First time Pittsburgh investor - how hard is filling rentals?

[Justin Glatz]

Hey Pittsburg BP investors! I'm looking to purchase a property in West View.  This would be my first investment property and I was wondering how hard you've found it to fill rentals?  I found a cashflowing property but it would be a two bed 1 bath.

I plan to list it at the median price that I got back from rentometer.... How accurate have you found rent estimate tools?

[Jim K.]

Quote from @Justin Glatz:

Hey Pittsburg BP investors! I'm looking to purchase a property in West View.  This would be my first investment property and I was wondering how hard you've found it to fill rentals?  I found a cashflowing property but it would be a two bed 1 bath.

I plan to list it at the median price that I got back from rentometer.... How accurate have you found rent estimate tools?

 West View is in the North Hills School District. Not the best, not by a country mile the worst. Demographics are favorable throughout the borough. You're going to do fine there with a 2/1 as long as you have a tub in it for bathing young children. It often happens that young people raised anywhere north of the Allegheny River rent in West View in the North Hills School District to start their children's education, with general plans to save up and buy a house north up in McCandless Township and the North Allegheny School District (top-rated) for high school.

The only thing I would caution is watching the build and road system. A lot of West View started off really hick back in the day, so the area has grown up out of hollows and small creek runs, and the road system is crumbling. Get some place that doesn't date back to that era of poor building, has a nice dry basement, and is located near one of the main roads to get your tenants to a commuting route in and out of the city proper or the office parks to the north quickly.