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Ask five investors what a Class B rental is and you'll get five different answers. Then watch them all nod at each other like they just agreed on something.
Guess what? There is no agency that defines property class. Not the state board. Not NAR. Not NARPM. There's no form, no rubric, no certification, no inspector who shows up and stamps a letter on your house. It's industry shorthand that got passed around so many times that everybody assumed somebody official wrote it down somewhere.
Nobody did.
I manage over 500 units across five counties in North Central Pennsylvania. My team is inside these properties every single week. So instead of arguing about the national definition, I'm going to tell you how we grade property right here, in our market, with our housing stock.
A few ground rules first:
- This is about long term, unfurnished residential rentals. Not short term. Not furnished. Not student housing. We don't touch those.
- Roughly two thirds of the grade is the property itself. Roughly one third is the location.
- Age is not the driver here. Most of our housing stock is 80 to 120 years old. A beautiful, well-kept 1910 home and a crumbling 1910 home are the same age and nowhere near the same class.
- Single family and multifamily are graded the same way. A duplex is not automatically a lower class than a house. We have Class A duplexes and Class D single family homes.
- Our market has rural, suburban, and downtown living, and there are premium Class A locations in all three. I've seen every class in every setting.
- One Focus manages Class A and Class B property. That's a choice, and by the end of this you'll know why.
Class A
What you'll see in a Class A rental housing here:
- The best neighborhoods, low deferred maintenance, great schools, low crime
- Central air conditioning, our housing stock is old so central air stands out here
- Efficient HVAC powered by natural gas or a heat pump
- Off street parking, ideally covered or in a garage
- Updated electrical, plumbing and new vinyl windows
- Updated kitchen, bath, and lighting fixtures, featuring modern conveniences like led lighting, dishwashers, microwaves and in unit laundry
- Great exterior curb appeal
- Will pass a city licensing inspection
Class B
What you'll see in a Class B rental housing here:
- Stable, established neighborhoods with well maintained buildings
- Property is solid and well maintained, but may not be fully updated
- Reasonably efficient heating powered by natural gas or an electric heat pump
- Kitchen and bath may be a bit dated, but they have modern conveniences
- Laundry is likely available in-unit or in-building
- Curb appeal is clean and neat
- Parking is ample on street, but is more likely off street
- Windows will be original in exceptional condition or replacement
Will pass a city licensing inspection
Class C
What you'll see in a Class C rental housing here:
- Functional but outdated. Colors, materials, layouts, will all be noticeably old. Paneled walls and drop ceilings are common in class C properties.
- Lower quality neighborhoods, likely with more crime and more deferred maintenance on the block itself
- Less efficient or less desirable heat, like oil heat or electric baseboard
- Deferred maintenance is present and peeling paint on the exterior is common
- Older kitchens, baths, and light fixtures
- Laundry facilities are not likely to be available in the building
- Plumbing and electrical are not updated
- Original windows
- On street parking, or parking that is limited
- Will pass a city licensing inspection
Class D
What you'll see in a Class D rental housing here:
- Functionality of systems is not reliable. Safety issues exist due to lack of updating and preventive maintenance
- High crime areas and the toughest blocks
- Exterior condition will show wear, exterior surfaces will be in poor repair, landscaping is unkempt
Will NOT pass a city licensing inspection
Why One Focus Manages Class A and Class B Housing
Our processes and systems are highly developed, and they are exceptionally good at getting performance out of Class A and Class B housing. That is what we built and perfected them for over the last 14 years. To manage a different class of property well, we would have to significantly change those processes.
The biggest piece of that is tenant approval. We hold very high standards for who we rent to, and high quality housing are what attract and keep those qualified applicants. The property and the approval standard work together. You can't hold one high and let the other go. Different housing needs different systems, built and optimized for that housing. We don't have those, and we're not going to pretend we do.
There is a brand piece to it as well. After more than 14 years in this market with a large portfolio, people know what a One Focus listing looks like. Our ads reflect Class A and B housing, and the market has come to expect that from us. If we started mixing other classes in, we would not represent those owners well. We would almost need a separate brand with its own standards and processes to do it right, and that is not something we have done.
If you own Class A or Class B rental property in North Central Pennsylvania and you're tired of doing the hold by yourself, we should talk.
