The Oakland deal is attractive because you will be there to work the real estate post acquisition which will give you experience that makes you a better investor and a far stronger manager of your other real estate assets. 

It has a diversified economy with sectors like healthcare, education, and manufacturing.

Once the new supply is absorbed, and we are seeing rent growth again, which supply and demand is all but guaranteeing, not only will our project benefit from stronger rent growth, but also appreciation will accelerate as more buyers will come in helping drive up prices."

(But it wasn't apples to apples.)I looked at AirDNA's data recently and don't disagree with their broad picture but again, people here know that the details and other factors can tell a different story and bring success for some in the same area (comparables) and loss for others.I'm all about reducing risk and my read on climate data and global economies (& yes, politics) incline me toward continued investment in properties that have multiple channels of revenue, above a certain latitude, and more upscale.

They sound quite similar actually, being college towns with strong economies outside of them as well!

I’m still less than 50% leveraged so I feel comfortable if the economy crashes and I have to reduce rent or have a lot of vacancies.

I think people in this area who do commute take advantage of the easy train access and affordability compared to other areas with a stronger commercial presence like downtown Bloomfield and up through Montclair.

The Court's decision in Loper will create a sea change in administrative law with wide-ranging implications and potential opportunities for highly regulated industries, like the real estate.This will create an opportunity for more efficiency and lower costs in the real estate economy.

You don't need to put money down on a VA loan and given you won't likely be able to beat that interest rate (at least in this economy) so it would make more sense to use as much debt as you can and either pay down other debt or invest with the money you were thinking of putting down. 

Just a stronger borrower bottom line....