NEPA - single family vs. multi-family

[Harrison Russin]

I'm a NEPA native, currently living as a "displaced Pennsylvanian" in New York. I've talked with a few of you investors in the area, and I'm looking for advice on single vs. multi-family investments in the area. My brother and I are hoping to invest in rental properties.

Having followed listings, sales, and rentals on the MLS and other websites for about two weeks, how profitable is single-family home investing in NEPA? The prices for what I would consider B-class homes in B-class neighborhoods seem high ($80k+) for the rental income ($300 or so per bedroom). Is this accurate?

I don't necessarily want a turnkey, move-in ready house, but I also don't want to do with $20k-50k in rehab. It seems that multi-family in NEPA offers the best return, especially considering cash-on-cash.

[Joshua Ax]

Multifamily is the way to go.. If you have a 4 unit building and one tenant leaves, you only lose 25% of your income and can still operate with a margin. If you had a single family home that asset becomes a liability very quickly once it becomes vacant. Single family homes make better flips. 

My strategy is (and has been) to buy single family homes to flip, and using the profits from my flips as acquisition funds for my buy and hold properties.