need advice on long island (New York, Riverhead: real estate market, rental, how much)

[BlackHawksfan102]

i am from michigan and am looking to invest in the real estate market since it is down and was looking in long island. i looked in the following towns and was wondering if anyone would be able to give me advice regarding these towns. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

1.Wading river
2. Riverhead
3. Shoreham
4. Rocky point
5. Miller place
6. Ridge
7. Middle Island

[FrmlyBklyn]

Walter Greenspan is great with demographics.

[dman72]

Originally Posted by BlackHawksfan102

i am from michigan and am looking to invest in the real estate market since it is down and was looking in long island. i looked in the following towns and was wondering if anyone would be able to give me advice regarding these towns. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

1.Wading river
2. Riverhead
3. Shoreham
4. Rocky point
5. Miller place
6. Ridge
7. Middle Island

Are looking to move or is this just an investment?

[OhBeeHave]

Invest as in move here, or as a long distance, absentee landlord?
How much are you looking to spend?
How much/little do you wish to pay in taxes?
Are schools important?

[MataLeao3]

Michigannnnn

[Aptinvestor]

As an investment property you have to be aware that property taxes are some of the highest in the nation and will not be going down. Renting single family homes in any of the towns you mentioned is possible but the competition is great and the rental prices will most likely not cover your monthly expenses. Why have you chosen Long Island as an investment opportunity? As purely an investment for income property you could do better in so many other states with real multifamily properties available.

[RiddleMeThis]

Why in the world would you pick LI to buy a rental property? Our home prices are still some of the highest in the nation, not to mention we are only 2nd or 3rd for property taxes, which go up EVERY SINGLE YEAR. I think you could do a whole lot better elsewhere.

[I_Love_LI_but]

My answer is:

Dream on if you think LI is an investment property paradise. I assure you you would not break even, especially getting into the game today, post-huge real estate bubble.

Stick to what you know.

[Walter Greenspan]

BlackHawksfan102, in case you are unfamiliar with the local geography:

What people refer to colloquially as "towns" are actually villages and hamlets, which are within actual towns; and, because villages and hamlets are referred to as "towns", then, many times, the error is compounded when actual towns are referred to as "townships".

Also, many colloquially refer to a "downtown business district" in a hamlet as a "village".

NYS Geographic Glossary and Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource may be of some help to you in understanding the geography of "Lawn Guyland".

On LI, You Ain't Where You Think You Are, rev. 1 may help you understand the great geographic confusions caused by non-conforming ZIP Code postal zones.


You can get a fact sheet for any city, village or hamlet on Long Island by going here American FactFinder and input the name of the city, village or hamlet for "city/town" (leave out the ZIP Code) and New York for "State", and then click "GO".

You'll get a lot of demographic, and some economic, statistics for the city, village or hamlet you selected, and if you click on "Reference map" (it's on the right hand side), you'll get a map.


When you do find a property that you like, you can find out in which community (city, village or CDP) that house is actually located, which is oftentimes different from the community named in that house's mailing address, by using the Census Bureau's online address search function. (CDP or Census Designated Place is the Census Bureau equivalent for a hamlet in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.)

And, very importantly, among other things, the Census Bureau's online address search function also indicates in which school district an address is located.