Pittsburgh

[Jeff Siebert]

Any thoughts on buying low/renting long in Pittsburgh, PA area...am thinking 50-75k (or less) homes in relatively stable, blue-collar-ish neighborhoods. Realize the population has been on a steady decline for several years, young people tend to leave for cities with more job opportunities, crime in several area's. Despite this, have a gut-instinct that it might be a good place to invest in for cash-flow....realize appreciation is minimal. If not Pittsburgh, any thoughts on Cleveland or Cincinnati? Thanks.

[David Knize]

hello jeff, just thought I'd provide food for thought. You might want to consider lower purchase levels than what you stated. If your price range was to limit risk, you could do the same for cheaper properties by screening tenants carefully. I personally believe that the Pittsburgh is a wonderful place to invest and the population decline is stabilizing if not reversing. You should consider duplex and other multi-fams as they typically provide greater cash flow and are in abundance. Another area of interest might be mobile homes as they can be aquired extremely cheaply and in some cases for free with a tax burden that can be financed with the tax office, which inturn would cash flow great in regard to purchase commitments.
Hope this helps,

Dave