On the fence about Allentown PA

[Rigo V.]

Newbie to the real estate investing world here! I have been looking for the right area to buy and hold MFH for a few months now. I thought I had found the right area in Allentown PA. Low entry prices, potential appreciation of property, cash flow positive MFH's etc.

I did see a few posts today that concerned me a bit and was hoping someone could give me some insight.

1) Someone mentioned that Allentown has a ton of tenant laws that make it difficult for the landlord?

2) Someone else called Allentown a war-zone and to stay away.

Throughout this process I had always and still intend to hire a property management company to handle the day to day work for my rentals. Hopefully this would make it easier to handle #1.

Any advice or words of wisdom would help! Thanks

[Mark Gallagher]

@Rigo V.

The best thing to do would be to drive these neighborhoods yourself. There is plenty of cash flow in Allentown. It's just like any other larger city, it has more crime than the suburbs. I personally would not call it a war zone, not even close. Some bad streets, yes, but overall not a war zone.