Best BRRRR Markets - Cincinnati or....???

Question

Hello everyone,I have been doing some research on where I would like to invest out of state. Although I like the idea with investing in Florida or Texas I think the areas in those states I would be interested in may now be out of my price range. My goal is to soon make contact with a great Real Estate Agent once I land on a specific market. Hopefully he/she can help me with a great lenders, PM's and contractors in the area, but those contacts would be next.I have about 200k to work with and want to pick up value add properties at a discount, complete the BRRRR method and get back my investment (or most of my investment) and move on to the next one. As I get my feet we out of state I would like to do more simple rehabs (minor repairs, flooring, paint, maybe roofing, etc) and am okay with more in depth rehabs later. If I find the market, team and deals I would also be able to get hard/private money to do more deals if/when it makes sense.I want a mix of cash flow and an appreciating market (I'm not looking for high cash flow in a downward/stagnant market or bad neighborhoods).I guess the reason for my post is to see if anyone has any experience, information and or advice on the following markets as well as any recommendations for investor friendly realtors.#1. Cincinnati Ohio#2. Columbus Ohio#3. Jacksonville Florida#4. Tulsa Oklahoma#5. El Paso, Odessa or McAllen TexasThanks!

Nate Sanow · Answer

So those could all be good options for you. I’m excited about Ohio with the news on the chip factory and can’t say I blame you if you go there. I personally can only speak into my local market, being Tulsa. I’m in the middle of a couple Brrrr’s, I’ve got more in the pipeline and a few behind me too, and of course have helped a growing handful of clients acquire brrrr-able deals too. I’ve refined my contractor list over and over again, and try to keep cosmetic only rehabs as my primary focus and bids around $15-20,000. This is best done by actually eliminating GC types and going straight to subs. I do like our market because deals can still happen below $100,000. I personally think the ceiling that makes sense is around $130,000… reason being, our average sold price is mid $200’s to upper $200’s (near $294k at the height, some fluctuations now) and so I feel really safe with a renovated asset in the mid $100s knowing that odds are I get some built in equity with appreciation giving us room to average out closer to the area average. Also, rents are comfortably averaged in the mid $1000’s per month so that mid $100k ARV target allows for the probability of a “1% rule” deal. Tulsa has a lot of upside there, as the door is still open for affordability for however long. The only real downside to me for our market is job growth in terms of wages. There’s not a HUGE surplus of 6 figure plus wage earners and so I find the renter pool to be consistently around our median income of about $60k and factor that into safe numbers for rents. Anything near or above $2,000 per month doesn’t consistently make sense unless MTR / STR is your thing. So many folks really pushed rents for LTR recently but I am a fan of strategic pricing at about 95% of max market rent and to make sure I remind prospective tenants that I’m giving them a bit of a deal with the expectation they will pay on time and really value the asset almost as much as me, and hopefully stay longer than 12 months to mitigate the turnover. Yes you can tell I self manage but I do have referral relationships with great PM’s in town who have take good care of my people. A ton of people will probably hit you up because that’s what happens when areas get the tag. I’m not here to push anything but this is a conversation I love to have and if you want to contact me directly please feel free to send a message or look me up. Good luck to you whatever you decide, best wishes to your success!

Jack Mawer · Answer

I would agree with @Eliott Elias on this one - focusing on smaller secondary markets can be beneficial, especially in a market like todays. Killeen is small but growing in density and quite undiscovered for investors. An area like this provides for great cash on cash returns, as well as stable appreciation that you may not be able to obtain in more saturated markets.

Patrick Drury · Answer

@Jesse HowellIf you want a mix of cash flow and appreciation, Columbus is better suited than Cincy.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Look into Killeen Texas

Brandon Goldsmith · Answer

There are a lot of opportunities in Ohio, especially in both Cincinnati and Columbus. They fit that mold of the cash flow/ appreciation combo since both are growing at a steady rate. @Jesse Howell

Remington Lyman · Answer

Curious on why you listed Cincinnati over Columbus

Jesse Howell · Answer

Mainly a cheaper entry price and better rent to price ratio from my research. Although, Columbus had better metrics in other areas as well, it was a pretty close call when comparing them.

Sam McCormack · Answer

I would definitely recommend Columbus and Cincy. I am in Cincy, if you are wanting to look here let me know! Hit up @Patrick Drury for Columbus!

Wale Lawal · Answer

@Jesse HowellI am a real estate agent and investor in the Houston market.Katy, Cypress, Spring, some parts of Houston, Conroe, Tomball, Pearland are great markets.Rent growth and appreciation is steady.These cities tend to command quality tenants, and they have great schools.Good Luck!

Jesse Howell · Answer

I appreciate the reply and info. If I decide to settle on or have more questions for Tulsa I will reach out.