All Forum Posts by: Wen Chieh Chang

Hi Brian, I am also an out-of-state investor in the RTP area. I just purchased my first house and plan to run it as a mix of MTR and STR. I am still figuring my way out. I'm happy to connect!

Thank you both for the reply. Those are excellent points. In my case, I just purchased my first out-of-state property and plan to operate it as a STR. I want to get a sense on how much work it takes to manage a STR. Since my portfolio is small, I imagine it shouldn't be too bad. It might not be the case when my portfolio grows.

Besides, I consider it as a way to borrow money from the house tax/interest-free. Since I am not buying a distressed house, I couldn't pull my equity out by refinancing. With STR tax loophole, I am able to take depreciation upfront and use the saved tax to pay my next house.

Hi @Sean O'Keefe,

I am an out-of-state investor. Can a long-distance investor be considered materially participating in their STR property? Also, how to prove

"Spend more than 100 hours on the activity and no one other individual spends more time than you do"? 

Should I keep a record of what I did and how many hours I spent on the activity every day (and also other)?

Thanks. Nice to meet you, too.

I am in a similar position. I am a newbie investor and live in Livingston, NJ. I am also considering investing in North NJ or out of state. Without knowing the house price range you are looking for, but if you are looking for the range between 350k and 550k, you can still find multifamily houses in Jersey City (07304, 07305), Bayonne, and nearby areas. Those places have good commutes to NYC and are on the path of gentrification. Lots of new apartments have come up already. How easy it is to find a deal is another question though. It is a competitive market after all. I plan to spend several months looking for deals in north NJ. If it doesn't work, switch to OoS. In any case, it doesn't hurt to start building connections with realtors and other team members in both locations. Good luck with your real estate investing journey!

Hi BiggerPockets,

I am a new investor who lives in Livingston, NJ. I am eager to build connections with investors, realtors, general contractors, handymen, property managers, and lenders who do business in North Jersey. If you are the one or have worked with one that did a great job, please refer them to me.

I am focusing on finding single/multi-family houses that need a lot of work in Bayonne, Jersey City (07304, 07305), The Heights, Union City areas. I'll finance through SFH conventional renovation loan or Multifamily fix and flip loan. I have preapproval ready and am ready to make an offer when deals show up.

Regarding the REI experience, I have a townhouse in CA and have been managing it remotely for 5 years. Besides that, I purchased and renovated my current SFH with a general contractor in 2022. I didn't know about BRRR at that time so we purchased at market value and renovation was way over budget. After educating myself with books and podcasts, I want to exercise a similar strategy to BRRR and consider flipping if cash flow isn't manageable. I am okay to leave some money in the deal considering it is a competitive market with a high house price.

I am looking forward to connecting with you!