Newbie in Dayton, Ohio

[David Slamer]

Good evening, I am a complete newbie that stumbled across BiggerPockets as I have been in the early stages of my research. I have been listening to the podcast and reading as much as possible. After reading a bit, I figured it was time to move forward and post.

As said, I am in the very early stages of developing my real estate plan. My family and I currently live in a southern suburb of Dayton. One thing I know is that I am not looking to replace my current occupation. This intent of my investing is to develop a reasonable and stable cash flow scenario. Ultimately, my goal would be to buy and hold around 5 properties.

I have lived in the Dayton area for the last 25 years, so I am comfortable with the various parts of the the city. However, I would say I am more familiar with the suburban areas than downtown, but am very happy with the way they have developed that area. In order to get a higher level of stability, at least starting out, I am looking in the B or C area. I have been watching the Kettering area for a while and they have an abundance of 90-120k homes with rent being over 1k in general for a sfh. I also would be interested in areas near the base, but have quite a few that have come as far south as my neighborhood.

So my biggest question, for a guy that has very limited experience in the real estate, is where should I go from here? I want to be as versed as possible before walking into my first deal.

Does the Dayton area have local meets or networking events?

Do you attend open houses or anything to meet realtors?

Do you recommend reaching out to a CPA and/or lawyer before getting too deep?

I have a couple long-time friends that have discussed a potential partnership. How would go about developing a game plan with them?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @David Slamer:

Thank you everyone for the welcome! I have about a 45 minute commute to and from work, so I have been trying to listen to at least one podcast a day. 

@James Wise Is there one way better than others to get to know agents? Or, is the best way just to go around to local agencies and see what I can find?

@Darrin Carey I will definitely make sure to attend. I appreciate the invite. 

One other general question, how many deals did you all analyze before buying? Did you develop your own process or follow the general guidelines discussed in many places on here? 

 I prefer streamlined communication as I am sure most busy agents would.

A dude showing up at my office wanting to sit down & talk would not be something i'd want to deal with. Only people that have time for that aren't busy. Ask yourself why aren't they busy? Are they any good at their job?

 What would be better would be the same dude sending me an email & telling me exactly what he wants to do in as few words as possible.

Something like

Dear Agent

My name is X. I would like to buy X. I have attached a copy of my proof of funds as well as a pre approval letter. I would like to get started on X date & make my 1st purchase by x date. Is this something you can assist me with?