I personally feel like they would take a lot of risk for minimum reward. 

My initial interpretation is West Ward may be higher risk/higher reward for potential appreciation, but I'll be doing some more late night drives to get a better feel for some specific blocks.I do think all of Easton (& residually Phillipsburg for that matter) is headed in the right direction as long as this outbreak hasn't steered too many away from the urban "vibes" the area provides.

It was a rewarding and successful project.

Instead, we opened a can of worms that lead us through one of the most grueling and rewarding educations we had ever experienced.The outcome of that introduction was really 3-fold: 1) We were more determined than ever to succeed; 2) We appreciated the difference between theoretical, inspirational information versus practical, real-life information; and 3) We can be a greater service to ourselves, the community, and other investors, by providing responsible, intelligent and conscientious construction contracting and property management.We live and work in the city and understand its dynamics, so the majority of our business takes place there.  

It's also great that you are entering into this real at an early age since investing in anything rewards those who stay in the market for the longest length time (time in the market is better than timing the market). 

Higher risk/higher reward as they say hahaPersonally, my properties out here are in Englewood, and while there's definitely a spectrum in Englewood of more/less gentrified, I'd say that from the sound of what you're looking for, most of Englewood may already be too gentrified for your tastes (especially on the Cherry Hills Village border). 

From your standpoint is seems like a risk reward situation.What is your risk, and what is your reward.Good Luck!

Best option for this scenario for this while squeezing out all the rewards?

Hello,Congrats on decideing to invest in real estate .. it can be very rewarding if you can avoid most of the pitfalls .. my advice would be to try to find a mentor in the field your looking to invest in.

@Janelle Martin hello and welcome to BP's .. let me congratulate you on your decision to become a real estate investor.. it can be a very rewarding career .