Trouble renting units in Cincinnati

[Jacklyn Robins]

Hi all. I'll preface this by saying i'm not a new investor. I've been buying and selling properties since 2019. Stayed afloat (barely) through the pandemic with NY properties so i've seen it all at this point. 

Looking for some guidance here. Purchased a 4 unit property in Cincinnati (Avondale) 2 months ago. I went through a realtor we've been using for the past 3 years in Dayton, OH (he sells in both Dayton and Cincinatti). Property looked great on paper. 2 (3) bedroom units renovated and unoccupied, 2 (3) bedroom units not renovated and occupied by section 8 tenants. Plenty of room for upgrades in the building which was appealing. Seller was extremely motivated to sell and we closed pretty quickly.

Here's the issue- we've been unable to rent the 2 renovated units. I started digging deeper (which I probably should have done sooner) and it turns out, they've been on the market since March. There's a 40 unit building next door to mine which is primarily made up of section 8 and 24/7 security out there. Apparently some pretty sketchy people from that building are hanging out in front of mine which is scaring potential tenants away when our property manager brings them around. Cops have been called but nothing has been done. None of this was brought to my attention because the showings were strategically done when there was noone in front of the property. My realtor went there and did video calls with me a number of times to show the property and everything seemed legit. 

I've had properties in pretty rough neighborhoods and i've never had this issue. Anyone have any advice here? Our property manager is really aggressive and doing all she can, but we're going on 3 months at this point and we need to get these units rented.

Link to one of the units listed- https://www.trulia.com/building/3640-reading-road-1-3640-rea...