Looking for insights on Cincinnati neighborhoods

[Leah C.]

Hi all, just curious to gain some insight from those investors who know Cincinnati well. We are looking to buy our first rental property - a SFR - for around $100k. We would like a B neighborhood and are looking at 3/1 or 3/2 homes in decent school districts. When we visited Cincinnati a few months ago we drove a lot of the neighborhoods and were narrowing in on Delhi (oak hills school district), Springdale and Forest Park. It seems like the schools in Springdale and Forest Park aren't as good as Delhi. We were also looking at Fairfield and Deer Park, but those areas might be a little more expensive. Does anyone have experience with these neighborhoods? Would these neighborhoods be considered B or C rated? Any other insights?

Thanks!

[Jeremiah Cotner]

@Leah C.

We currently invest in certain areas/streets of Norwood/Pleasant Ridge (two duplexes and 1 SFR). We are also looking into Madisonville and possibly Mt. Healthy for additional properties to purchase. We are currently looking for at least 2 SFR's to further build our portfolio. We tend to focus on upper C to B neighborhoods.

$100k should not be an issue finding a property Cincinnati. Deer Park is a good area but a lot of people are looking there. Find a good realtor and/or wholesaler to work with but also a great property manager.

We have been trying to purchase a property in Deer Park but have been out bid several times. Our price point is $65-85k and don't mind a property that needs a some fixing up. Our property manager has not had an issue finding tenants for our properties. The SFR we recently purchased for $72k in Norwood needed about $3k worth of work. We ended up renting it for $900/month after it was listed for rent after about a week.

If you have any questions let me know. We are out of state inventors and currently live in North Carolina and will be moving to Arkansas soon. We are also beginning our real estate journey and trying to figure out where to invest. We rely a lot on our property manager and their extensive knowledge.