All Forum Posts by: Phil Shaffer

Just chiming in based on your question/comment about Pittsburgh. I bought 2 duplexes within the past year in the Pittsburgh area and both are cash flowing. There are definitely deals that can be found here! I think the trade off you’ll have to consider is that while you wouldn’t have the “competitive advantage” like you do in Philly (where you know the area, have folks local), you’d have a better chance of numbers that work it sounds like, but then would need to build a bit of network in Pittsburgh for management/maintenance. You could always start in Pittsburgh and build your process, then make a purchase in Philly when you find one that makes sense!

I had a similar situation on both duplexes I bought in Pittsburgh over the past year. Existing renters with a previous lease and rents in place at the time of purchase. I personally ended up keeping and honoring their leases since my numbers still worked with the existing rents (even though of course they could have been better), they seemed like quality tenants, less of a headache and quicker to get revenue coming in, and the timing of their leases were ideal (ended in the summer when it’s easier to get units filled). I took a chance and rolled the dice. Ultimately it worked out! One set of the tenants ended up renewing for another year and I think respected the fact that I didn’t raise rent back when I probably could have, and the other set ended up moving out due to life changes, so I bumped that rent up to what I thought it should be anyway and just recently filled the unit at that rent price. Not sure if right or wrong approach necessarily but thought sharing my actual experience might help in your decision!

My personal experience has led me to find cash flowing duplexes closer to the downtown city of Pittsburgh. Happy to connect and share if that helps!

Happy to connect and share insights if it would be helpful! Echo what most folks have mentioned here regarding the school zones that they tend to be outside of the city a bit.

I love this topic because I too have an older relative with about the same value sitting in their home, and we have a discussion once every other week about my suggestion to them of using a HELOC to pull money and buy a few cash flowing assets (since they are ready for retirement, their main goal is immediate cash flow).

For what it’s worth, both my multi-unit rentals in Pittsburgh do cash flow!

Hey Brady - similar response as most everyone else where I’d repeat the model you have with house hacking a multi unit, and then I personally would do a long term tenant in the one(s) not occupied by me to keep my workload down (assuming that makes your numbers work). I don’t think you can go wrong with either one if you’re following that overall concept (and again, if your numbers work), it just depends on your overall goals and long term strategy!

Happy to share my contractor contacts! Feel free to send me a separate message. 

Happy to connect you with the agents in my network that I personally use if that would help! I have 3 properties in the area that I manage out of state, and happy to share my experiences.

I invest in the area from out of state, so the first walk throughs for the places I’ve purchased were all virtual via pictures and detailed videos.

I use the initial virtual walkthroughs to get an initial feel for the place (i.e. if I was a renter, would I rent this place for X amount) to understand the flow/layout (all rooms), and to see if anything glaring sticks out to the naked eye (stains, obvious repairs needed, etc). To your second point, I have a realtor on my team who I trust and have used on all my investments to date so that assures me nothing is overlooked on purpose. With the first one, I had a very general idea of what to look for from listening to episodes of the podcast related to that topic, and then by my third purchase, we now we have a good process down where my realtor knows exactly what I am looking for (outlined above) so they make sure to focus on the areas and things they know I usually have questions!

Hi everyone,

Officially starting with my first post to introduce myself to everyone! After a couple years or studying and research including countless hours of listening to BiggerPockets podcasts, I took the leap and became an active investor in the Pittsburgh PA area in June 2024. To date, I’ve invested in two multi-family long term rentals, and one single family residence that is currently an Airbnb, and looking to continue to grow. I’m an out of state investor, but have various ties to the city, including family and friends who live in the area, thus the reason it was my starting point for investing. I’m excited to officially join the forums and connect with others interested in investing in the Pittsburgh area, and share my advice, experience and contacts in my network in case any of it helps you! Also always looking to expand my network as I aim to continue to grow my portfolio.