Skip to main content

Investing in New Jersey Beach Towns: A Guide to Success

By December 17, 2025Real Estate Pros Show


Subscribe via:

Show Summary

In this conversation, Haris Naeem, a realtor in New Jersey, shares his journey into real estate, discussing the challenges and strategies for new agents, the importance of building relationships with clients, and the dynamics of working with investors and short-term rentals in coastal areas. He emphasizes the need for a long-term vision in the real estate business and highlights the sense of community in shore towns.

Resources and Links from this show:

  • Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode

    Investor Fuel Show Transcript:

    Haris Naeem (00:00)
    you have to have a long-term vision when it comes to business. And you mentioned open houses as well. That’s also

    the number one destination for me when it came to attracting buyer leads, especially in this market. So don’t be afraid to put the time in, especially in a business like this, because this is a compounding business over five, 10 years. It’s not a quick one, two year, maybe I like it, maybe I don’t, let’s stop. It’s a business where you have to continuously put the time and effort in.

    Dylan Silver (02:04)
    Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest, Haris Naeem is a realtor in New Jersey who works often with investors and retail buyers in some short destinations in New Jersey. Haris, welcome to the show.

    Haris Naeem (02:18)
    How you doing?

    Dylan Silver (02:19)
    It’s great to meet you. great to connect here. I’m born and raised in New Jersey. I’m actually in New Jersey right now in North Jersey visiting my parents. And of course, when you think of New Jersey, you think of the Jersey Shore. But before we dive into shore real estate, I always ask guests at the top of the show, how is how they got started and got into real estate?

    Haris Naeem (02:40)
    Absolutely. I started, ⁓ I grew up in a foreign country actually. So my dad used to be in real estate. I grew up in Pakistan. My dad used to be a realtor there. So I kind of, you know, got an early start into the business because my dad used to do it. He would just take me out to his meetings and you know, I was meeting buyers and sellers when I was very young and you know, I got very fascinated with the idea of negotiating and you know, negotiating on behalf of clients.

    So I got the first hand notice, especially when I was nine, 10 years old of my dad just taking me out and seeing how deals happen, even if it was in a foreign country. then came over here, I started my business about three years ago and haven’t looked back.

    Dylan Silver (03:23)
    Now is your father involved in real estate in New Jersey as well? Has he done deals in New Jersey?

    Haris Naeem (03:29)
    No, so he just did that back home. He hasn’t picked it up here, but you know, who knows maybe in the future

    Dylan Silver (03:34)
    Okay, so walk me through getting into real estate three years ago, because I got in this year and I feel like it’s an interesting time to get in. Three years ago, you still had lots of people, at least where I’m licensed in Texas, who were having this maybe hangover from this tremendous buyer’s ⁓ frenzy that we were in due to the low rates. So that time things were changing, right?

    Haris Naeem (03:58)
    Yeah, so that’s when the interest rates kind of pick back up So I did join a little bit too late for that buyer wave to go past maybe I should have joined five years ago, but I joined three years ago when the interest rates were you know, absolutely at the highest so I kind of got that Grit to be able to kind of you know, put in the consistency that’s needed for this business Especially when you know, there was not too many people looking to buy or sell at the time. So I got very

    familiar with the process of real estate, especially just, you know, having mentors by my side who are teaching me. And even if nobody was buying back then, I got very used to the process and, you know, put in the consistency throughout the years, over the past three years. And, you know, we’re here now. So, you know.

    Dylan Silver (05:31)
    Now, I know how it can be challenging even in a good market. And I don’t think we’re in the worst of markets right now, but it’s not the best, I would say, for anybody. And I think that’s a fair statement. ⁓ But even in the best of markets, as a newer realtor, the on-ramp can be challenging because you’re brand new, you’re dealing with more established people, you’re trying to learn the lay of the land. I know that’s the way it was for me, at least. And I started earlier this year. Walk me through the on-ramp for you.

    What was the first six months you’re like, and then even before that, what was your process like for getting licensed? Did you do it online? Did you go to school?

