Concerns about Cleveland; need experienced opinions

[Hanbin Y.]

I guess I'm doing things in reverse order... Another newbie mistake.

Anyway, I closed a 5-unit deal in Cleveland recently. But as I read more articles, I have some concerns about the prospect of this city. I was thinking about sending the questions below to a few investors but I think it's probably good to hear from more opinions.

I really want to expand my portfolio, but right now I'm just trying to learn as much about Cleveland as possible before I decide to plow full on. Right now my target property is B/C grade SFH to 6-unit. Target price is less than 120k per property for quads and below, and less than 150k/property for multi. I will narrow down as I learn more about the market.

Here are a few of my questions and concerns.

1. Were any of you in the RE game during 07-08 crisis? How does an economic downturn like 07-08 affect rents in Old Brooklyn/Parma, or whichever part of Cleveland you are most familiar with (same in below questions)? Do you have any historic data from 07-08 for rent? I care less about property value during the downturn, but more about the rents.

2. What is the range of rent that has the largest tenant pool in the above mentioned area? From what I heard tenants are blue collar. If it's correct, what is the largest corporation for employment? If no large corporation, what kind of industry is it and how stable has the employment be for the past 5 years?

3. How many people are moving in/out of this area? What is attracting them or sending them away? How many of these people rent in my target property?

4. What is tenant's favorite type of rental in the area? SFH, Condo, Apartment? How long in average does it take to rent each of it? How difficult is it relatively?

I'm really interested in hearing opinions from Cleveland locals. If it turns out promising, I may come visit sometimes in the next few weeks. Then I may walk through the neighborhood with some of you and get a better discussion.

Thanks a lot!

Hanbin