I called the zoning department and they are telling me this is a Mixed use building (N zone).

That 36% rent increase while keeping happy tenants shows how smart and intentional you are about building relationships, not just cash flow. 

.✅ Building strong relationships and partnerships.✅ Exploring creative ways to get deals done, even without a ton of upfront capital.I know that success in real estate is a team sport.

Build relationships and you'll find offering services well come. 

Assessments in NJ are not done on sale, unless it's a new build or a complete renovation where the permits tip them to reassess, so every three years or so they reassess all of the properties and taxes go up most of the time.

Build a local team of real estate agents, property managers, and CPAs to navigate local laws and manage your property.

Anyone who managed to do this probably did it 5+ years ago when the market was very, very different.If you borrow $200,000 to build an ADU, I suspect you would need to rent it for $5,000 or more to make the numbers work.

But keep in mind if your using money you cant afford to get back then buying action property might not be appropriate for your current endeavors and its better to just buy open market were you can do proper due diligence and know you have a build-able site.

To save those costs, you might want to stick to some year build and older, for example, if you cannot do inspections on the properties that you are buying due to off-market deals or something else that is hindering you (all sellers I buy from do not want anyone in the home till we close).

I'm finding that this strategy is helping people, building repour with people, and continuing to keep business moving forward while some say it's hard and sit on the sideline to wait until there is mass movement.Appreciate your time and reply and good to hear that you're experiencing some similar action a couple hours' drive away.