How much per unit is considered good cash flow in Pittsburgh,Pa

[Corey Drexler]

I am looking for my first property. I want to know how much cash flow I should shoot for? At worst is only living for free considered a base hit, obviously I should shoot for positive cash flow, but how much per unit (considered all expenses are taken care of). Any help would be greatly appreciate. Anybody in the Pittsburgh area or anywhere, my ears are open.

[Chris Mylan]

Hi Corey,

I think you should aim to be more specific with where you're looking to purchase and what your overall budget looks like. In the city (ie. South Side, Oakland, Lawrenceville, Mt. Wash, etc), you probably should aim for $100 - $200 per door, but you should get some nice appreciation in the coming years. In general, I have seen people hit the 1% rule and be successful - for example, $100,000 purchase/ remodel and you get $1,000 in rent per mo. Outside of the city in the smaller communities, you should be getting a little more cash flow per door, maybe $200 - $400, but will not see much appreciation. For example, there are duplexes in my hometown of Ambridge that sell for $40,000 and rent for $1,000 per mo, but will be worth $45,000 in 20 years. Hope this helps!