CLEVELAND - Investor looking for Market Info

[Colin M.]

Hi there -

I am an NYC based first time buyer / investor along with my fiance. We are looking into the Cleveland Market to purchase a Multifamily unit.

Looking to hear your opinions on the rental market scene in Cleveland, if you'd advise jumping into it or avoiding? Also those of you who are familiar with the market, I'd love to hear from you regarding what you have invested in / where / with whom /any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated! 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Colin M.:

Hi there -

I am an NYC based first time buyer / investor along with my fiance. We are looking into the Cleveland Market to purchase a Multifamily unit.

Looking to hear your opinions on the rental market scene in Cleveland, if you'd advise jumping into it or avoiding? Also those of you who are familiar with the market, I'd love to hear from you regarding what you have invested in / where / with whom /any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated! 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

1st thing to note is that Cleveland isn't really any different then any other popular rental market. You live in NYC, it's expensive so you like others look to places like Cleveland, Kansas City, Birmingham, Memphis, Indianapolis, Detroit etc.....Why because they are all fairly cheap with high rent to price ratios. Makes sense. As for which market you should buy a handful of houses you are really splitting hairs. More or less you'll get a similar experience in any of these markets.

What you should really be focusing on is where IN each of these markets you buy and WHO in each of these markets is out there to assist you in building your portfolio. You need property management. So make sure you've got a slew of property manager's to choose from in each of the markets if you don't like how the 1st one you pick operates. Above all though it's location. It's the neighborhood that determines how the investment goes. When investors get hosed it's when they think they are buying something low risk that is actually high risk. For Cleveland itself I created The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods to assist investors in their due diligence here in Cleveland. If you liked that one stay tuned as I am going to publish a few more for other markets in the coming months. If you see any other markets that stand out to you let me know.