All Forum Posts by: Timothy Murphy III

@David McNeely 

Welcome to the forums. I'm Cleveland, Ohio based so my network may not be of much help to you in Dayton. That said, I imagine a lot of the midwest specific knowledge that applies in my back yard will translate to your market as well. I'm also licensed to practice law in Ohio so feel free to bounce questions off of me.

Best of luck to you,

Tim

Yes I'm familiar with the street @Christian Carson is referencing, and it's not a "war zone" in the way we'd think of it. It's probably a "C" class area honestly. In my opinion, the worst parts of Cleveland Heights would be some of the areas along the border with East Cleveland. Those areas are the ones that I'd say you should avoid, or at least make sure you get a deeper discount to compensate for the increased risk.

@Alex Cotter 

Lots of good information on this deal in this thread from the Cleveland locals. Cleveland Heights is large inner ring suburb. Some areas feature massive beautiful homes that sell for well over $500k+ and some areas are very rough if not outright war zones.

If it's a duplex, you'll need to have the units sub-metered for water or you'll be paying the water bill.

My experience with challenging assessed values for property tax purposes with the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision has been hit and miss. I've had several hearings go smoothly and my clients received reasonable reductions right away, even without an arms length sale or testimony from an appraiser, merely by relying on homeowners testimony and an unadjusted list of comparable sales data. I've also had one batch of hearings go poorly where the Board refused to grant any reduction even though the properties were dramatically overvalued by any reasonable evaluation. You can appeal the decisions, but the Board of Tax Appeals often shows great deference to the Board of Revision's decision and it is not obligated to accept homeowner testimony as sufficient assessment of market value. Your best bet will be an arms length transaction, or barring that, hiring a licensed appraiser to assess the property's value and testify.

Tim

@Rahul Bhandari 

It's not so much a "catch" as it is a trade off. As @James Wise and several others here have said...

Higher yields generally mean lower priced properties and monthly rental amounts, lower income tenants, and less desirable areas with less hope of appreciation.

Lower yields generally mean just the opposite, higher priced properties and monthly rental amounts, higher income tenants, and more desirable areas with more hope of appreciation.

Don't think of it so much as an either / or proposition, but more of a continuum with varying degrees of risk and reward. Ask ten different investors where you should go on that spectrum and you'll likely get ten different answers. Personally, I generally prefer more risk and higher yields to the alternative, as I think cash flow today is a better proposition than the hopes of appreciation tomorrow. Of course, the correct answer for you really depends on your own particular appetite for risk and desired reward. 

As I understand it, the Cleveland area and many other cities in the mid-west are popular locations for those who invest from a distance to seek better returns. If that's your angle, I strongly recommend you have a strong team in the ground in whatever market you choose to invest to provide you with local expertise and the ability to take care of things for you as needed. I can't vouch for markets other than Cleveland, but here things can change very drastically on a street by street basis and just looking at census tract statistics won't give you enough information to understand that. 

If you're looking for more Cleveland specific knowledge, I've worked extensively with both James Wise and @Christian Carson and can personally vouch for them. James is a realtor, investor, and property manager that caters specifically to investors and understands the business very well. Realtors with that focus are knowledge are really rather rare. Both Christian and myself are attorneys with an accounting background and experience in real estate investment that could provide you with additional knowledge. I'm certain there are many others on here that could be of help to you as well. Best of luck to you.

Tim

Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone

@John Casmon 

Yes I'm looking to get into fix / flips and fix / holds. My most desired areas of the city are 44110 in North Collinwood, around Waterloo Arts District or around East 185th Street and 44103 around St. Clair / Addison area.

Tim

Hi Ben.

I've read a lot of your articles. You certainly know your stuff!

Hello BP!

I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Tim and I'm a real estate attorney and investor in the Cleveland, Ohio area. I also have an accounting degree. I've dabbled in some fix / flip investments in the past and I'm getting back involved in real estate again. Feel free to reach out to me to talk shop. Best of luck to everyone here in 2015.

C. Timothy Murphy III

Hello BP!

I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Tim and I'm a real estate attorney and investor in the Cleveland, Ohio area. I also have an accounting degree. I've dabbled in some fix / flip investments in the past and I'm getting back involved in real estate again. Feel free to reach out to me to talk shop. Best of luck to everyone here in 2015.

C. Timothy Murphy III