Investing in Scranton, Pa.

[Al Moffa]

Could anyone please respond to the pros and cons of investing in Scranton, Pa? Please let me know the areas with lower crime.

Thank you

Al Moffa

Stella Properties LLC

[Kate Daye Ruane]

Hi Al! Great Question.

In replying to this question, I'm going to consider and refer to "Scranton, PA" as the city proper AND it's surrounding neighborhoods. 

Pros:

- Low cost of buy-in / not much needed in comparison to other areas due to affordability in purchase price
- High-Cap Rates
- High Cash Flows
- Stable market / continuing to appreciate
- Beautiful revitalization of the downtown
- Influx of jobs, employment opportunities 
- Plenty of renters
- New Amtrak service coming
- Surrounding neighborhoods are sought after, solid schools, "home team" mentality in most of the towns where people want to stay

For the Cons:
- I can't think of any OVERALL cons that couldn't be avoided in working with the right team. Mistakes that I have seen made generally always come from a lack of due diligence and understanding. I've too often seen an out of area investor get tied up financially with trusting a whole-salers or seller's description or promise of return / ARV. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Examples of pitfalls include purchasing in an undesirable area, not understanding the market values (vs. list prices), not knowing the rental values (current and market), inheriting bad tenants, buying a lemon, going rogue on renting and management with no contacts / systems / no legal understanding of PA and Municipal landlord-tenant laws, not having trusted resources and contractors in place, using out of state lenders or shaky financing, throwing lipstick on a pig when renovating a house and wondering why it's ARV isn't increasing, tenants are renting, etc. Basically, just like any market, you can fail - but it can so easily be avoided when you have the resources and expertise needed to navigate it.

For Crime Rates in the City Proper see here: https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-scranton-pa/ Just like any city, it varies heavily street to street, but is overall a solid place to invest. Any of the surrounding municipalities in Lackawanna County are a solid place to invest and considered low-crime. I have a few places that I personally favor and some that I don't - but it all depends on what your goal and strategy is. 

I have resources, stats, contacts, and further info available on any of the above. I specialize in working with investors of all types in this market, invest myself, and 99% of my investors come from about 2-3 hours away and all do amazing and keep going. Reach out at anytime and I'll get back to you ASAP.