All Forum Posts by: Daniel Kramer

@Shanae Swaby It's probably about the same, 25 minutes, but Sylvania to Owens has a lot of highway bottleneck transitions that are nasty during rush hour especially if there is construction. My wife and I live in Sylvania and love it, but we don't have to drive across town. Bowling Green is an easy drive. Bowling Green also encompasses a huge area. BG has college town, suburb, and rural depending on where exactly.

@Shanae Swaby Welcome to the 419, it sounds like you're making some good decisions. You will find a lot of options to choose from. Many neighborhoods can be reached in 20 minutes, but Sylvania would be a stretch. It really depends on the type of neighborhood/feel you are looking for, and once you describe that to a realtor (I'm not one) I'm sure you can find a duplex nearby. Less duplex choices in the suburbs but there should be some.

Just to name a few:

Perrysburg: A+ suburban, but pricy and they go fast

Oregon: B suburban

Rossford: B suburban

Maumee: B suburban

South Toledo / Beverly is probably one of the few within Toledo I would suggest as being relatively safe and also a reasonable commute for you. Trendy appreciating neighborhood, older houses, some duplexes.

Anything east of Owens can be summed up as rural.

Good luck to you, I'm sure you'll get more suggestions on here!

Dan

You really do have a ton of options and there is everything from cheap duplexes for 40k to suburban townhome style duplexes for 200k+. I am not a realtor but I do suggest asking

@Andrew Fidler Good informative post, Andrew. Thank you for taking time from your day/business to post. One thing that stuck out to me was your note about checking YouTube tutorials while fixing something at a rental, that's a great point! One of my biggest fears is appearing unprepared or unknowledgeable to tenants.

I am trying to make it to a PIN meeting but I also play volleyball on Tuesdays. Toledo summers are short and I have to take advantage of the sun while we have it 😎

@Seun Saka Welcome, I am a full time engineer, caught the bigger pockets fever, and newbie investor. I was born and raised in toledo, still here. Welcome!

Dan

@Stephen Kleyn

I suggest following your contractor's suggestion. Even a good quality floating vinyl will feel like cheep vinyl over an imperfect subfloor. A flat surface helps it feel firm and high quality, more like real hardwood under your feet. I tried the cheap route (sanding, planing, feathering concrete) and it still bothers me, I wish I would have replaced or covered. You don't want to install thousands of dollars of flooring over something, plus all your other nice renovations, and then be stuck with cheap feeling floppy floating vinyl. Your vinyl tongue and groove gets distorted when you hammer it in place, so once it's in, it's in for the most part.

Dan

@Brandon Criner

I'm local to Toledo but have done all my own work so far on my one rental. I have a couple acquaintances in the industry that I have in mind to use for the future, but it looks like you have a couple recommendations from others. Nonetheless, just wanted to say hello and best of luck to you. I'd be happy to share some contacts if you are in need, just reach out.

Dan

@Kramer Holt

First, I have a keyword alert for Kramer and I think it is awesome that your first name is Kramer.

Coincidence is that my best friend moved out to SLC and is looking for his first home. He is an accountant and his wife is a pharmacist, so they make decent money but it's impossible to find anything decent in compatison to Toledo real estate prices.

I always advise everyone I encounter to house hack when possible. There is not a better deal out there if you can get away with 3.5-5% down on a multifamily. For the rest of your life, if obtaining through traditional mortgage financing, you will need 20-30% down on investment properties. Now, you're in SLC and I agree that it will be tough to get a reasonably priced multifamily. Also, you're paying $500/mo, who knows how because my bet is most 1-bedroom places there go for well over $1,000. I want to tell you to keep saving with that low rental rate and give yourself more options, but that SLC market is soaring, it's hard to advise not to jump in while it's still climbing, even though it's seemingly expensive.

Best of luck to you, Kramer.

Dan

@Tom Kaplan

Hi Tom, and welcome. I am a new part-time investor, but born and raised in Toledo. I won't be able to provide much resource beyond neighborhood knowledge. You will see a handful of more experienced investors chime in who have built great personal portfolios as well businesses here in Toledo.

Dan

@Adonna Villanueva I 2nd everything @Andrew Fidler said! 43607 is out of my comfort zone.

I am new-ish (currently renovating my first rental). I am also scoping a potential 2nd BRRRR. However, on this one, I believe is over-assessed for taxes and it's in a higher-taxed neighborhood than my first. So, upon acquiring, is it creative, poor form, or illegal to march in and appeal the assessment right away knowing that I'm going to be making improvements shortly? Or maybe even just not worth it. I know in the long run, it's going to get reassessed periodically anyway and it shouldn't make or break the deal, but I'm a beginner here and I'm still of the "every penny counts" mindset.

Thanks,

Dan