Multi-Family Market Suggestions

[Garrett Schmidt]

Looking at purchasing duplexes and triplexes in Midwest markets. What markets have you had success in? I’m looking at properties 120K or less. Open to any and all suggestions, tips, ideas and connections. Thank you!

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Garrett Schmidt:

Looking at purchasing duplexes and triplexes in Midwest markets. What markets have you had success in? I’m looking at properties 120K or less. Open to any and all suggestions, tips, ideas and connections. Thank you!

Welcome aboard Garrett. I saw this thread Cleveland was pinged as one of my keyword alerts so I figured you'd get some value out of reading The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. I also have similar guides that you may want to look over for Kansas City, Missouri. & Birmingham, Alabama.

In addition there are tons of other solid multi family and or turnkey markets out there besides Cleveland, KC and Bama. In no particular order some of the most popular markets for out of state investors

• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Youngstown, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Saint Louis, Missouri
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jackson, Mississippi

P.S. 

Take a look at the punch list below to help avoid costly mistakes when investing out of town.

• Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core. Pick a solid B-Class suburban area. Perhaps a nice 1950's built bungalow.
• Always hire a 3rd party property inspector to give you an unbiased feel for the home. The reports are 40-90 pages long and go through the entire house in great detail.
• Get an appraisal. If your using financing the bank requires this. This is good. The bank isn't going to let you blow their money. They have more skin in the game then you do.
• Make sure you get clear title. If using a lender this is a non issue. They will make you do this. It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.
• Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.
• Google Clayton Morris and/or Morris Invest for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estate
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk averse, real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.