Rental Property City Inspections

[Emily Baratta]

Hi Everyone!

I'm considering Ohio for my first rental property investment, since it seems to be a market with strong cash flow. I have heard, however, that there are mandatory inspections of rental properties by the city, and it can often turn in to a headache because of constant fining, and demanded upgrades.  Does anyone have experience with this? Would you recommend avoiding the Cleveland market because of it? Or is it relatively smooth process? Any insight in to the process, cadence and cost would be appreciated!

[Bill Pate]

The inspections can be a pain.  Personally I would recommend staying away from the City of Cleveland itself.  The property and income taxes are way too high.  We live one county to the west in Lorain County.  The property taxes are much more reasonable.  Also it really depends on what city you buy a property in.  We have three properties in Cuyahoga county.  One in Rocky River, one in Broadview Heights, and one in North Olmsted.  North Olmsted doesn't even send an inspector out they just collect a fee.  Broadview Heights and Rocky River both send inspectors out every other year.  Broadview heights has been the best to deal with.  Rocky River has been tough some times.  I started buying rentals in Elyria in Lorain County because the taxes are lower, and the inspection process hasn't been too bad.  Elyria is a really large city and some spots are high crime/low income, and some are really nice areas.  You really need to find a good realtor to work with, but you can make some good money.  There certainly isn't a shortage of demand for housing in Elyria.  My vacancies typically only last 2-3 weeks.