First time Home Buyer from NY to NJ (Jersey City, Bayonne: apartment, rental)

[npumcrisz]

I am a first time home buyer from the Bronx, NY. I want to move into a good but cheap location in NJ within 45 minutes drive to Manhattan.

I'm looking for
*A multifamily home- at least 2 family homes with lowerlevel - but prefer 3 family homes.
* 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms at least
*Parking lot is a must and building close to the path / light train.
*Concentrating within or around Jersey city - no Bayonne.
*Building can't be older than 2 years with little or no maintenance necessary.
*Building under contruction okay.
*Cheap / reasonable property tax- (8000 max)
*Price range 450-500 thousand.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by npumcrisz

I am a first time home buyer from the Bronx, NY. I want to move into a good but cheap location in NJ within 45 minutes drive to Manhattan.

I'm looking for
*A multifamily home- at least 2 family homes with lowerlevel - but prefer 3 family homes.
* 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms at least
*Parking lot is a must and building close to the path / light train.
*Concentrating within or around Jersey city - no Bayonne.
*Building can't be older than 2 years with little or no maintenance necessary.
*Building under contruction okay.
*Cheap / reasonable property tax- (8000 max)
*Price range 450-500 thousand.

LOL - I was going to recommend Bayonne. Oh well. Have you checked realtor.com?

[npumcrisz]

tahiti
why would you have recommended bayonne?

I understand taxes and price of homes are high there, am I wrong?

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by npumcrisz

tahiti
why would you have recommended bayonne?

I understand taxes and price of homes are high there, am I wrong?

because it meets most of your criteria:

* A multifamily home- at least 2 family homes with lowerlevel - but prefer 3 family homes. - BAYONNE IS TEEMING WITH 2/3 FAMILY and APARTMENT BLDGS - THE MAJORITY OF HOUSING IS MULTI FAMILY
* 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms at least
THE "NEWER" (LESS THAN 30-40 YRS) SHOULD HAVE THIS
*Parking lot is a must and building close to the path / light train.
A LOT OF THE HOUSES HAVE DRIVEWAYS AND YOU CAN FIND THIS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF LIGHT RAIL
*Concentrating within or around Jersey city - no Bayonne.
*Building can't be older than 2 years with little or no maintenance necessary.
BAYONNE RECENTLY BUILT A LOT OF NEW 2+ FAMILY HOMES
*Building under contruction okay.
*Cheap / reasonable property tax- (8000 max)
THIS REALLY DEPENDS - MOST OF MY FRIENDS PAY RIGHT AROUND 8k FOR MULTI FAMILY PROPERTY - YOU MAY FIND LESS, OF COURSE YOU MAY FIND MORE....
*Price range 450-500 thousand.
POSSIBLE IN BAYONNE - BUT RENOVATIONS MAY BE NEEDED.

Tell you the truth - I don't think you'll find exactly what you're looking for anywhere - especially no maintenance/updates/brand new for those taxes and at that price. Bayonne comes pretty darn close though.

[npumcrisz]

Tahiti

Thanks for your detail input.

I'm looking at multifamily homes in order to get some rental income. Is bayonne or Jersey city preferable?

I'm a single Healthcare professional, I don't like to be disturb with constant noise or frequently looking for "tenants". So my next question(s),
*Little or nor noise pollution?
*High or somewhat high demand of renters?

[royceb]

Originally Posted by npumcrisz

I am a first time home buyer from the Bronx, NY. I want to move into a good but cheap location in NJ within 45 minutes drive to Manhattan.

I'm looking for
*A multifamily home- at least 2 family homes with lowerlevel - but prefer 3 family homes.
* 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms at least
*Parking lot is a must and building close to the path / light train.
*Concentrating within or around Jersey city - no Bayonne.
*Building can't be older than 2 years with little or no maintenance necessary.
*Building under contruction okay.
*Cheap / reasonable property tax- (8000 max)
*Price range 450-500 thousand.

2 bedroom condos go for $500,000 in the Hoboken/JC area so I doubt you will be able to find a multifamily in a decent area for that amount.

[npumcrisz]

Tahiti

*Let's say I forget about the property tax. What price range would I find a multifamily [2/3] home for?
*I looked at the Star Ledger to compare tax rates in Hudson County and Jersey City was around the middle-so wouldn't worry that much.

[npumcrisz]

royceb

By decent area- what do you mean?

Which areas are decent in Jersey City?

[royceb]

Originally Posted by npumcrisz

royceb

By decent area- what do you mean?

Which areas are decent in Jersey City?

A good portion of Jersey City is quite dangerous - lots of crime. Some of the better areas to look in are around Paulus Hook, the Harborside area, and Newport/Pavonia. But you will probably not find a 2 family home in those areas for less than $700,000 if 2 Bedroom condos are going for $500,000.

[downtownjc]

The only two-family homes in most of the Downtown area are brownstones, and only ones in very poor repair would be found for less than $750K.

Most of downtown should be fine (except for the area by the Holland Tunnel and the western part of downtown right by the Turnpike.

In Jersey City you might want to look at the Heights, which has plenty of 2-family and 3-family homes, many of which will be in your price range. Bayonne would probably be a good option too.