Kelso to Vancouver, Washington state

[Drew Barrett]

Hello everybody :)

My name is Drew, and. I am hoping to buy my first duplex soon.  I am currently in Vancouver, Washington, and am wondering if people think that buying multi-family housing in Kelso Washington would be a good idea? Kelso is 40 minutes north of Vancouver, and is on a major interstate (I-5) but doesn't have a lot of economic draw to it (that I know of), so I wonder if people who work in Vancouver would be interested in living in Kelso or if I should really make a point to buy within a 20 minute commute to growing city centers?

Whatever advice/info you can spare,would be great! Thanks in advance :)

-Drew

[Michele Fischer]

Drew, I invest and live in Cowlitz county, so let's see what wisdom I can impart.  

First, I don't see Longview/Kelso as a commute radius to Vancouver.  Very few of our tenants or friends work in Vancouver.  Second, Kelso is fairly landlord unfriendly; permits take forever and the utilities procedures are counter productive to tenants being able to afford the deposits and rates.  I'd look at Longview before Kelso, or research Kalama or Castle Rock.  Third, Cowlitz county is very economically depressed with little light at the end of the tunnel.  Young people can't afford or don't want to live here, retirees are happy with the status quo and are unwilling to make changes to make it a more livable.  The schools suck, there are no jobs, and it is a low cost living area so all the unemployable riff-raff moves to the area.  Fourth, I'm not impressed with the property mangers here, I don't' see any of them hitting it out of the park.  

Any investment would need to be a cash flow play rather than appreciation.  It is possible to make the numbers work, likely more than in Vancouver.  Location is key.  I'm always happy to drive by an address and give by best assessment, I do it for others.