All Forum Posts by: Chris Davis

@James L dodd Riverside is a block by block neighborhood, I know as I live here and have been investing in the neighborhood for 4 years. It is not a neighborhood for out of state investors and is the reason @Jaron Walling thinks its a terrible neighborhood. The criminal element love rental properties that are owned by hands-off investors (in-state or out of state) who don't care about the neighborhood and just want to collect their monthly rent check. 

I will have completed 2 full gut/rehabs of SFH by the end of this year in Riverside, and will have tripled my initial investment. The first being 1934 Sugar Grove Ave (Look it up on Zillow), that's how you make money in Riverside!

I would look else where. And if your turnkey is being offered by anyone associated with Oceanpointe, Bert Whalen, or Clayton Morris, I would run away.

@Mihir Bhimaraju Well they might seem like opportunities, but you have to do some real due diligence. While the minimum bids are really low, you also have to take into account lawyer fees to process the quiet title action, and settling any possible liens against the parcel. Taxes for that current year are usually settled. I have had success, then again I do all of the work myself. I only focus on one neighborhood, which has a great community backed organization for which I attend their monthly meetings. Just so happens they also have a ton of boarded up houses. Its funny because the reason the homes are neglected and abandoned are due to out of state landlords that don't have a care in the world about the neighborhoods. The most recent home I purchased from the surplus sale had been transferred between 6 out of state owners over a 4 year period. The neighborhood I focus on is actually a very safe neighborhood, but you wouldn't think that if you just are passing through. Sorry to go on a rant, but I invest in homes to help out a neighborhood; not to just squeeze out every last penny I can. 

And yes, some parcels on the auction block can be very competitive. Generally the rule of thumb is; the lower the bidding price, the parcel is in pretty bad condition and usually the less likely someone will try to reclaim the parcel.

@Mihir Bhimaraju Thats the best thing you can do, experiment on your own house. Yea, I am more than happy to lend some handyman advise. Feel free to PM me any time.

If you really want to start with lower end homes and try to do the work yourself, I might suggest the marion county surplus sale, that's what I do.

@Mihir Bhimaraju

If you aren't a handy person, I would stay away from homes in these areas. Any profits will be ate up by hiring out work to be done on the properties. Usually these homes have been worked on by folks that shouldn't be allowed to own any tools and are held together by duct tape and bubble gum. I actually love these properties, because you never know what you will see next and I do all the work myself.

@Ken Scarbrough I would suggest that you move your search away from the MLS and reach out to any of the 100 of local wholesalers we have here in Indy. You could also cruise the monthly sheriff sale and the county surplus sale.

I'm not sure what area of town you are searching for your next property, but I think the Castelton and surrounding area might be tapped out. Any home that comes to market in 46250 and 46256 tend to go really quick. 

If you are really dedicated to improving the area you invest, you might want to look around downtown; that's where I spend my money. 

@Nick S. Heres a break down on the areas you mentioned.

If you go east from Merridan, till you get to Guilford, that is your best bet. The Mapelton Fall Creek  Neighborhood is often overlooked in my opinion. They have a very strong development corporation that works in the area rehabbing homes and I believe they are going to be breaking ground on some apartments and small commercial developments later this year.

Right around Tarkington Park would be a good area, as the city is spending a ton of money redoing the park. The further you go north towards Butler University the better, but good look finding anything in that area. Pretty much the same as you go east of Merridan, the available housing stock is very low and the homes can be pretty pricey.

I would stay out of the Warren Park area, unless you want section 8 and a lot of bullet holes in your property.

@James Dishongh You are right about 38th st being the demarcation line. As far as the area between Crown Hill Cemetery and Fall Creek, it really depends on what your east and west boundaries are. Basically anything between Capitol and the White River is a war zone. This area houses the largest concentration of boarded/abandoned homes. I wouldn't recommend this area unless you are local and don't mind losing an appliance or two. (speaking from experience)

I would recommend you visit this link click me and scroll down to where it says off campus housing. That should give you a pretty good road map.

Another great place is the Indianapolis Reddit page. click me There are always college students on there looking for housing. 

Good luck!

Hi Jonathan and welcome to BP!

The site is a wealth of information and will be sure to put you on the right track of reaching your real estate investing goals.