All Forum Posts by: Gary Bailey

I'm tackling 3 rehabs at once in and around Cincinnati. All 3 of project are $100k+ rehabs and I'm documenting my progress. Any tips/warnings/advice are certainly welcome!! I've never done anything in NKY before and I'm learning that the permitting and licensing there is completely different than in Ohio. I'm documenting everything - even if it goes bad!

Thanks Charles!  Hopefully we'll have it wrapped up by summer!

Thanks

Gary

We bought an abandoned, 6 unit apartment building in the Over the Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio that we are converting into a single family home. It's a big project that involved moving a 50 foot, exterior brick wall, discovering an extra floor that we didn't know was there, and building a rooftop patio that overlooks the entire neighborhood. Pendleton is one of our favorite neighborhoods in Cincinnati, and after watching this video you'll understand why.

We bought an abandoned, 6 unit apartment building in the Over the Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio that we are converting into a single family home. It's a big project that involved moving a 50 foot, exterior brick wall, discovering an extra floor that we didn't know was there, and building a rooftop patio that overlooks the entire neighborhood. Pendleton is one of our favorite neighborhoods in Cincinnati, and after watching this video you'll understand why. 

Originally posted by @Kyle Bale:

This is great stuff, Gary. I just recently purchased in Norwood for my first deal, but was looking at Oakley and Hyde Park during my search as well since that's where I currently live. Though it is hard to FIND a good deal in hot areas like Oakley, as you've shown in the video, there are still plenty of deals to be MADE if you can stomach a trashed house and turn it around as a flip!

I'm mostly sticking with buy-and-hold for the mean time, but watching videos like this one and generally seeing the possibilities with a dilapidated house really gets me excited at the prospect of flipping.

Great point Kyle!  It is really hard to find deals in Oakley and Hyde Park...which is why many investors are buying in the surrounding areas such as Norwood, Pleasant Ridge and Madisonville.  

Good luck with your rentals, sounds like you've got a good strategy going.

There are 7 flips on my street RIGHT NOW, including one by HGTV for a show called "Urban Oasis".  It seems to me that Oakley, even though it is hard to get properties, it still the hottest area in Cincinnati.

https://youtu.be/Y9HU-HRLjmU

You will be bad at first, and probably terrible.

Evan,

Speaking as an investor who had my license, then didn't have it, and now have it again; I can tell you that having a license puts you at a huge advantage as an investor.  Here are just a few benefits that come to mind:

1. MLS Access

2.  Not being dependent on an agent to list your deals or make an offer

3.  Ability to schedule showings and be there by yourself

4.  Ability to list your own houses, if you choose

5.  Ability to submit your own offers

I could name many more but those are the top reasons that I decided this past spring to reactivate my real estate license in Ohio.  It has been well worth it and I have earned far more commission than the cost of reactivating my license.  

Good luck with your decision!

We've noticed a significant uptick in investigations, particularly in the Cincinnati area, by investigators for the Ohio Division of Real Estate. The division employs 12 total investigators and a number of supervisors. They are all very busy and very good at their jobs.

Our company has been investigated 2 times (and passed with flying colors) just within the last 8 months for alleged unlicensed activity.

The issue that continually comes up is advertising a property for sale that you or your company does not own. According to the investigator I have spoken to at length, his is fine as long as you are a licensed Ohio agent.

What about "equitable interest"?

The term that gets thrown around among wholesalers and armchair real estate attorneys is "equitable interest." I have read on this site and others that as long as you have an equitable interest (i.e. a contract or option to purchase the property) then you are acting as a principal in the transaction and therefore aren't subject to Ohio license laws.

Whether or not you agree, the opinion of the Ohio Division of Real Estate is quite simple: you cannot advertise a property that you do not own without a real estate license. When I asked the investigator if it was ok since we had a contract to purchase the property here is how the conversation went:

Me: "What if we have a contract to purchase the property and therefore have equitable interest?"

Investigator: "Do you own the property?"

Me: "We WILL own the property, as soon as we close."

Investigator: "You can't market a property that you don't own without a license."

Me: "What if we are marketing the contract or the assignment but not technically the house itself."

Investigator: "Do you own the house?"

Me: "No."

Investigator: "You can't market a property that you don't own without a license."

So there it is Ohio Wholesalers. In the opinion of the Ohio Division of Real Estate, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. In their opinion "advertising" a house includes advertising the contract or an assignment.

Good luck out there!

Gary Bailey

Steve, Different cities use different MLS software so there isn't an a easy way to get a clear representation of what those records would look like. Here in Cincinnati we are able to export data from the MLS in .csv format. When we set up the export template it allows us to put the fields in any order we want. I guess what I'm saying is, go ahead and make your spreadsheet in a format that works for your purposes as the exported data can most likely be formatted to fit what you are looking for. Gary