Ohio Tenant or Landlord Favored State?

[Karen Jackson]

Hey Biggerpockets!

I’m starting to explore the Cleveland, OH market, is Ohio a tenant or landlord favored stated? Feel free to share your investing experiences in Cleveland and experiences with dealing with the court systems, tenant eviction process etc.

Thanks and looking forward to all the great feedback!

[Jim K.]

@James Wise Could you comment on this from your perspective in Cleveland?

Karen, I see this question all the time: is this state or that state a tenant-friendly or landlord-friendly state? From my perspective your question starts in the wrong place. As a local investor in a very insular city and its immediate suburbs, I think that for anyone new looking to buy into a big area from a few thousand miles away, the focus should be tighter.

There are always local laws in different parts of the state to deal with, and frequently local magistrates exercise a great deal of discretionary power. There are also local police authorities to rely on and local municipal workers.

The key question I think you SHOULD be asking first is if the property manager you're thinking about working with is experienced and knowledgeable in dealing with the local court system in rental property matters. If s/he knows these local magistrates and the police and the local law well. What kind of relationship and contacts does your long-distance property manager have with local police and local governing bodies?

To place a major emphasis on state laws just seems to be too macro a view to take, putting the cart before the horse. Your property managers may have the easiest state and local laws in the world to deal with, but if they don't know those laws well and how they play out locally, if they don't know the right ways to talk to Judge A versus Judge B, that's generally going to far more important than the letter of the state law...when it comes to actually getting things done.