All Forum Posts by: Bridget Poston

Hi all,

I am currently interviewing a property management company in Marietta, OH called River Point Properties owned by Melissa Schafer. I have already spoken with them and found out some valuable information. Melissa has given me a reference and I will be calling them and asking some questions.

What I’d like to know is, have any of YOU used this PM?

If so...

What was your experience like? What services did you like/dislike?

Have you had any problems with vacancies?

How good is the communication when it comes to income, turnovers, maintenance?

Are you getting good quality tenants that pay rent on time, leave your property in good condition, and fulfill their lease?

Any other thoughts you’d like to give?

I appreciate any and all responses in advance. Not only will this information help me in deciding whether or not I want to hire this company, but it can also help other investors on BP make informed decisions.

Thanks!

@Brian Nichols Hi Brian, my partner and I are new to investing as well. We are interested in buy and holds and have a goal to get our first property by the end of this year. Since I lack some experience there’s not a whole lot of information I can share with you but I did want to respond on here to welcome you to BP! I am in the Marietta OH area. If you’re located nearby, maybe we can meet up sometime. Like a previous member said, there aren’t really any meetups in the area that are posted publicly. I have yet to find one. Best of luck in your endeavors and would like to chat with you if you’re still in this market!

Same here @Bobby Foggin thank you though! An acquaintance of mine has a facebook group called "MOV real estate investors" for investors in the parkersburg area to connect and share info. Just thought i'd mention it in case you wanted to join. You may have to be 'friends' with Lance Queen, the admin. He's here on BP and he's a contractor in the parkersburg area if i'm not mistaken.

Thanks @Brandon Schlichter I appreciate the response. I'll check out that group, is there someone who runs the meetings (aka host)? Are they on BP?

I would be interested in going. I'm in Marietta OH, so about an hour and a half drive but i'm willing to put in the time since i'm not having any luck finding a meet up any closer. @Bobby Foggin are you aware of any meetups in your area? 

@Cameron Tope Fair enough! Some people advise to not invest in college towns, but you obviously are and it seems to be successful for you. Any tips or things to look out for when renting out properties in areas like that? Are the tenants any different compared to non "college towns?"

@Lance Queen Hey Lance, nice initiative creating a group on there. And thanks for sharing it, i will definitely check it out! Maybe a real in-person meet up for investors will come of it someday (hopefully soon!).

@Cameron Tope Thanks for replying. I know you said you invest mostly in Houston, but what are some of your reasons for investing in Athens? 

Hi all,

My partner and i are newbie investors looking to connect with experienced investors in our area. We actually live in Newport, OH, but Marietta's a more well known town that we're often in.

Are there any investors out there who live in/meet up near this area in southeastern Ohio? Parkersburg WV, Athens OH, and St Mary's WV are other nearby towns that we're totally up to drive to.

I have found several meet ups in Columbus and other more major cities like such - and we are willing to drive a couple hours to network - but i'd first like to see if there's anything closer. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Bridget

@Cody Bradley Very good info (but of course i'll do my due diligence and double check). But i do appreciate you sharing that, very helpful for us newbies!

@Cody Bradley Okay, thank you Cody, I thought i had heard that some lenders are more lenient than others with requirements so perhaps it's true in this case too. It's nice that the seller paid for your closing costs, do you just ask them flat out if they'd do that for you? I'm sure there's some compromising/negotiating that comes with it though.

I am aware of PMI, but i thought that it wouldn't apply if you put at least 10% down... you're saying you'd still have to pay that insurance for 10 years and then it'd be taken off?

And yikes about that flood insurance, I'll have to be attentive to that/plan for the cost when we do our first deal.

@Brandon Sturgill Thank you for the info Brandon! Much appreciated.