project this risk aversion onto others, especially those more willing to take risks. It's a coping mechanism to help them feel better about their own missed opportunities and regrets. It makes them feel better about their own inaction.

Finally, your willingness to take risks and break norms is often perceived as a threat, even if just subconsciously, which may explain the negativity or even hostility sometimes from people close to us.

Your best bet is to ignore the naysayers and move forward, assuming you do your homework and are willing to honestly re-evaluate your situation from time to time and be open to constructive feedback from experienced individuals.