So you want to buy in CLEVELAND??

[Michael Kiley]

I respond almost daily to my inbox from out of state investors interested in Cleveland. Here is my usual reply...

I self manage and do all my own renovations so I don't have any experience in dealing with outside property mgmt. In fact, I believe my numbers have worked out that well because of those factors. Many of the deals that you hear about that sound like they need their own infomercial are in areas I'd never buy and the rest are from folks like me who have boots on the ground and don't mind hard work. That's just my perspective but I'm sure there are more great deals to be had by out of state investors like yourself, especially when comparing to what you find in your home town. The property I bought for 15k wold have been condemned or torn down by many but it was a small home and didn't take much for me and my son's to make it look like new. I'm familiar with the materials I use in a rental or house flip so I don't have to rethink it every time. I keep my costs low and know how to appeal to the majority of home buyers. If I were you, I wouldn't give up on Cleveland just make sure of the neighborhood you're buying in. (44135, 44111 and 44109 are a few I like) I think it should be C class or better. Lower class properties would be a nightmare dealing with from afar. Lastly, my own personal niche is buying smaller homes built in the 40's and 50's. Houses built around here in those decades were built the best by real craftsmen and typically have hardwood floors. Anything older is gonna have maintenance issues with lath and plaster, tampered-with knob and tube wiring, galvanized plumbing and drafty windows. I look for houses that need everything because after a house is rehabbed fully, I know everything about it and all of the major systems have been replaced. Best of luck to you.

(I posted this to help guide would-be investors in the right direction. I don't do property management for others and only use my license for personal use)

[Anna Sagatelova]

Michael, great post. I couldn't agree more about the too-good-to-be-true deals that seem to lure in so many OOS investors, who see opportunity in the low entry price and have a terrible experience 98% of the time, only to walk away with a bitter taste of "Cleveland" as a whole.

To your point @James Maradits, I think property management is inherently ill-suited to those kinds of properties/deals. The best PMs understand that managing there would be a lose-lose situation and then those investors who were sold on unrealistic premises are stuck with the PMs with the worst processes, staffing issues, etc.