New from Philadelphia suburbs

[Jared Lowman]

Hey gang.  First post here.  I'm in Montgomery County, PA outside of Philadelphia.  I've had an interest in becoming a landlord for quite some time and I think I've convinced my wife to move ahead with the idea though she is a little apprehensive.  We're interested mostly in buy and hold single family / small multifamily.  We had originally been thinking we'd try to find a property in close proximity to us (Oreland, Flourtown, Glenside, Abington, Ambler area) since we will be managing the property ourselves and we're first timers. However, I've seen recent posts here about how Philadelphia is the place to invest rather than the burbs. There are certain neighborhoods of Philadelphia that we have also considered and are not that much farther away (Chestnut HIll, Mt. Airy, Germantown, Manayunk, Roxborough).  Just wondering everyone's opinions on how far away a first investment property should be for first time landlords?  Thanks and looking forward  to networking and gathering as much information from other members here. BP seems like a great resource.

[Paulette Midgette]

Welcome to BP @Jared Lowman!

In answer to your question about investing in Philly.  You may have heard this more than once, but I can't stress enough that Philadelphia is a city of Neighborhoods.  While it is very important to keep your investing goals in mind, those goals should also be aligned with the type of tenants you desire.  For example, if you are interested in renting to 20 somethings, fresh out of college and ready to take the world by storm, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill are not the places for you.  If you want to rent to generation X's who are more established in their careers, married, with children, then these areas would fit the bill.  bottom line, research the areas of interest and learn as much as you can about them. 

I live in East Mt. Airy right on the Philadelphia/Montgomery county line.  I am less than 5 minutes from Glenside, less than 10 minutes away from Oreland, and about 15 minutes outside of Ambler.  Germantown and Chestnut Hill are to the West of my location but still within a 10 minute drive.  Depending on where you live Manayunk and Roxborough can be a hike.  Since you are planning to manage the property yourself, I  would say Mt. Airy, Cedarbrook, Oak lane,  Chestnut Hill, and Germantown would be your best bets with respect to distance. 

Good Luck