Good neighborhoods for rentals (Cleveland, Lakewood: homes, to buy, tenants)

[WhiteLionStudios]

I will be investing in some rental properties (sfh - 4plex) in the Cleveland area and would love some feedback on where you guys think would work for my criteria (and where to avoid). I have a few types of neighborhoods I would like. So far a few of the areas I'm considering are:

South Euclid 44121
Mayfield Heights 44124
Shaker Heights 44122
Cleveland 44115 & 44135
Garfield Heights 44125
Maple Heights 44137
Cleveland Heights 44118
University Heights 44118
Bedford Heights 44146
Euclid 44123


Here are the types of areas I'm trying to find:

1)
"blue collar suburbs"
not in a war zone
average schools or better
yards kept up ok
good people long time owner / tenants


2)
trendy downtown of a suburb with nightlife and restaurants on the rise

[L2DB]

I'd say only Shaker and Mayfield Heights have average schools or better (I don't know about Bedford Heights).

CH and UH have good parts, but the taxes (along with Shaker Heights) are pretty onerous. CH has the most of #2 of your post. They also have the most rental properties (at least, for multi-family homes) of any that you listed.

Personally, the only places I'd consider are CH, UH, MH, and South Euclid. And there's kind of a sliding scale based on the type of tenant you want. I'd go CH/UH if you were okay with the single young professional or young couple (oftentimes in grad school at Case or residency at one of the hospitals) and I'd go more South Euclid/MH if you wanted young families that can't afford to buy.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by L2DB

I'd say only Shaker and Mayfield Heights have average schools or better (I don't know about Bedford Heights).

CH and UH have good parts, but the taxes (along with Shaker Heights) are pretty onerous. CH has the most of #2 of your post. They also have the most rental properties (at least, for multi-family homes) of any that you listed.

Personally, the only places I'd consider are CH, UH, MH, and South Euclid. And there's kind of a sliding scale based on the type of tenant you want. I'd go CH/UH if you were okay with the single young professional or young couple (oftentimes in grad school at Case or residency at one of the hospitals) and I'd go more South Euclid/MH if you wanted young families that can't afford to buy.

I'll second this.

[Cleverfield]

You might want to add Newburgh Heights to your list. Nice blue collar suburb about 10 minutes from Downtown, 5 minutes from Tremont.

[ECBeastor]

1.) I'd avoid Maple Hts., it seems to be taking a serious turn for the worse. Newburgh is Cleveland Municipal Schools so while it's a decent blue collar community, it has terrible schools. Cuyahoga Heights, just south of Newburgh has good schools and what you are looking for, but it is a bit pricey when something actually goes on the market there.

2.) I'd say checkout Lakewood if you want suburb with a nice restaurant and bar scene and lots of multi-family homes. It also has better schools than several on your list above
Very popular sections of Cleveland also include Detroit-Shoreway, Tremont, Ohio City, Little Italy. These areas will be priced accordingly and don't have a lot of cheap deals.

[ctownballr27]

Originally Posted by ECBeastor

1.) I'd avoid Maple Hts., it seems to be taking a serious turn for the worse. Newburgh is Cleveland Municipal Schools so while it's a decent blue collar community, it has terrible schools. Cuyahoga Heights, just south of Newburgh has good schools and what you are looking for, but it is a bit pricey when something actually goes on the market there.

2.) I'd say checkout Lakewood if you want suburb with a nice restaurant and bar scene and lots of multi-family homes. It also has better schools than several on your list above
Very popular sections of Cleveland also include Detroit-Shoreway, Tremont, Ohio City, Little Italy. These areas will be priced accordingly and don't have a lot of cheap deals.

Agreed with this post....our suburbs aren't on the rise, but these city neighborhoods are.

[WhiteLionStudios]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I really appreciate it and will take a good look at Lakewood. I'm planning to keep these properties for a long time and don't want to be in a bad or declining area.

I'm flying out Friday for Labor Day weekend. I will let you guys know my thoughts and impressions.

[WhiteLionStudios]

I had a great trip to Cleveland. Special thanks to ECBeastor for the Lakewood recommendation as I really took a liking to it. Felt a bit like a college town without the college.

I also felt like many of the Heights were pretty nice and kept up, at least the neighborhoods I was in. The Tremont area was a lot of fun to go out and Little Italy had a good feel too.