Minneapolis - Penn Ave Area

[Francis A.]

Hi,

I'm a Biggerpockets newbie and a duplex owner in Los Angeles. I have family living in St Paul. I have been looking at duplex properties in Minneapolis for a few weeks now. (At first glance, the math makes more sense there). I came across some single homes on Penn Ave in the 55411 area under 90k.

At first blush, some of them look decent. Inspections will obviously reveal the truth. I am also aware that Minneapolis is expensive with regards to property prices etc but cheaper the LA.

My family who live in the suburbs of St Paul are a tad leery of this area (it isn't exactly the 'burbs) meaning, I have to tread extra carefully and probably have to think about outsourcing property management IF (and only if) a deal is too good to walk away from.

I have started to have exploratory conversations with a realtor who has quite a few listings in this area. Any firm decision is far from made on my end as I'm keeping an open mind and will walk away from the idea of investing in this city if the conditions force me to.

I am going to Minneapolis this summer to spend a week scouring potential properties (with an open mind) and may choose to just stick to the Los Angeles market.

To the savvy investors in this forum:

Has anyone invested in this zip code area and if not does anyone have any knowledge about this area of Minneapolis? All input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

Francis

[Paul Timmins]

@Francis A.

Anytime you look at a property google the property name and address. I found out about a murder 2 months earlier on the street. That brought the price down with the broker.

To find out about an area go to IREM.org search for ARM certified property managers. Call 5 ask them what parts of the city they like/dislike and why. Ask them what they see expenses running per category per unit. What do they see them selling for per unit, what is the market occupancy rate. Ask them if they know anything coming up for sale. Great way to pick up some good info and possibly a deal.

Good luck

Paul