Low income city/neighborhood

[Robert Kohalmi]

I am a new investor so this may seem like common sense to some but.. I am thinking of buying a multi family in a relatively low income city. I have heard mostly horror stories from a few investors about bad tenants etc. But I have also heard about a couple of really successful investors in the same city. One of the owns about 50 units and couldn't be happier. Why do some run to these areas to invest while others avoid them like the plague? What are the key factors to look for? Is it all about tenant screening and laying a solid foundation of tenant/landlord expectations.

[Paul J.]

@Jennifer Fernéz There are some other threads here, somewhere, where folks go in to detail on what they do.  I purchased a duplex in a low income area last year and I did things like extra coats of poly on the hardwood floors, reinforcing the towel bars, shower curtain rods, and toilet paper holders, replacing destroyed vinyl flooring with real tile, replacing stove surround paneling with tile, etcetera.  My goal was to touch these repairs once and keep them from being a problem in the future.  We don't furnish with the most expensive fixtures, but we do choose things like metal faucets over plastic with the hope that it will last a long time.