Berks County, Pennsylvania- Rural Area rentals

[Jason Krick]

If there are any members who know the area of Berks County, PA, I could use some viewpoints. I'm about to go under contract for my first deal. My plan is to buy, renovate, and rent.  Everything looks great on paper, but the area is mostly small towns, just off of I-78.

The property is south of Hamburg, and in the vicinity of Bethel, Strausstown, Shartlesville, etc.  it's about 0.5 miles from the highway.  My thought is that with the new Dollar General and PetSmart Distribution Centers, the Chicken factory in Fredericksburg, etc, that there should be people looking for housing in the area.  It's about 10-20 minutes to those places and not a bad commute to Allentown either.  However, I rarely see ads for vacant rentals.  The research I have done seems to indicate that while the towns are small, there are a high percentage of renters.

Can anyone with familiarity of the area give me some thoughts on the rental market?  Dow what it's worth, It would be a duplex, with two 2 BR apartments.  My hope was to ask in the $750-800 range for rent.

The property could be flipped, if needed.  Just looking for some last minute thoughts before I sign.