Investment Property in Rochester

[James Pham]

I was wondering if anyone has experience in rental properties in the 19th Ward, Beechwood, or Edgerton in Rochester? I was planning to buy a property in one of those area, but I've gotten mixed advice - some say that the returns are not real due to higher vacancy rates, high maintenance expenses, and problems.

Is Trulia a good indication of where a reasonable neighborhood is to buy? If you buy in one of their orange areas, is that a bad idea? What about the green areas that are surrounded by orange/red areas?

Another area that I was looking at was the Greece neighborhood. What is the typical turn-over rate and how long does it take to rent there?

Thank you for any advice!

[Rebecca Lebowitz]

Hi James,

19th Ward is very mixed.  While it borders a major university (University of Rochester) and that brings about professionals and college students in the Southeast part of 19th Ward, if you go down a few blocks, it's lower income, higher crime and rife with slumlords and poorly maintained properties.  It's a very mixed bag, you have to be selective.

Beechwood and Edgerton are the same thing but don't have anything large to 'offer' like 19th Ward and U of R.  That being said, 19th Ward is more desirable to investors, so a lot of the good properties get snapped up quickly and command a higher purchase price.  I can't speak to other areas, because I only know the Rochester investment world, but in Rochester if you 'stray' a few blocks in some areas, you can go from good to bad to ugly. 

Greece is the largest suburb of Rochester.  It's also very mixed, but definitely for the most part a step up from Beechwood and Edgerton.  For the areas you probably are seeing investment properties come up, it's mostly working class and up, which isn't bad.  I'm quite selective in the areas that I invest, (and recommend to the investors that I help and work with) and Greece would definitely be on my 'comfort list' as far as an area that I'd invest and manage.

Hope this helps!