    Haris Naeem (06:08)
    Okay, so I did get my license online and ⁓ once I joined this business, was, you know, I knew which market I was going to focus on. So even when I started within the first two, three months, ⁓ I specifically, specifically worked towards, you know, the shore market, the coastal areas of New Jersey. And, you know, I remember calling for sale by owners and, you know, expired listings. And I would just walk into these, you know, expensive houses with, you know,

    people who are professionals and I just was very fearless starting in this business. And you know, a lot of newer agents would, know, chances are they would be a little bit nervous to talk to professionals and you know, corporate executives and you know, all these surgeons, but I did not feel that at all. Like I knew which market I was going to focus on from the very beginning, especially when I started in real estate. So I just, you know, I was like, I have to just call up for sale by owners.

    expired listings and to be able to just have the confidence to be able to walk into these houses with professionals and you know pitch myself as their realtor.

    Dylan Silver (07:08)
    Now for new agents who may be starting out, may listen to this and say, gosh, that’s a lot of confidence and courage to just walk, you know, kind of right into the hornet’s nest there dealing with, you know, some higher net worth individuals, coastal areas, right? When you were, you know, brand new, did you join a team? Were you locked into mentorship? Was it learning on the go? What was that process like for you?

    Haris Naeem (07:11)
    Thank you.

    So starting out, I always knew there’s benefits to having a mentor, but you have to be self-sufficient in this business. I’m sure you know you’re a realtor as well. You’re an independent contractor. So if you don’t go out there and absolutely go after your dreams in life, chances are you’re not going to get them. So it’s very important for you to be self-sufficient, but it’s very

    It’s very easy. It’s much easier for you to have a mentor by your side, just so you can avoid the learning curve just a little bit because they’ll just teach you things so you don’t mess up within the first three months of, you know, going into the business.

    Dylan Silver (08:10)
    Now, when we’re reaching out to the FizzBos, the for sale by owners, that can sometimes be tricky, right? Because these folks may be hearing this from a lot of people, realtors, wholesalers and the like. Getting your foot in the door is a testament to how convincing ⁓ the conversation was. Any feedback for newer realtors themselves who may be trying to go that route.

    Haris Naeem (08:33)
    Okay, so here’s what I learned about for sale by owners. They tend to be very, you know, hard headed when it comes to selling it themselves. So I did not go in there with the intention of I’m going to convert this for sale by owner today right now. I went in there looking at the house and you know, I kept in touch with all of them throughout the weeks, months, and you know, sometimes even years until they

    decided to finally stop for sale by owner and decide to go with an agent. So it’s very important for you to not have short sightedness when it comes to for sale by owners, especially in the market that I’m in where, you know, they don’t have to use a realtor and that’s completely in their right to not use one. So it’s very tough to go in there and convince them that they have to use one. You’re better off just talking to them, creating a genuine

    and ship or relationship with them and then when they do decide to list with an agent, you’re the first call.

    Dylan Silver (09:30)
    Now, when we talk about that process, especially for newer agents, they may think, okay, well, I’m getting started. I’ve gotta wait years to get this ⁓ listing agreement, but that’s part of the game, right? And so building your pipeline is huge. And I think especially for new agents, but also more established ones, we can sometimes forget that

    It’s ⁓ like building a snowball, it’s momentum, right? And sometimes you can’t even really identify like, hey, what was the genesis of this lead, right? But you can keep the ball moving. And if you’re doing open houses, if you’re reaching out to for sale by owners, if you’re having these conversations, you’re connecting with other realtors as well, some of those shots are gonna drop.

    Haris Naeem (10:55)
    Thanks,

    Yeah, exactly. And you can’t have a vision for one to two years that you have to succeed in this business. It’s a compounding business. you have to know that chances are you’re going to have to put off immediate gratification for long-term gratification in this business. And that kind of goes with every other business that you work in, whether you’re an investor or you’re a realtor or you have some other small business,

    you have to have a long-term vision when it comes to business. And you mentioned open houses as well. That’s also

    the number one destination for me when it came to attracting buyer leads, especially in this market. So don’t be afraid to put the time in, especially in a business like this, because this is a compounding business over five, 10 years. It’s not a quick one, two year, maybe I like it, maybe I don’t, let’s stop. It’s a business where you have to continuously put the time and effort in.

