St. Paul, MN

[Keith Albrecht]

Good Afternoon,

I'm looking at buying my first duplex in one of these three areas. Thomas-Dale (frog town), Dayton's Bluff, or Payne and Phalen. Does anyone on BP own any multifamily homes in these areas, and if so are there places to steer clear from. I've done my due diligence and have driven the areas and looked up the crime reports on-line and so far there are a couple rough areas that I've found but compared to other cities in the U.S. these areas are hardly considered dangerous to me. Minnesota has also build a new public train which just opened a month ago to the public, I'm guessing this will bring value to the areas it operates, is my thought process valid? Any information would be very helpful.

Here is my market research for the area, MN unemployment 4%, vacancy rate 2%, average cap rate 10%. Crime rates for the past 30 days; Frog Town 174 (reported) or 11.6 per 1,000 people, Dayton's bluff 195(reported) or 11.8 per 1,000 people, Payne-Phalen 257 (reported) or 8.4 per 1,000. How do these numbers compare to other cities in which people invest?

Also, can anyone refer a good CPA local to St. Paul?