Where to buy commercial property? (Newark, Passaic: 2013, lease, refinance)

[astrocytoma]

Thinking about investing in commercial property either in the form of Multi Family, or Mixed use MultiFamily+Retail.

I'd like to limit myself to Hudson/Union/Essex County.

In Essex County, Newark is ruled out since for lack of a better word it a shole with no redeeming qualities or ability for gentrification.

Morris is pretty much dying, Passaic is a mess, and Bergen is saturated. The above 3 counties IMHO show greatest chance of booming over the next 20 years.

My budget is around $2.6M stretched between multiple properties or 1 property.

Where do you suggest I focus on? And would N-NJ be better than Manhattan (where in my budget I'm mostly looking at Harlem/uptown), or Bronx, or Brooklyn?

Manhattan is a 5%-6% cap rate market like Brooklyn.
Bronx is 6-8% cap rate.
Union/Essex also seem to be 6-8% cap rate with Hudson coming in at 5-6%.

[HudsonCoNJ]

If it were me, I would stay away from residential. Buy a commercial building and lease the units to doctors/dentists for their practices. Probably the most secure tenants you can ask for.

[astrocytoma]

Originally Posted by HudsonCoNJ

If it were me, I would stay away from residential. Buy a commercial building and lease the units to doctors/dentists for their practices. Probably the most secure tenants you can ask for.

In an ideal world that would be possible but it’s hard. Tried in my building in union county. Even invited the doctor my to my home, and gave him every incentive in the world including low rent, and I would pay for his construction costs. He still said no, and instead bought a building himself.

Right now I only have retail. I feel with rise of e commerce the best transition would be to retail mixed with residential.

Hudson county is clearly the #1 county in terms of potential over the next 20 years. There are a ton of mixed use properties. 1101 summit ave in union city which I looked at a few seconds ago fits the bill. 6% cap rate which I may be able to negotiate up to even 6.5% or 7%.

But my only worry is why don’t go for the prize? Why settle for less?

Manhattan is the crown jewel. Why limit myself to Hudson County?

I know of a mixed use property in Midtown Manhattan that was purchased for $100,000 in 1973. The owner survived the turbulent 70s/80s. By the time Giuliani brought the city back to life he saw a boom in his property value. The owner did minor cosmetic changes. Today the property is worth $25M and comes with a $250k property tax.

I know it’s worth $25M because he took a cash out refinance on the property for $15M in 2013. The Bank’s valuation was $20M assuming 70% LTV.

You can’t always plan life out but I’m trying my best to do so with my hard earned $700k capital.

[Wells5]

Have you looked into real estate investment trusts (REITs)? The reality of owning and managing real estate can be a rude wake up call for investors.