    Regardless of if you see results within the first year or two because it compounds over time and then you get momentum and then you can you know Go towards the right road of actually succeeding in the business

    Dylan Silver (12:00)
    Now, investors, which I know you’re heavily involved with, are a different segment entirely. There’s tons of realtors in Texas at least who ⁓ will distinctly service investors or retail buyers, and you’re able to do both. When did investors start coming into the picture for you, and was that something that you intentionally went after? Hey, I’m gonna go work with investors as well.

    Haris Naeem (12:25)
    So it’s recurring business when you start working with investors. So a lot of investors, they don’t just buy once, they continuously buy. Whereas in, if you’re buying a single family home with a family who’s looking for a beach house, they’re less likely to buy over and over again. The turnover is a lot longer than it is with investors. So that’s where it kind of clicked where, you know, for a business to actually be able to run properly,

    you have to work with investors because they’re always looking to buy, especially when there’s something that, you know, makes sense for them on paper. So that’s where that came in. And, you know, I’ve always been interested in real estate and, know, why not work with investors? They’re great people.

    Dylan Silver (13:05)
    Yeah, let’s go. I’m in full agreement with you there. Sometimes ⁓ I can at least say in my experience, not all realtors love working with investors, but as someone myself who came from the distressed property acquisition realm and working hand in hand with investors, ⁓ I was very ⁓ much aware that there was this distinct world here and that that has since been verified now that I’ve gotten my license. I want to ask you, Haris, about

    the different ⁓ areas of New Jersey shore real estate. There’s multiple shores, right? It’s a long, long coast there. And then also too, what types of deals are investors looking for? Are they looking for opportunities for short-term rentals? That’s what I can imagine they’re looking for. And then also, what do they do with the properties in the winter?

    Haris Naeem (13:54)
    So the specific areas that I tend to focus on is ⁓ Lavalette, Seaside Park, Orly Beach, Mantaloking. So these areas, they tend to have very good income for 10 weeks in the summer. But then once it gets colder and you know, they still have the option to be able to have a winter rental in some of these places. If not all, some of these places do allow for winter rentals. So

    It’s not a matter of, you know, just short-term rentals. You can also have a winter rental in there as well. So it’s not just 10 weeks in the summer. It can also be you find a buyer who chances are you’re not going to get as much income as you’re making in the summer months, obviously, you know, because it’s very busy and most of the areas here get, you know, sold out. People are looking to rent per week.

    but you do have income that can come in during the winter months as well.

    Dylan Silver (15:28)
    Now, it’s gotta be an interesting ballgame, being a short-term rental investor, Airbnb type deal, summer to summer, because it’s like end of year shopping. Like, okay, we’re bracing for the new season here. ⁓ Specifically in these short communities, you must have heightened competition, but also tremendous demand.

    Walk me through some of those dynamics both for myself and for folks who may not be familiar with what it’s like in these shore towns.

    Haris Naeem (16:02)
    So in the summer, obviously, everyone wants to come down from up north, New Jersey, down to the shore. And a lot of these areas, Lavalette, Seaside Park, Ortley Beach, they tend to be booked out for the whole summer. So it’s very tough to even find a rental there unless you look early on. So it just comes down to whether you’re looking to have a long-term vision.

    when it comes to your investment, especially in these shore towns, houses appreciate really well here. So are you just focused on the yearly income that you’re making from this property or are you also focused on the appreciation that you’re gonna get out of this property? So it’s not only about the cashflow that you’re getting on these properties year after year, but it’s also the appreciation that you’re getting from these properties year over year.

    Dylan Silver (16:51)
    Now, I know there’s no one size fits all strategy for investors or even a background that they come from all walks of life. Do you see ⁓ most of the investors managing the properties themselves? Do they have a team that does that? Are they maybe local to these beach areas or could they be potentially from any area of the state?

    Haris Naeem (17:12)
    Okay, so there are a lot of investors, especially the ones that portfolio isn’t that large to be able to handle it themselves that do manage their property themselves. But there is a large amount of investors who have teams in place and have people in place that kind of helps them scale their business in these areas instead of them just doing everything themselves.

