I am a new investor into the market, I've been educating myself through podcasts, books, and a bit of one on one with other out of state real estate agents. I'm a police officer in the area and want to find and provide good rentals in good areas of Pittsburgh to single families who might not have the resources to afford a house of their own.
I am curious what the market is looking like for investors looking to buy and rent on the east side of Pittsburgh? Has anyone found that with covid-19 is it harder to find good renters or keep good renters? and lastly is this a good time to get into the market or do you advise waiting until the pandemic situation calms down?
Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
5y
@Aaron Barker welcome. I'm looking in Pittsburgh as well. I don't plan to "wait out the pandemic" - I will buy if I can find a deal. Do you have specific neighborhoods or zip codes you're looking in?
@Nicholas L. good to know I also am planning on buying. I am looking more on the east side of Pittsburgh (15221,15218,15145) I see that there are not to many rentals in the area and they are really nice middle class residential with good potential.
Hammond, IN · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 0 votes
5y
@Aaron Barker, @Nicholas L. Just wanted to say Hi! I'm north of Pitt but have only been in the area and local market for 2 years. I'm focused on multi-family and commercial and industrial properties.
Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
5y
@Matthew Brichacek hello! I'm in Valencia, where are you located? I'm hoping things get back to normal next year and I can start attending the Pittsburgh REIA meetings.
I have a rental property nut it's on the west of PGH. I'm not familiar with 15145 but I will say that Wilkimsburg is not really decent... I believe that there are a lot of investors who works there (my property is not in the best area as well) but it's pretty rough neighborhood. 15218 is way better.
About buy or wait situation- if you are in this for the long run (10,20,30 years)- I wouldn't wait. I bought my property in June this year and currently looking for another one.
As they say- don't wait to buy real astate. Buy real eatate and wait.
As long as the numbers are working, you have reserves and you are not oner leveraging yourself you are golden.
Rental Property Investor · CA · Member since 2019 · 65 posts · 53 votes
5y
Each township or subsection of Pittsburgh has different property tax rates. Each township varies in how aggressively they will seek to reassess your property when they learn of the sale. Etc etc. Pittsburgh is a big collection of hamlets. Learn the specific areas you want to invest in before you sign on the dotted line.
For instance, I just heard that seeking approval from inspectors can be especially difficult in Turtle Creek and Pitcairn. This is word of mouth from other investors. If I were to consider a property there, I would dig deep to find out the challenges of that neighborhood.
On the opposite side, properties within the central city of Pittsburgh (not a township) are much less likely to be reassessed. They also have a much lower tax rate to boot.
School districts have a lot to do with this. Penn Hills has had a pretty rough time with their school district’s financial situation, and because they get no help from the state, one of their only ways back to health is gouging property owners for more taxes. This is the story of many areas around Pittsburgh. Penn Hills is the one that is often gets mentioned as a case in point.
Hammond, IN · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 0 votes
5y
@Nicholas L. I'm in Tarentum. I moved here from Chicago a few years ago when I decided to 'house hack' an apartment building that was turned into a big house and I'm turning it back into apartments.
I'm on the hunt for the next deal, it's time for me to get out of this one so the remaining work can be completed!
Are there any virtual REIA meetings or similar? Naturally being stuck inside, I want to network :).