Allentown Tenant Stories / Property Management

[Thomas Wurfel]

Hi BP Community,

First post here. Thank you all for your insight and support found all over the site. Really enjoy learning from all of your expertises and experiences. Looking to dive into my first deal this summer and build a portfolio off of that. Currently living and working around the NYC area but looking to invest between NYC/Philadelphia metro areas (I'm originally from Montgomery County, PA) one partner along with investing in Binghamton with another partner.

I have a question regarding tenants in Allentown, PA (keywords.. ABE, Lehigh County, Lehigh Valley). I am currently interested in a property close to the waterfront but from walking the area this past weekend, it's not in the greatest area (no surprise, as expected).. there was noise, rift raft on the street, shady neighbors, .. etc. The property itself seems like it could be a potential deal when taking into account the rent, price, & rehab costs but the one thing concerning me is the potential tenant I'd be bringing in and whether property managers even want to put up with that for the small monthly cost. I'm using 10% as my assumption for PM so that'd equate to just $100/month to put up tenants that could be a headache.

My question is if anyone has had experience with this and (1) has property managers been willing to work with you and (2) has anyone had any horror stories with their tenants mainly in downtown Allentown.

Maybe it's as simple as increasing my PM expense assumption to provide more of an incentive for a PM to work with me or realize the management in the area doesn't need to be top notch for the C-class neighborhoods.

Thank you in advance for advice!