    Dylan Silver (17:36)
    Now, when we talk about Airbnb specifically, and I’m thinking about those summer months, the 10 weeks, right? You’re dealing with turnover, of course, you’re dealing with changeovers, you gotta clean the place, you might have some damage or things come up, right? Are investors ⁓ aware that there can be this much… ⁓

    I don’t want to say, know, chaos, but controlled chaos that happens. And are they typically ready for that? Or do you see, especially with newer investors, some level of growing pains where, hey, I’m getting texts at 11 o’clock at night, I’ve got guests that arrive early, places are cleaned. How do people manage this, especially, you know, if you’re working a job?

    Haris Naeem (18:25)
    Yeah, that makes sense. That would, you know, come into play, especially for investors who are looking to manage everything themselves. But a lot of areas like Lavalette, you know, like Seaside Park, sometimes you just end up getting the same people every year for the 10 weeks of the summer. So once people, once you’ve had a tenant in there for a week that you know, you know, doesn’t, you know, damage the property is very respectful to you.

    And it’s very respectful towards the property as well. They tend to stick around because a lot of people who are going to visit down here every summer in the summer are going to come back. They have family down here. And they want to spend at least a week down here in the summer. So it’s very important, obviously, for investors to just find these people who are respectful with their properties, respectful of their time and their effort and their money, and keep these people consistently coming year over year.

    the property. So I’ve seen that a lot in Lavalette where people have the same guests coming over year after year and you know their property is in beautiful shape year over year. And I recently just sold something on Brown Ab in Lavalette as well. I mean this property was built in 1980 and there is no there’s barely any damage to the property. I mean it’s an older property obviously it’s a new not a new construction but

    Dylan Silver (19:29)
    Yeah, they’ve got the people they trust.

    Haris Naeem (19:44)
    there’s not much damage. They have the same guests coming in year after year and they’re respectful to their landlords.

    Dylan Silver (19:51)
    That’s a good thing. You know, it’s interesting that we’re talking about this idea of short-term rentals, but also the same guests. Because typically when people think about short-term rentals, they’re thinking about, well, this is gonna be new people. I maybe don’t know, you know, but if it’s the same folks year after year, and you know, they’re keeping the place tidy, it is a win-win for everybody. ⁓

    I do want to pivot here, Haris, and ask you about the communities themselves that support ⁓ these properties. We were talking before hopping on here about ⁓ new development, new construction. in these beach towns, I recall years ago, it might be difficult to find certain businesses or places to go do certain activities. And you might even have to drive outside of the beach town a ways in order to find some of these.

    some of these things that people may be searching for, like gyms, for instance. But I understand now there’s quite a bit of development ⁓ in many short towns to where there are more towns than they’re just once a year short towns.

    Haris Naeem (20:58)
    Exactly. It’s a sense of community that they get down there, especially in Lavalette area. It’s a sense of community and there are stores very close by so they don’t have to drive to stores. They can just walk a couple feet down and they can get a coffee and they can get, you know, food items. And also with Seaside Park as well, there’s a very famous boardwalk there. So there’s food items there throughout the summer.

    And obviously, you know, with the people and stuff, it’s a sense of community in a lot of these beach towns at this point. And, you know, some of the people that come there, come there every single year. So like they get to meet their family members. They get to spend great time with them. And it’s a sense of community here.

    Dylan Silver (21:38)
    We are coming up on time here at Haris. Where can folks go? Where can our audience go if they’re maybe interested in reaching out to you? Or maybe they have a deal that they’d like an investor to take a look at, or they may be looking for a short house for themselves. How can folks reach out to you?

    Haris Naeem (21:53)
    So ⁓ I am on Instagram, listwithharis.com or listwithharis I just named my website, my accident. same handle on Facebook. I’m very easy to find. You just write my name and you’ll be able to find my information, my contact information, my phone number, email. Reach out to me anywhere. I’ll be able to answer you.

    Dylan Silver (22:15)
    Haris thank you so much for coming on the show today.

    Haris Naeem (22:18)
    Thank you.

Tags:

Share via
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Mix
Pinterest
Tumblr
Skype
Buffer
Pocket
VKontakte
Parler
Xing
Reddit
Line
Flipboard
MySpace
Delicious
Amazon
Digg
Evernote
Blogger
LiveJournal
Baidu
MeWe
NewsVine
Yummly
Yahoo
WhatsApp
Viber
SMS
Telegram
Facebook Messenger
Like
Email
Print
Copy Link
Copy link
CopyCopied