All Forum Posts by: Chad McLeod

HAHA... good one, Zeke!  I got a good laugh out of it.  In fairness to Columbus I’m sure it’s no different than any other market, but at least as far as BP goes it seems thar there are a lot of “hungry” realtors there.

The search function doesn’t really work, IMO.  If I click on forums and type in Dallas and the first result is like 4 years old, that tells me it doesn’t work.  And that’s just an example, btw, but I’ve quit using the search function because that happens all the time.

As for people asking questions that have already been answered — again, if the search function worked correctly it would be easier to find the answer.  Now, I agree they should look for an answer first, but it’s hard to find an answer the way things are. Also, there is a HUGE difference between having multiple threads on the same topic, and actually having answers in those threads.  Just because you see the same topic more than once doesn’t mean it was really answered. Case in point — lots of threads with people asking for PM recommendations in Cleveland, but very few actual answers.

Lastly, I agree with the others about the cheesy salespeople.  I stopped asking questions about markets because it’s usually just a bunch of realtors trying to get my business without giving any real info.  Yeah I get you want business, but if the only time you post here is touting your market when someone asks about it, you’re essentially just spamming threads.  For whatever reason, Columbus, OH seems to be the worst of the worst.  I like to imagine it’s the Alcatraz of bad salespeople.  Only the worst of the worst get sent to Columbus.  Ok, I’m joking, but man some of them are really bad.

Tremont is very popular.  IF you could get a home under asking I doubt it would be by much, and almost certainly not 10-15%.  If a home is reasonably priced it gets snapped up almost immediately.  I haven’t actually offered on any places in Tremont but it’s an area I really like so I’m always checking.  It’s very similar to Lakewood — tons of demand  but not much supply.  

Parma you might be able to get a little better deal, but 10-15% will still be hard.  I think Parma is a solid area for families, but not nearly as popular as Tremont or Lakewood.  Whereas Tremont and Lakewood are popular with younger people who want access to bars, restaurants, etc., people in Parma are probably a little older and not as concerned with nightlife.  Think gastropub vs. Applebee’s. 

I haven’t looked at Garfield or Euclid as much simply because I think they are more C class areas.  Certain pockets will be better and others will be worse, but I think generally they are C.  I do know Euclid has become more popular since Amazon moved in though.

Bear in mind I’m an OOS investor, so the people who live there locally can give you a more in-depth analysis.  I’m just going off my own research and the info I have picked up from my realtor, PM and other investors who live out there.

Thanks for sharing, Frank.  I appreciate your input.  I’m dealing with one of those water/sewer scenarios right now.  Not fun!

Inventory in Cleveland has really dried up lately, so I think that’s a big factor in prices going over asking price.  It’s just supply and demand.  I know Lakewood is especially bad right now.  It was popular to begin with, but now that hardly any multis are coming on the market in that area there is a big rush of offers when they actually do.  Tremont, Ohio City, etc., are probably similar, but I haven’t watched them as closely.

Thanks, Tim.  I appreciate the feedback.  I think for me it’s not just that the house in the worst area is the best one, it’s that the house in the best area has now had 4 tenants in 4 years.  And one of those tenants ended up having legitimate mental issues and did a fair amount of damage to the home. 
 

But you’re probably right that if I had a bigger portfolio things would even out more.  Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

I'm curious to hear where people are investing that their SFH tenants stick around for a long time. Like I said in my other post, I have SFHs in KC and aside from the one guy who has been there since I bought it, the others all leave after their 1-year lease is up. My PM seems to be on top of things and communicates well with the tenants. The houses have been taken care of and repairs are made quickly. I guess you could maybe say location on one of them, but the others are in pretty good to very nice areas.

I know conventional wisdom says you get longer-term tenants for SFH but that hasn't really been the case for me. What markets are you guys investing in where you're finding long-term SFH tenants? Do you think it's the market? The neighborhood? The property type? Genuinely curious and would appreciate people's thoughts.

In general I think Parma is a good area, these just happen to be bad tenants.  And honestly that can happen anywhere.  You can get great tenants in rough areas and bad tenants in good areas.  

Case in point -- I also own a few SFH in KC and the house I own in the "worst" area has had the same tenant, a single guy, in it for over 5 years now and he has never been late on his rent. He has told me he has no desire to ever leave. Conversely, I paid almost twice as much for a house in a suburb of KC that is, at worst, a B+ neighborhood with great schools, amenities, etc., and every person/family that has rented has left after 1 year. Because of this I no longer make assumptions about what kind of tenant will be better. I do think the neighborhood is important, but as far as tenants go I feel like it ends up being a crapshoot as to whether or not they will stay.

I'm just getting started in Cleveland but will be closing on a duplex pretty soon here. From a numbers standpoint, it's not even close. The rents on SFH seem to be slightly higher than what they would for one side of a duplex, but not enough to make much of a difference. What's really interesting is that the sales price on duplexes is typically not all that much more than SFH, at least in certain areas.

As I said, I'm just getting started in Cleveland. I own a SFH in Parma that I bought, I believe, last October. Those tenants have been a nightmare from hell and I'm in the process of evicting them. I highly doubt I will ever buy another SFH in Cleveland.

Hey Maximo,

I agree with the others who say just find a high-yield savings account.  I love the stock market as much as anyone, but you should never put money in the market that you will need to take out a short time later.  Especially in this market, who knows what will happen?  The Dow went from 29K to 18K in a matter of weeks recently.  Having money that you needed to pull out would have been disastrous.  

I actually think it’s more important to play defense when it comes to short-term cash.  Just don’t make any big mistakes and you’ll be fine.