Out of state investing in Toledo or Columbus?

[Paul Walker]

Hello BP!

I'm getting ready to make my first investment in October. I've researched a number of markets in the midwest and talked to realtors throughout, and am deciding between Toledo & Columbus. I'd love to hear from some investors about what they would do in my situation:

• Out of state investor, plan to use a property manager
• $30k in cash to work with, financing deal
• Buy & hold
• Turnkey/minimal time required from me, want to focus on my 9-5
• Not looking for partnership on deals yet
• Interested in cash flowing single family, or small multifamily in the $125-$175k range
• Will likely do another deal in Dec/Jan in the same area, same amount of cash & continue to scale.

Any opinions or experiences you can share are greatly appreciated!

[Daniel Kramer]

Hi Paul, 

I live and invest in Toledo. You can probably do well in either, but my first thought is that you can actually get a quality low maintenance home in a safe neighborhood in Toledo within that budget. Columbus is a great city with many benefits, but I am not so sure you can get all that in Columbus. 

There are a handful of good Toledo realtors on BP here that could definitely meet all your bullet points. 

Dan