I would cut your expenses and/or increase your income so that you can get into your first deal in the future.

Follow the local expectations of the tenants that you are attracting, spreading the improvements as the budget allows. 

Basically he told me he was a CPA and mentioned that a lot of investors he does taxes for leverage everything and leave so much deductions on the table vs income...Basically he was telling that if I calculate out my deductions, I could finance only x amount to optimize my taxes and increase my Roi overall over paying all cash even with the higher interest rates on investment loans

Does anyone know how much I could expect to increase rents on a 1 bedroom condo in Jersey City each year?

New builds.....they seem attractive and sexy. 

I don't think so. our market is still expecting a wave of new residents, due to our politics, increase in jobs as major companies and filming industry moving in.

Its hard to get the balance, but you could likely increase rates and keep the same net $$, but with less wear/tear on the properties.

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) commercial investment investment.

Six unit apartment building

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
Cash flow

How did y...

I think some areas may have more homes that are in need of updating, but it's not the same as trying to find a rental that works since home prices and rents don't increase proportionally. 

In 2018 Santee saw an increase into the $520-575k range for 3/2's, giving numbers that better supported doing a master suite addition.