What's your take on this hood?

Question

Hey folks,

I'm an OOS investor and looking at a few triplex/duplex in the Riverside area (78210), in the vicinity of Topeka Blvd and Cherry Street. What's your take on this area?  Is there a lot of crime?  Is this the hood?  Or, is this a decent C+ hood?  Tenant profile in this area?  Any information you can share would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-Edwin

Betty Cruz · Answer

@Edwin L. You really can’t go by zip codes. San Antonio varies widely by just crossing a major street, highway or railroad track. If you can’t make a trip here, I’d spend time “cruising” the streets on Google Maps.

Edwin L. · Answer

@Joseph Cacciapaglia, thanks for recommending a few areas.  When we get back to normal I will need to make a trip to SA.

@Betty Cruz, google maps is a good idea, but definitely need to make a trip to visit.

@Michael Guzik, another good reason to make a trip.  Thanks!

Joseph Cacciapaglia · Answer

I find this area to be difficult to make work as a long term investment. In general it's a more difficult part of town to attract tenants. The average vacancy in that area takes almost 2 months to fill. A lot of out of state investors make their way to this type of neighborhood, because the rent to price ratios look a lot better there, but I believe you'll get much stronger total returns focusing on areas with stronger tenant demand.

Michael Guzik · Answer

@Edwin L. Great question man but especially around Downtown San Antonio it can vary like @Betty Cruz says just by going over one street. I am currently looking for a rental property for a California investor here and he found a home in an an area that is usually lower middle class and can be quite rough. However this specific home is in a great neighborhood that was built by a different builder and is the black sheep of the area (in a good way). If i had simply just looked at the zip code and googled it I would have ruled it out! I took the time to drive the area and this is a very quiet neighborhood with more prominent, established people that rarely sell so it is a pretty desirable community for anyone looking to move into the area. Moral of the story can't judge anything by the zip code, it is a good rule of thumb but there are way too many factors that go into whether it is a good investment or not!

Joseph Cacciapaglia · Answer

You have to look much more granular than zip codes here in San Antonio, because renter demand can very a from one neighborhood to the next. We have so little multifamily inventory at the moment that is makes sense to just look at everything, and rule properties out based on the subdivision specific rental comps. A couple of subdivisions/areas that I like to keep an eye on are Woodlake, MG Road, Mathom Landing, Tesoro Ridge, and Larkspur. There are many other places where you'll find one off properties, but those spots in particular tend to produce a few deals each every year.

Edwin L. · Answer

@Joseph Cacciapaglia, I was afraid of that'd be the case.  What areas do you recommend with strong tenant demand (any zip codes).  I'm not familiar with SA.  Thanks!

What's your take on this hood?

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