All Forum Posts by: Brandon Caynor

Brandon - love to hear it. I started with a house hack after college with some of my college buddies and it helped jump-start my real estate investing journey. Feel free to drop me a text or a call if you want to connect and chat about it sometime. My number is 330-701-0037. 

Hey Theresa, I'm an investor and agent in Cleveland / Akron. I live about 10 minutes east of the clinic in University Heights. Would love to connect and learn more about what you're looking for. A lot of options around the area with STR / MTR, traditional long-term rentals, or section 8.

Hey Stephen welcome to bigger pockets. Is your goal still to be in real estate? If you have the class requirements to become an agent and can put your head down and study for the test that might be a pretty good option. 

Whatever route you take think about it with your end goal in mind. If you go the community college route or the national guard route how can you leverage that to get where you want to be 10 years from now?

Tons of different ways to get to the same destination but I always try to think about which route is the most enjoyable and stays true to the path I want to go.

Hey Ameyo, congrats on getting started! If you haven't talked to agents or lenders in your area I'd keep your options open and have a discussion with them. If you are looking for a low down payment there are some mortgage options out there with as low as 3.5% or 5% down and your agent can structure the offer so you receive credits from the seller to help with closing costs. There might be first-time home buyer programs as well that can cover all your out-of-pocket costs and get you in a house with minimal money out of pocket. 

Off-market is still an option, but just know it'll be a tougher route. Houses normally sell off market because the seller has some pain point. A lot of those transactions happen with cash or if you are buying from a wholesaler you'll have to pay their wholesale fee. Facebook should have a lot of local off market groups for you areas you can join to start seeing what is moving off market. 

Hi, Michah. Not familiar with what the local going rate is, but I wish you the best of luck. If you're investing on the east side I might have PM you could call and inquire. Not sure if they are taking on additional clients, but they have several MTRs, a PM branch, and a contractor branch of their company. 

LVP is nice. That is what I normally put down. If you are installing yourself do yourself a favor and get the planks that are wider and longer compared to others. You'll be able to put it down a lot faster than several rows of thinner boards. I've used a few different brands but the LifeProof ones seem to work well and click much easier than some of the others ones I've used from Lowes even though it costs a little more. For color don't overthink it. Go for a light or dark brown. Gray was in, but now it's out. I don't think any natural wood color you can go wrong with. 

I've had it done both ways but prefer to pay it separately. I get points and cash back when I use my business credit card so I prefer going that route rather than my business checking account whenever I can. Personally, it makes organizing my transactions easier too when they all route through the same credit card.

Your current rate is LOW! Keep what you have and put your excess capital to better use. The third of the 7 simple rules of money from The Richest Man in Babylon is "Make thy gold multiply: invest wisely". IMO you have a better opportunity to leverage your cash somewhere else rather than paying off your mortgage at such a young age & at such a low rate. 

If you're looking for a new read I'd recommend the book too. It's a classic. 

Myself along with a good amount of other local investors go to Aaron Apathy at Korrigan Crause. He's based out of Cleveland if you are looking for someone in the Cleveland area. 

https://corrigankrause.com/our...

Congrats on getting started. That's awesome! I grew up around Cleveland so staying local made sense to me. I got started with a house hack within the Cleveland suburbs and it worked out well for me. Slightly biased, but Cleveland does offer a lot with three professional sports teams, the second largest theater district (second to Broadway), and a ton of other local attractions and great healthcare systems that draw people to the city. The downside is you're going to have to deal with subpar weather including cold and snowy winters. 

Ultimately, I'd look at more than just the cash flow or appreciation when moving to a market. Don't discount going somewhere you'd genuinely enjoy living at the cost of some cash flow. Real estate is a long game so go somewhere where you'll be happy.