So what is all of this about investing in rental real estate in the west side of Cleveland vs. investing in rental real estate on the east side of Cleveland. Maybe my preference is rooted in the fact that I grew up off of Puritas and went to grade school and high school in West Park. My wife and I rented our first house together on W 147th just north of Lorain Rd, and my Aunts and Uncles lived in Ohio City off Chatham and on Franklin and on W 41st, so I know the west side of Cleveland well.
When my clients ask me where to invest, I give them a list of west side of Cleveland zip codes where I prefer to be a property manager. These include in order of preference: 44111 (west park), 44135 (Puritas), 44109 (specifically South Park), then 44144 and 44102 (selectively). Tremont is also a great trendy west side neighborhood, but it is expensive.
Of course just as there is a buyer for every house, every real estate investor has difference investment criteria. So my list of where I like being a property manager has a lot to do with my personal preference of low crime, low drama and tenants who tend to pay their rents.
Today West Park is a pleasant neighborhood on Cleveland’s far West Side. But originally it was an independent city with its own mayor, city hall, police and fire departments, school system.
From West Park Historical Society: “In 1810, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Township 7, Range 14, of the Connecticut Land Company’s Western Reserve was bordered by Lake Erie on the north and present-day West 117th Street on the east, Brookpark Road to the south, and West 230th Street on the west. In 1819 the name “Rockport Township” was adopted by local residents.
As the population of the 15,207-acre township grew, hamlets and villages were formed, eventually leading to the establishment of surrounding Lakewood, Rocky River, and Fairview Village. Likewise, Rockport Hamlet was formed in 1892. It was incorporated as Rockport Village in 1902, and renamed the Village of West Park in 1913. Eventually it became the City of West Park in 1921 with a population of 8,591 residents.
As had the citizens of Newburgh, South Brooklyn and Collinwood, among others over the years, West Park residents voted to merge with the City of Cleveland in 1922. The inducement was Cleveland’s promise of lower taxes and public transportation fares, updated utilities, infrastructure, safety forces and schools. On January 1, 1923, West Park, which comprised 12.5 square miles, was the last independent city to be annexed by Cleveland.”
In November of 1982, the city of Cleveland passed a law requiring all city employees to reside within the city of Cleveland. It seems to make sense and it helped stabilize neighborhoods in a time when people were fleeing the city of Cleveland and court mandated school busing in ever greater numbers. Many police, firemen and other well paid city employees chose West Park… and many still do.
Unfortunately, in 1983, then Mayor Voinovich askes to have 10 administrators make exempt from the city residency law. Then in 2009, the Home Rule residency law was ruled unconstitutional by Ohio State Supreme Court. But even 10 years later, the makeup of the West Park neighborhood still seems much the same.
The following was taken from a 2005 Cleveland Magazine article: It’s Wonderful Living in West Park. “What’s more, we feel safe here, probably because so many members of the city’s safety forces live nearby. I’ve never seen a suspicious person milling around our house, never heard of anyone’s car getting jacked, never complained about anything worse than July fireworks being blown off too late at night. “Ward 21 [which includes our neighborhood] has much less crime than all the other districts and fewer calls for service,” says Cleveland Police’s Lt. Thomas Stacho”
Today, the area known as West Park is still one of the most desirable neighborhoods within the boundaries of Cleveland. It starts at West 117th, and continues westward along Lorain Road until reaching the city boarder with Fairview Park at Kamm’s Corner, the gem of West Park.
As you travel from W 117 to Kamm’s Corner, you will notice that the housing stock gets a bit nicer with each major artery. So from W 117 to W 130, then to W. 140, then W 150 and finally Rocky River Drive. With each of these arteries, the houses seem a bit better maintained, the lawns are greener and in better shape. I have noticed that even housing inspectors seem to do a better job. One city of Cleveland Housing inspector told me that I should make sure that when he drives down my street, I should not give him reason to pull over and get out of his car. He expects everything to look well kept. This inspector crawls around behind the bushes looking for missing mortar, which is a housing code violation.
To the contrary, I have had a housing inspector on the east side of Cleveland, refuse to go inside the house (other than peek inside) and told me “I could condemn every house one the street but then where would people live”. The east side inspector passed our house with no violations.
West Park has lower crime rates than the rest of the city of Cleveland… and as you move westward from W 117 toward Kamm’s Corner, it feels safer. Along Lorain Rd, you will find a great diversity of business owners including middle east markets and restaurants, and Latino owed restaurants and stores. To be sure, the place has changed from the 1960’s, but it still a great place for investors interested in purchasing homes that will hold their value.
Fairview Park Hospital is located just a few streets over from Kamm’s Corner. One of my single family rentals across the street easily fetched $1200 per month rental. At the W 160th block, one of my rentals brought in $1300 per month. This is a Cleveland neighborhood that can justify higher end rehabs from W 150th to Kamms Corner in Westpark.
As you move west from W 100th street we typically find tenant applicants with better paying jobs, higher credit scores and less hits on their criminal background checks.
All of these factors contribute to make West Park on the west side of Cleveland, not only a pleasant neighborhood to be a property manager, but also a great place to be a rental real estate investor.
