All Forum Posts by: Nelly R.

@Ben Be sure!

@Ben Be Congrats on making the decision to dive in! I can only vouch for Camden as I'm a buy/hold investor and Realtor in the area. Camden can be "street by street" in terms of good vs bad areas, so it really depends on where you buy. Lots of families like to stay there because that's where they were born/raised and that's where their supports are. Their law enforcement has changed for the better over the past several years and officers are more present in the streets and are seen interacting with the residents. I have gotten decent rents and appreciation so no complaints here. Eceryone needs a place to live so as long as the numbers work for you, go for it! You will need a solid team regardless of where you invest as the deal can go south really fast! Good luck in your journey!

@Miguel Quintana Hi, I'm a Realttor and Investor in that area. Lmk if you have any questions!

@Teresa Gimenez congrats on getting started! I invest right next door (Camden). I have clients who have purchased in G. City as well. In my opinion, people will always need a place to live. I try my hardest to make smart decisions, but I can't worry myself trying to predict how the job market will look in the future. If so, I will never invest. Just buy low enough so that it doesn't impact you as much, have reserves for vacancies, screen your tenants VERY WELL, and you'll be ok. Good luck!

@Kimberly Carver I'm further down in South Jersey and I too am wondering where he is! I currently invest in Camden and you can't even find a $50k renovated duplex there! Lol....I do have an idea where he may be though.

@Kingsley Obasi when they inquire about renting my property I have a list of preliminary questions. If they pass that they can view the property. I check social media pages, look at places of employment, etc. If they are interested they can apply and pay for the background checks. I try to stick with my criteria. I prefer section 8 and screen the same with those applicants as well.

@Anthony Vigilante it may not be the best advice, but I mainly look at cashflow. In some areas you can't get good cashflow and appreciation, so I choose cashflow every time. In Camden, the cashflow numbers work extremely well. I found properties that were super cheap and forced appreciation into them by doing complete rehabs. I've also purchased some that didn't need as much work and the numbers still work out great. I find that making the systems (electric, hvac, plumbing, roof, etc) new avoids getting calls from tenants. I make my places very nice to attract better tenants I also screen the heck out of my tenants. So far so good. I cashflow at least $400-500 per property.

With your budget I'd have a ball in my area! There's no way I'd that on one property, unless it was a huge multifamily.

@Anthony Vigilante Hi! Fellow NJ investor/realtor just adding my 2 cents. Congrats on making the move! I will probably never understand how people invest that much money and only aim for $200/month in cashflow. It just doesn't make logical sense to me. I don't even know areas where you could spend that much and even get an incredible amount of appreciation to make up for it.

But then again, I'm one of the ones you mentioned who invests in Camden. Although majority of my homes have appreciated slighted (very slightly....lol), I mainly focus on cashflow....so perhaps our goals are very different. I have clients who buy in Camden and Trenton areas and their numbers are great as well. And they spend nowhere near $200-300k. I truly believe it can be done for less, or for more cashflow. You could buy multiple properties with that amount. Good luck!!

@Jean Clotaire hey there! Congrats!! I was in your shoes a year ago! I will private message you my brokerage's info. I'm an investor and work with investors. I like it there!

@Joe Edwards Thank you! I agree, I'd rather do the work now if I can, rather than have my tenants calling me every other day with issues. That's just my preference and the funds to do so.

The issue I have with some people (not saying you did this) is, they discourage new investors from buying in certain areas because of what they've heard, or maybe they've had a bad experience. This sometimes deters them from investing at all. Yes, these areas are mainly low income, but for me, buying in Camden allowed me to get in the investing game with minimal funds. Everyone doesn't have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars and I know I didn't! My first property was a $35k foreclosure and my bank gave me a mortgage on it (awkward, I know). It's a 2 bedroom, I put about $3-4k into it (paint, bathroom vanity, etc) and it rents for $1000/month. I still own it, my tenants have been there for nearly 2 years and have NEVER missed a rent payment (nor have they been late). Can't say the same for all of them now, but this experience spoiled me and encouraged me to buy more.

If I would have listened to the people who told me to stay away from those areas I would STILL be trying to save up enough to put 20% down on a much more expensive property in a "better" area. The point is, educate yourself, establish a team, get in the game and gain some knowledge/experience. Have a plan A, B, C , and sometimes D! So what if you lose money and have to sell the house! Is that the worse that can happen?! If so, I'll take it! If so, you've learned so much more from that than not doing it at all. Happy holidays to you!