Steelton PA

[Jayagowri Deenadayalan]

Hi,

My name is Jaya and i am starting my first multi family investment property. I signed a contract for a property in Steelton PA as this was the only 4 unit property that was within my price range. I did the numbers reading all the basics from the BP forum. Now it is time to execute i am getting cold feet as i literally dont know anything about Steelton. It is 10 minutes from Harrisburgh and the house is 100% occupied and looks pretty decent.

Can anyone please who knows the area chime in here and give me pros and cons about this deal?

Thanks

Jaya

[Andrew Bosworth]

Jaya,

I admire your desire to get started!  Steelton has a few nice neighborhoods, however, this is not necessarily the most desirable investment location.  It was a former steel town which companies abandoned years ago.  Rents may increase a bit over time, but appreciation will, IMO, be hard to achieve here.  The Harrisburg area is a decent market, but there are a lot of areas you want to avoid.  Without knowing much about your property it is hard to comment, however, I would proceed with caution in future investments. 

Know the area you are investing!  Don't get yourself into a bad situation simply because it is in your price range.  There are a lot of "affordable" properties around here, but most you'd want to pass on. 

Take it slow.  If you can't afford the area you want to invest in, then save more, find a partner or get creative in some other way.  BP is full of good resources and a bunch of great people willing to help.