All Forum Posts by: Brooke Isbell

Duplex property for sale.  One side rehabbed and rented to long term tenant, the other side has mechanicals in place plus new roof/windows, but needs finished.  In walking distance to the quaint downtown area of Germantown.  Each side is 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths.  Approximately 1200 square feet each side.   The finished side rents for $625.    Asking $70,000.  Photos available.  Please message me for additional information.

Hi Angelo,

The contact info is listed in my post (just above your post) in this thread. Here it is again, in case you are not seeing it.

RE attorney link: http://www.coxcastle.com/lawyers/bio.cfm?attorneyID=97

LA Area Contractor (he is in the SF Valley but works in and around LA) is Steve Srour (818) 642-9700.

~Brooke

Since I get asked a lot to share this information, I will post it as opposed to PM. That way, anyone who stumbles on this thread will have it as well.

RE attorney link: http://www.coxcastle.com/lawyers/bio.cfm?attorneyID=97

LA Area Contractor (he is in the SF Valley but works in and around LA) is Steve Srour (818) 642-9700.

~Brooke

I agree with Jeff that due diligence is in order with any referral. To me, getting referrals and advice is part of the beauty of Bigger Pockets. It's a great place to start as well as REIN meetings as so many on this site have mentioned. Many people are starting from scratch, with no contacts, and you have to start somewhere. I can relate.

I can personally attest to the job my contractor/friend did on my own house in LA, and I can tell you the real estate attorney he uses. I never at that time had any use for a RE attorney, myself. My friend is a full-time contractor/investor, so I am sure he has had a multitude of situations arise over the years. Having a consultation with his RE attorney to see if he can meet your needs is what I assume one would do. That's what I would do. Also, I am sure either can provide you with client references if you need to research further. So I do give these two names freely, because I trust one personally and he personally trusts the other. Also, I have been granted permission to share their contact info. I will PM the above members who requested the info after I put my kids to bed.

What a bittersweet story, Rich. So incredibly sad that your daughter-in-law is in the grips of something so devastating during what should be the most precious time in a person's life. I hope for her sake, and your grandson's sake, she can get help and find a way back.

Makes me feel silly to admit that my kids, husband and I spent a lazy day recuperating from the night before. We kept the kids up until 1 am (a first!) shooting a parody video for youtube. You know, just your typical Saturday night with the family in the suburbs of "Nashvegas." My son looked so much like Brett Michaels, I may have to tweet his picture and see if I can fool Brett into sending me child support (that I will promptly invest in real estate). :) We had fun, but our kindergartener (our sassy drummer in the video) lectured us the next morning on our parenting for letting them stay up so late. Right now they just think we're nuts. Hopefully they'll grow up and look back with the opinion that we were nutty in the best possible way.

I lived in LA for 18 years. In my totally amateur-not-at-all-professional opinion, if I had money to invest in Southern California, I'd look closely at Temecula.

Hi Michael,

Sorry for the delayed response. I was side-tracked with sick kids and had a lot going on.

My rental is a duplex in the town where I grew up (Germantown). It's about 20 miles outside of Dayton...a cute little historic town, very Norman Rockwell-ish. My Grandmother's house was in East Dayton (back in its hey-day). She grew up in the "Shiloh" area of North Dayton (I think now they call it Riverside). I attended Sinclair in downtown Dayton before moving to CA so I'm somewhat familiar with the Dayton neighborhoods. I am not at all surprised you find Dayton a bit boring. It absolutely is. It has it's good points, like one of the best regional theaters in the country (The Human Race at the Loft/Victoria Theater). However, if I weren't from there. I would have no reason to ever go there. I do agree that property will be hot there again. I think when many of these towns like Dayton (former GM towns such as in PA and MI) reinvent themselves, they will see a boom.

I do not use a property manager at the present time. My mom still lives in the same town and she keeps an eye on things for me. She is also a real estate buff and has a rental property of her own. I am in the process of building an arsenal of good tradesmen who are honest and reliable, to use for repairs and rehabs. I have a couple already and also use a couple contacts through my Mom. She retired from GM, and many GM retirees (the maintenance guys) have businesses now and can do just about anything you need (if they can't do it, they will tell you who you need). I'll be happy to share any contacts with you.

Thanks to all for the bookkeeping answers!!! Good luck Ryan. Didn't mean to highjack the thread!

James,
You mentioned bookkeeping. Is there software specific to real estate/flipping, and affordable for those just starting out on a smaller scale? Everyone seems to use Quickbooks, which is great, but I just wondered if there was anything out there better for, or specific to REI. Thanks.

Hi Michael,

I know this is an old thread, but the title caught my eye. I too am from the Dayton area (recently moved from LA to Nashville) and I have a rental in Dayton. I agree with your thinking that ultimately, the city will have to reinvent itself because right now it's a bit of a ghost town.

In the meantime, I wonder about little up-and-coming hot spots within Dayton that could be a bit more lucrative in my opinion. For example, the Riverfront park development in downtown Miamisburg. I have heard that it is part of a downtown redevelopment project to boost economic development of the downtown area. I don't have to tell you how quaint downtown Miamisburg is, although a bit run-down. To have a riverfront park with shops and eateries (if that is what they are actually developing there as I heard) would have to make those older houses more desirable. If they are spruced up, it would be a beautiful area. Those types of little metro centers tend to draw the higher end clientele who want the semi-urban feel. As I drive through there when I am visiting, it seems there is no short supply of run-down houses in that immediate area. Also, the Miamisburg schools have an excellent reputation. As a disclaimer, I have not actually seen the Riverfront Park and do not know how extensively they plan to develop the downtown or if that is already finished. Still, if it is what it sounded like it would be, I would be tempted to bet on it if I had the money to invest. There is also lots of buzz right now about Austin Landing which I am not familiar with. Based on the buzz though, I would look into the areas surrounding it.