All Forum Posts by: Christopher Schmidt

I've been dormant a while, but after 2.5 years living in Greenville SC, I'm looking to finally make the plunge in some rentals up here...but I am still not sure what are prime areas.

I've been told Cherrydale area I can get a 3/2 under 100k that'll rent at 1%...what are some areas other investors have had luck with?  What are some areas that you're rehabbing too?

Chris

@Francisco Veliz welcome and there are plenty of CF folks...I used to be one but plan on returning someday lol...

Chris

@John Arsenault - There are lots of great folks in the Rochester area and a good area to invest in overall (I have a couple in that area myself)...I think too they have a very active REI (http://ffreia.com/) though i've not made it up there at the same time they meet.  Good luck!

Chris

Welcome @Jesse Doyle there are many Rochester investors and locals around here...welcome!

What part of Rochester are you from?

Chris

Welcome Chris!  Brevard has a few local actives, be sure to search them out.  I miss Brevard myself and hope to return in the next 2-3 months...miss those beaches!

@Ralphy Rosado I agree with @Rebecca Lebowitz be careful in the 14621 zip code, my success is due to good property management...but money can be made. 

Chris

Congrats @Michael Smith 

@Alan Diamond Welcome and I agree about Rochester.  It is where I have begun too, and there are a lot of good people from the area who can help you out!  Best of Luck.

Chris

@Ralphy Rosado  I have only 2 investments in the 14621 area of Rochester (which can be rough) but I've had success with great cash flow on those two properties where i am not quote scared to invest there again.  As an out of state investor in the area, I think what was key for me was not necessarily the area but the property management.  Initially I had poor PM and therefore my results were poor (late/non-payments, frequent and overpriced repairs, etc..)

With good PM, I've been able to keep good tenants, increase the rents and minimize my repairs (these are 100 year old houses).  Now...you do need to stomach the frequent little repairs, sometimes late collections, state or federal agencies (who pay a portion of the rent), and/or sometimes the out of place request, but that's worth 10% for me as I only get about 1-2 calls per month from my PM :)

Best of luck how you proceed...

@Ed Kahle I only have 2 duplexes in Rochester at the moment, but I have family that still live there.  While Kodak & Xerox have probably lost their glory, it's been replaced in Rochester by the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital (largest employer I believe) as an academic and research institute (as well as trickle down bio-tech), Paychex, Windstream (which bought Paetec), and Wegmans (still a top company to work for) to name a few.  While there is a reliance on 'welfare' or entitlement still exists (to a large degree), I wouldn't discount the area as a whole as it seemingly has done better than the 'hot' markets during the downturn...

I do understand Syracuse (and Buffalo) aren't doing as well as Rochester overall but I think even Syracuse has ranked high on the rent to returns chart, probably due to the welfare nature as well. 

Chris