Specific providence rental markets

[Sean Doherty]

I'm looking for insights on the Silver Lake area and Upper South End area of Providence. My goal is to house hack a small multifamily. If you own a rental in either if these areas I'd love to hear about your experiences. What class of tenants are you getting? Do you think it's safe? Are either of these areas "up and coming" or going down hill? Do you think there's good amenities like restaurant/shopping near by (upper south end seems close to downtown providence so I'm thinking that may be a positive and make the area more convenient)? I've driven them both during the day and they seem a little crowded with multifamily houses and overall busy but I don't think that necessarily means they're terrible areas full of bad tenants. I'd like to get other people's opinions as well. Thanks for any insights you can provide

[Anthony Thompson]

@Sean Doherty both are tough areas. I don't own a rental in either area, though I have wholesaled properties in each, because I don't want to own there. Of the two I think Silver Lake might be a smidge better but they're both generally C-/D type areas and you'd be getting C/D tenants.

I don't know that either is really "up and coming" or "going down hill". Upper (and lower) South Providence has had some economic redevelopment type money for specific properties over the past decade, but I don't necessarily feel it's improved the neighborhood as a whole.

South Providence is a closer to downtown, but Silver Lake is closer to the west end which is also nicer so I think they're about the same, if anything Silver Lake is slightly better since downtown/downcity isn't really residential. Plus Silver Lake is near decent-ish areas of Cranston.

They are both tough and you'd be getting tough tenants. But if I had to pick I'd probably choose Silver Lake over Upper South Providence. For Silver Lake, the parts closer to Cranston are better, the parts close to Providence/Olneyville are worse. And for Upper South Providence the more north or east you go the better, but it's all tough.

If you are serious about either/both areas then next time don't just drive through, get out and walk around, maybe talk to some older people who live in the neighborhood, maybe go look at some apartments or open houses in the areas and talk to the showing agents. Especially the apartments, that will be your competition if you buy there so that's a double win.