All Forum Posts by: Danny R.

I’m considering investing in the Indianapolis market within the next 4-6 months. I’m looking to purchase 5 properties of up to 150K each with cash. But there are some cons I’m probably unaware of. I’ve been doing constant research on that market but here is something I’m now concerned about and would like to hear from you guys.

Winter in Indianapolis. I know it gets cold and icy there but as someone from Southern California I never experienced what it’s like to live somewhere where it snows. I don’t know what it’s like to have to deal with snow on a daily basis and all the dangers that come with it.

So, I have some questions for those who have more experience living in snowy areas.

1) Do I have to pay someone to clean the walkways to the properties every time it snows? What about the sidewalk?

2) If a tenant slips and falls because of ice on the property, am I liable for their injuries?

3) What happens to pipes? Do they freeze and break? Is having pipes replaced a constant expense? And when it warms up do they leak due to damage caused by the ice?

4) How often do furnaces and AC units break due to the cold weather?

These are just some of the questions I can think of right now. I’m sure there’s a lot more that I don’t even know to ask.

Thank you

@Nick Giulioni Thank you, I appreciate that. I was just planning on doing some research on the area. I’ve found several deals on Zillow. I have a friend who’s a realtor in the Indianapolis area and I was thinking of going there and meeting with him sometime in the next 3 months. I need to learn about rental occupancy there, are properties rented out quickly or do they sit vacant on the market for a while? I am thinking of going into B neighborhoods. I’m also looking into property management companies in Indianapolis.

@Josh C. My parents set me up with a trust. At 21 I had access to it. So, I used 900K at the time to buy 3 properties in Downtown, San Diego. I used to live there, got my masters there. Then I moved away and kept one property vacant for me to use. The rent from the other 2 properties paid for all my costs with that one property but now it's been so long since I've been there and HOA keeps going up, it's now at $964 a month. I'm gonna keep 2 properties there, and sell the vacant one. I've had great tenants there, they've never given me any trouble at all. But renting out the vacant one won't make me as much as it would if I deployed that cash in some other market. Plus California taxes keep going up. They even want to add another 1% tax on the property value to help fund affordable homes. That's like another property tax on top of everything else. I love California but it just doesn't make sense from a business standpoint.

@Mike D'Arrigo Thank you for the reply and the information. It has given me a lot to research and to think about on my next investment move.

Hello there. I have sold a vacation property of mine in Southern California, it was bought in cash almost 10 years ago. It was a property I haven’t been using much for the last 3 years. I live in a neighboring state now.

HOA dues and Taxes in California were just wiping me out. Even if I had rented that house out it would only make me about 1/3 of what that money could make me if it were deployed somewhere in the Midwest.

I’ve chosen Indianapolis because I know people there, I’m familiar with it’s areas, in some way.

My question is: Is now a good time to invest in Indianapolis?

I’m 31 years old now. I have experience in real estate from my parents, they’ve been playing this game forever, way before I was born. I was only able to buy my properties in California thanks to my trust that they’ve set up for me. But after a long time living a life of not adding anything but spending everything I’ve decided that it’s time to be more practical.

I’ve decided that I will be selling every property that I’ve bought in the last 10 years that is either not making me money, or that is making me less than it could.

I’ve been researching the Indianapolis area and I love the potential. It seems like an assured success. Of course there are some details on where to buy, like almost every other market.

But is now the time? With the pandemic’s second wave just starting now, with businesses both small and large struggling under the pressures of lockdowns, with people losing their jobs left and right. Is this the time or should I wait just another year? Maybe even more than a year since experts are saying that the economy will take a while to heal.

It’s sad what’s happening to our economy. It’s sad what’s happening to hardworking American families that are losing their jobs. But as a real estate investor I cannot have my tenants not pay rent due to loss of job and income caused by the pandemic. And not being able to evict them. So, is now a good time to invest? Or should I wait a year or a year and half to start investing in the Indianapolis real estate market?

I was thinking of waiting as so many large corporations keep announcing layoffs in the dozens of thousands. Some of those people who are being laid off could be my tenants, and they could have no way to pay me. And though it’s sad what’s happening to them, I cannot just have people living in my properties for free indefinitely.

Hi everyone. I’m planning on buying at least 6 properties cash in the state of Indiana. I’m doing my research of cities and the areas within them. I wanna protect myself from liability because all properties will be bough cash so I don’t want to lose any of them.

But my question is what LLC structure should I use? Is a complex LLC structure even necessary?

I just sold a property in Southern California that I used as a vacation property for the last 10 years. In recent years I haven't been going there. And with all the taxes and HOA fees in California if I were to rent it out it would make only 1/3 of what that cash can do if deployed in the Midwest.

I'm just wondering what's the best way to protect myself when buying properties in a state I'm not even at. I was thinking of having it all owned by LLCs. Each property inside an LLC, then insured and then managed by a good reputable local property management company in Indiana.

Will having a good management company take care of everything for me shield me from liability? Of course I’d maintain the property and fix any issues that the property management company brings to my attention. What else should I be thinking of? I wanna hire a real estate lawyer to help me, but I’m not sure where should I hire one? In Indiana? Or in the state I’m at? Or at both states?