Is cleveland a good place to invest?

Question

I'm new to real estate investing.  Is Cleveland a good place to invest?  I hear about issues with lead in the paint and soil on older homes.  Anyone have any concerns with lead issues or any other health issues associated Cleveland homes?

Al Perez · Answer

Hello Marc, I've been investing in Cleveland, OH for the last five years after doing the same in Atlanta, GA and Michigan. Low RE prices (compared to Indianapolis. Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Columbus), high rental demand, diverse industry, and RE prices moving upward.  Moderate traffic, very friendly county's website, etc. I came to stay. Feel free to ask questions. Cheers,

Steven Dragmen · Answer

Cleveland is a great place to invest.  Lead paint was widely used before 1978 in cities all across the US.  The city of Cleveland is currently working on some sort of lead paint legislation possibly geared after the  Rochester NY  lead paint rental ordinance.  Bare soil at a house with deteriorating paint is an issue.  You could side the house with a common house wrap tucked under at the bottom and side the house, this takes care of the exposed lead paint.  The soil which we can assume is contaminated and be covered with mulch, straw (would pass a clearance test) or planting new sod.  These are approved interim controls that should take place before any issues with a child happen.  The EPA of course allows for abatement of the issues and is more costly than interim control methods.

These would be a permanent cover or removal and proper disposal of the contaminated soil.  My point is any responsible landlord should take the needed interim controls available to them before a possible issue with a child arises.  Many times these are maintenance issues that possible should be completed with out the threat of lead paint.  Landlords should not be scared of the lead paint ordnance rather educate themselves on what should be done to prevent an issue.

A prospective landlord may look for homes that are already sided (no exposed chipping paint), have replacement windows or jamb liners in place, and in general lack or can be made to lack chipping paint.  These few items will greatly reduce lead exposure in the homes they propose to rent.

James Wise · Answer

There isn't really anything specific about Cleveland in regards to lead paint. Any metropolitan area where the majority of the housing stock was built prior to 1978 is going to have the same issues. Cleveland has been enforcing the removal of lead paint hazards much more aggressively this year than in the past. I imagine that's why you've had the paint issues on your radar.

As for whether or not it's a good place to invest in I recommend checking out The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods for more info on the market.

Christopher Blanco · Answer

Cleveland is a great place to invest. We are getting lots of attention from foreign investors as well as nationwide US investors. I would be happy to set up some time to talk about your goals and how someone on the ground can help. I will send a connection request!

Michael Kiley · Answer

@Charlsi Kelley Sure! Let's connect when you are in town next week.

South Euclid and Cleveland Heights?! Why settle for 2nd best when you could look on the better side of town (West of the Cuyahoga River) :) No seriously, those are good areas but I'm partial to the westside and there are lots of potential BRRRR's in C & B neighborhoods over here.

Charlsi Kelley · Answer

@Michael Kiley I currently live in Denver and my husband and I are actually considering moving to Cleveland inAugust so we can start actively investing. I have family there and prices here in Denver leave us very few opportunities. We have some big RE goals and it’s just not feasible here with our high cost of living!

I will actually be in town next week and would love to connect and go over some neighborhoods that work well with BRRRR strategy. Right now I am honing in on S Euclid and Cleveland Heights but would love some local advice from a realtor who knows investing !

Nate Richards · Answer

If someone is seeing a 18Cleveland/08Detroit resemblance in "profile", the data or data sources  for these "facts" best be quadruple checked.

Detroit's; 2X the size @ 700k pop, +80% African American, 10% white non-hispanic, single industry automotive focused, for a start.

Cleveland's; 300k population, 50% African American, 40% white non-hispanic, and carries health care, insurance, manufacturing (Probably 70% non-auto), and financial sector jobs. Their largest employer Cleveland Clinic has 32k employees in the city which is more than the top 5 Detroit employers combined.

Unlike Detroit, employees drive into the city enmasse for work instead of to the suburbs to massive sprawling factories.  It's clear even from a 1000ft view that Cleveland is well diversified. Preventing a potential meltdown like Detroit saw.

That being said you can easily choose a poor area without a knowledgeable team. These small city neighborhoods vary in quality and desirability block to block, not by zipcode.

Michael Ohara · Answer

I invest in Cleveland all the way from Hawaii.  No lead paint issues that weren't easy to fix.  For the most part, no issues.

Robert Matelski · Answer

Would you mind expanding on your comment about Cleveland having the exact same profile as Detroit pre-collapse? What metrics/data/parameters specifically are you referencing?

Brandon Sturgill · Answer

@Marc Shin apparently it is if you're from Cleveland...lol...I'm usually pretty hard on the city because we live in data...and Cleveland has the exact same profile as Detroit pre-collapse...this isn't an opinion its a fact...that's not a good thing...I think the question is whether you are comfortable with the assumption of risk. If yes, go for it. If no, pick a market with a better economic outlook.

To be honest it's probably a fine place to invest, and despite the overwhelming negatives, Cleveland has some real gems...and great suburbs...you just need to have a well defined plan and knowledgeable team on the ground.

Best of luck

Is cleveland a good place to invest?

Most Popular Reply