All Forum Posts by: Cameron Berens

Hi Michael! I just sent you a direct message. I am a full time real estate agent in the Northern Kentucky Area and have a couple rental properties. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the area.

Hi @Jason McColly,

Welcome to the site! I'm located in Northern Kentucky. You picked a great community here to become a part of. Good luck to you and your wife!

We have two condos and so far they have been great rentals. Like others have said just make sure you do your due diligence. I have kept in good communication with the property management company for the complex from the first phone call inquiring if they allow units to be rented. On the most recent one we bought the management company and neighbors told us they were happy to see us buy the unit because we fixed up the place, placed great tenants in there, follow all the HOA rules, and pay our dues on time.

I think it really just comes down to knowing your market and making sure the numbers make sense. I know my market very well and knew these complexes would be ideal areas to get into.

Also, I really liked the comment about FHA. For the units we currently have whenever we decide to sell it will mostly be to another investor or to first time home buyers so it is important that we buy in a complex that the buyer will be able to get financing.

I used to be very private about it and only would discuss it with one co worker. I would spend the weekend viewing properties, fixing up a property, or showing a property to potential tenants then Monday would come and when asked what I did this weekend I would hide it and just say, "Oh, nothing much." That was until I found out about another co worker who was selling their house to someone for WAY under market value because they had been paying on two mortgage payments for almost a year and could no longer afford it. Had I told more people about what I was doing that someone could have been me! Now I am much more open about it and most people seem to have a genuine interest in what I'm doing. Since I've been more vocal about it I've found out about someone else at my work that has much more experience with rentals than I do and have been able to ask them questions from time to time.

All have been HUD or MLS

@Jay J. Welcome to BP! You found a great place to get educated and meet other investors. Definitely get active on the site and just keep absorbing everything you can. The Cincinnati REIA is a great place to check out as well. Good luck and feel free to reach out any time you'd like.

Oh I can for sure remember my first evening of calls to potentially motivated sellers. I'm a very outgoing, far from shy person but for some reason this made me VERY nervous. The best advice I was given was for your first handful of calls is just relax and forget about trying to make a deal. Get used to talking to complete strangers and getting to know them and their situation. By the end of the conversation you've built good rapport and they will be more than willing to schedule a call back within the next 24hrs to go over what you could do for them. Unless of course you feel comfortable talking a deal right there than by all means go ahead. I actually got a glass of wine, got comfortable in my office chair, had my list of main questions so I didn't forget and chatted away. I'd say after 2-3 calls all the nerves were completely gone.

@Lauren Farquhar

 Congratulations.  Welcome to the wonderful world of real estate investing! Keep us informed how your first one goes.

@Josh Gevedon For most people I think it's more of a peace of mind thing to have most/all debt paid off before beginning real estate investing. My wife and I also wanted that peace of mind so we started out buying an cheap HUD property as our primary residence. We lived there for our required 12 months living very frugally and paid off all vehicle, credit card, and what little student loan debt we had left then moved out and it became our first rental. For us it was a great way to ease into REI.

Just recently attended my first Cincinnati REIA meeting last Thursday and then stumbled upon this post today. Already RSVP'd, can't wait!