All Forum Posts by: Diana Tian

I am wondering if anyone familiar with both Weehawken NJ and Union City NJ have thoughts on why prices in Weehawken is around $200k more than Union City prices. The homes in Weehawken near the water with NYC views are understandable. i know the schools in Weehawken are better. Is there anything else i am missing?

Hi Tyler, Welcome! 

you could check out places along the light rail which has stops at newport and exchange place where you can take path to work. 

I don't think there is cap in this case. once the house are recorded in the rent control office, you just can't raise the rent more than CPI.  

Hudson county in NJ is a good place to explore: Jersey city, union city, weehawken, west new york/guttenberg, and north bergen. They are all very close to the city, via bus, ferry, or path trains. 

Among those cities, i think Jersey city is the biggest. it has three path stations and three ferry stations that connects to NYC. the prices and areas vary a lot in jersey city.  Union city and west new york are very smaller cities but very populated, from where you can get to the NYC through different bus lines. Weehawken and north bergen are more family oriented places and have a lot of nice houses. 

Good luck!

if you live in a place for two year out of the past five years, the place is considered as your primary home. the capital appreciation up to 250k is tax free for singles and the limit is increased to $500k for married couples. 

to keep the place or not, depends on what you want to do with the downpayment. just speaking of return, besides of the $100 you keep, the mortgage is also getting paid from the rent..slowly you are building equity; after 30 years (assuming you got a 30 yr mortgage), you will own this place free and clear. on the other hand, if you have other investments with higher returns in mind, selling at a cost is also a good option. 

it is always good to have cash at hand in real estate. it will help you hedge against the rainy days. 

 number wise, they look very very close. the question I would ask is which one you prefer to live in. If the conditions and cash flows are close, I would choose the one that has better location. 

I don't have too much experience in Bayonne. I really like west New York, very close to the city. if your place is close to blvd east, it would only take 20mins or less on bus to get to port authority.  It has been very easy for me to rent out places in West New York. last time it took us 10 days to have new tenants move in. the low vacancy rate helps to reduce the expenses. 

Does anyone have recommendations for lawyers who are specialized in tenant/landlord issues, especially familiar with Hudson county: jersey city, west New York, union city, and north bergen? 

we inherited some tenants from the purchase. they are not easy to manage and created some damages to the plumbing; but they are paying the rent just always late. And plus, it is a rent controlled house. 

we wanted to get some legal advice before taking any actions.  

 thank you. I want to try to reach out to owners by mail first. I haven't done any direct marketing yet and am trying to start with the most popular way of yellow letters.....