A Real Estate Investors Guide for Highland Park NJ
Our real estate company specializes in property management, construction and real estate services in Central NJ. We manage over 100 properties in dozens of towns. One of those towns is Highland Park. We are big fans of managing property in Highland Park and we have become knowledgable about the town. Therefore, we wrote this guide for real estate investors to understand how to be successful in owning Highland Park NJ rental real estate.
Tenant Type
This is purely based on our own experience and it's not an exhaustive list but in Highland Park we come across a large amount of grad students attending Rutgers University, some hospital staff that work at St Peters or Robert Wood Johnson in New Brunswick and yuppies. The median income is strong in Highland Park and that attracts renters who can afford nicer places and who have well paying jobs.
Neighborhoods
The immediate area surrounding Raritan Ave (otherwise known as Rt 27) is a very strong rental area. The surrounding area is filled with single family homes, multi family homes and small apartment buildings. Raritan Ave is a very walkable downtown and this is attractive to renters. It also makes our job easier as property managers as there is a lot of activity blocks away that makes living in that area of Highland Park very attractive.
The area in Highland Park that is close to South Edison is a very heavily populated Asian area, with several businesses displaying signs in Mandarin. Raritan Ave runs through it but it's not as walkable of an area as the downtown area of Highland Park. It's a bit more residential, with less multi family but still an area that's a very good rental market and one we enjoy working in as property mangers.
Taxes
Okay, this is the negative about Highland Park. The taxes are really really absurd and it makes finding deals more challenging. Our real estate investor clients who buy in Highland Park typically buy because it's a better tenant class and easier to rent but the returns are lower because the taxes are so high. Keep that in mind if you decide to invest in this town but the re-sale value of rental properties are strong in Highland Park
Town Inspectors
Anytime we have dealt with housing or construction inspectors in Highland Park, it's been very pleasant. Some towns are super strict and frankly a PITA, but this town is not like that. Their inspectors are fair but firm and it's something that shouldn't go unnoticed. A nightmare inspector can make owning rental property (or managing it) a huge headache!
Location
Highland Park is practically in the heart of Middlesex County, a county with nearly 1 million people living there. It's right next door to New Brunswick (which has a train line to NYC) and also neighbors with Edison (another NYC commuter town). Highland Park has a hipster feel too it but the location attracts middle class people to live there. It's one of our favorite towns to work in and we cover nearly 60 towns!
Overall we are big fans of managing rental property in Highland Park. The town has a lot to offer and if the taxes were lower it would be rated an A town to invest in. Given the taxes, we'll have to give it a B. You would be very happy owning rental property in Highland Park. If you decide you want to look in this town, please give us a call or better yet if you already own rental property, let us manage it!