Hi All! First Time Investor Interested in Multifamily Units

[John Conte]

Hello everyone, glad to be a part of BP, seems to be a gold mine of valuable information and helpful people!

First time investor, 25, I've been researching out of state markets for buy and hold rentals (I live in NY), and some clarification/direction as to which markets some other investors have had good returns/cash flow from, not looking for a flip, or even necessarily vast appreciation, I have some investments, which are nice to have but I'd like to move some of that into rental properties to have more effective cash flow. 

Some of the markets I've been considering are St. Louis and Cleveland, some very affordable multifamily buildings available, I'm also considering single family/young couple oriented houses in the Durham/Charlotte/Raleigh areas, Columbus OH. My dollar will go much further in these markets than the NYC/NJ area, and from what I've seen there's better potential for growth in these areas than in, say, most of Pennsylvania/Connecticut.

I'm looking to spend anywhere between 40k-130k, and I'll bullet some points of concern I have that my research has fallen short on/I'd like some experienced insight on

• High crime areas: I've gotten mixed ideas about how to handle these, and what they mean for stable rental income. Is it more the amount of crime that negatively affects buying? or the type of crime? Does adding increased security measures to my property (i.e. security cams, code locks, etc.) make renting more attractive/profitable?
• Population Migration/Employment Data: St. Louis/Cleveland have had steadily declining populations, any investors with holdings in these areas have comments or thoughts on this and its effect on the local areas? Again I'm not looking to swoop in and hike rent up exorbitantly but if I'm going to be forced to lower rent over time that's something to consider.
• Tenant Screening in Low Income Areas: Have any investors been able to hang on to quality, long term tenants? And if so, are you the anomaly or is it relatively simple to do so with some diligence and research?

Thanks for your insight!

[Max Householder]

I live and invest in St. Louis. The statistics can be misleading because the city proper is a separate political entity from the county and surrounding metro. Yes, on the whole the CITY population has been in decline since the 1950s, but many neighborhoods, especially in South City are seeing population growth (63116 for one) post-Great Financial Crisis and there is a lot of revitalization and investment taking place.

The city of St. Louis is only 60 square miles out of 360 sq. miles that makes up Greater St. Louis. The Greater St. Louis metro has seen steady population growth over the years, even if the stats on the city proper are much gloomier. Greater St. Louis

St. Louis County has been extremely stable/slowly growing for decades. The population in St. Charles County to the northwest has more than doubled in my lifetime. Jefferson County (south) and Franklin County (southwest) have seen steady growth for decades. Madison County IL has been had a steady population since the 1970s.

There is plenty of opportunity in St. Louis, you just need to drill down your target area, sometimes to a single street or a few blocks, more than in some markets that see growth/decline more broadly across a larger area.