Would appreciate hearing from someone who owns there. Is this a viable market for investing in rental property?
Thanks,
Jeff
I was just there yesterday on an overnight (pilot). We stay right next to a college where there are beautiful victorian homes where a few have been converted into quads or tris. From walking around I did notice a lot of for rent signs and a ton of apartments that looked about half full. I would guess the rental market in that area was heavily dependant on the college students. Nice folks up there considering you are in NY.
A dying city…the large employers are tubing, and the property taxes are insane. A relative has a rather unspectacular little ranch house in Greece (worth maybe $150K?) and the annual taxes are $8,000.
I’m from rochester what would you like to know> :beer
I have very limited experience with this market, but it looks very, very soft.
It seems that houses sit on the market for a long time, and there’s not much appreciation. My wife’s cousin sold a house for about the same as what it cost six years ago, and that did not count the $20,000 in improvements that she made.
The issue is jobs. Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, Xerox…it’s what happens when jobs are concentrated in a few key employers.
And oh my GOD, the property taxes…my wife’s uncle had a little house costing about $100,000, and the annual taxes were $8,500. I nearly had a heart attack when I learned this.
As with any market, some spots are likely to be better than others, and if you are buying right, then it really doesn’t matter.
When the taxes exceed the mortgage its a problem. :banghead
I would politely disagree with the dying city statement. Although the Kodak/B&L/Xerox job cuts have had an impact, many of those people found jobs in a growing high tech/small business industry.
As far as a 100k house with taxes of $8500 sounds a little inflated. There are areas that taxes are very high, but $85/$1000 assessment WOW. I live in a suburb of Rochester, I’m assessed at $215k and my taxes are just about $8k.
I do not invest in the city proper, but I do have a few in the adjacent county. The market, after a VERY slow winter, has actually picked up a bit but is no where near what it was. Prices are still too high and good investment deals are very far and few in between (in my opinion). Rental market is good and continues to grow. I recently purchased two doubles, one was already occupied and the other was vacant. People were falling over themselves to rent the vacant apts.
I would be careful if your an out of town investor. I never understood why anyone would want to invest from out of town but I guess there’s an a@# for every seat.
Yes taxes are high. I have a home in Canandaigua nera Rochester , it’s market value is around 110K. The taxes is around $4,200. The rental market is truly amazing people will run you over for a place to live. Rochester is a great town,but the town’s that are around it are great as well. Look for great deals outside the big city as well. :beer