Where to invest in PA?

Question

Currently looking in Monroe county, PA to buy and rent for a few years. Do you recommend that area near tourist amenities or would you look in larger cities? Any suggestions for areas with lower prices, great cash flow and low vacancies? Thank you.

Alex Deacon · Answer

@Martha Magalei I personally like the Pittsburgh market. I live here, have a good team here and know the market. Wherever you decide to invest you will need to be involved with every step of the process, get a good team around you and really get to know that specific market. Best of luck to you

Victoria Pham · Answer

@Martha Magalei Pittsburgh is nice as others already mentioned. Philly is tricky but if you invest right, you'll get a very high equity return since there are a lot of upcoming neighborhoods. Get yourself familiar with the areas you're interested and then maybe find a local contractor to see properties and neighborhood for you.

Elise Bickel Tauber · Answer

Hey Martha,

I own a property management and real estate brokerage in Pittsburgh but we also have a team out in Philly. I like the bigger cities due to not only the possibilities of good properties but also the pool of renters looking. The larger the area, the more renters that are going to be looking in that area. While we service both Pittsburgh and Philly, Philly seems to be a little more of a volatile market and also higher investment prices.

I agree with @Alex Deacon about having a good team around you. You want a team that is in the trenches everyday and has a good team of agents, contractors, etc. I also feel your team/management company, should have a constant list of renters looking in the area so that they may have potential renters ready as well as have a good idea of what the demand looks like prior to even purchasing a property.

Best of luck!

David Haynes · Answer

@Martha Magalei I'm in Philadelphia working with many investors. I don't know much about the Monroe County market, but I know the Philly market is very hot. Many of my investors are from NYC and are transitioning to this area because of low taxes and high appreciation. For my buy-and-hold investors, they are experiencing strong cash flow. For instance, one recent investment in Darby (a suburb of Philly in Delaware County) was bringing my investor $480 in cash flow a month after she refinanced. All in she was at $99K, with a refinance at $133K.

If you're interested in Philly but want to avoid the city, check out Montgomery County (aka Monco) and Delaware County (aka Delco). Some hot places in the city are Brewerytown and Port Richmond. The closer you are to the nicest areas (for instance, Rittenhouse Square) the lower your expected cash flow. So be open to neighborhoods that have potential but aren't quite there yet.

The difficult part of investing, of course, is finding the right property at the right price. Buying the right property at the wrong price can cause a headache when it comes to cash flow. I and my team are pretty dang good at finding the best deals in Philadelphia. We are finding and selling around 40 of the best off-market properties every month and have a committed following of investors.

Where to invest in PA?

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