Watts single family home investing?

[Shiva Bhaskar]

Hello friends,

So I've been looking into some stuff in Watts, as well. My prior investing experience is mainly in the South Bay (Gardena), but I've seen a couple of places that look like decent candidates for a little bit of work, and generating some good cash flow after (by LA standards anyways, 6 cap is possible with some of these after a little bit of work it seems). The area has improved a lot, I grew up in LA and I think it's a far cry from the 80's or early 90's. There are plenty of good folks there, and I think it is possible to find responsible tenants even in these economically challenged areas (a mentor of mine has invested quite a bit in challenged areas and done well, so I do have some help from him as far as screening tenants etc). 

 The biggest issue I have is, everyone tells me I'll have to do Section 8, which I'm not per se opposed to, but it does come with some unique challenges. Is Watts heavily Section 8, or is it realistic to think I could get a tenant outside of that? Also, unlike elsewhere in South LA (areas more to the north and West), it's hard for me to see how much Watts could improve in terms of property values and rents. I think these would be decent deals just off the rents and some steady appreciation, but I'm curious as to whether anyone else is familiar with or has thoughts regarding this market. Thanks for taking the time!