All Forum Posts by: Eric Sztanyo

@Aliz Raksi - good advice from @Paul Sian, @Craig H. and @DL Martin - yes, Anderson Township and Mount Washington are very different. Craig sounds a bit biased, but he is right, Mt. Washington does have a lot going for it and probably has a worse than should have reputation. 

I lived in Anderson Township for 8 years and still have a single family rental in the area. The schools will ALWAYS keep that property filled, which has been great. The deal could be good, but definitely more hit and miss in the Cincinnati Public School district. 

Let us know how it goes!

@Garett Koehler - good advice from @Paul Sian, @Todd Dexheimer and @Andrew Johnson - I live in Northern Kentucky, but invest in Cincinnati. The diverse economy creates a lot of areas of stable cash flow. I've invested in single family, multi-family and a vacation rental. All have been successful. Happy to help in other ways in terms of certain neighborhoods. 

Hey Everyone - I appreciate your willingness to share your wisdom in advance. 

I went driving for dollars a few days ago for the first time and by the end, I found myself getting more liberal with what addresses I would mark down on my sheet. Then, I had to stop and give myself a good hard look on my own house and the state of the gutters, landscaping, etc. Ha! 

Question, when you are D4Ds, what are the minimums you look for to add the property to your list? 

Follow up question - what category of motivated seller do you tend to find D4D brings in the most leads? ie. Out of town landlord, avoiding foreclosure, divorce, etc.?

Thanks!

In my first partnership, I sat down at the table to discuss numbers with my friend. He looked st me and said, "hey, we are partnering. If something happens to you, I am going to take care of your kids." I was really taken aback by the statement and realized we had two vastly different views of partnership. That said, we have done a couple of deals together and that level of commitment has helped us get through good and bad times. I still would recommend clear numbers and signed papers, but don't discount the quality and loyalty of the person you are dealing with. Very few investors will have that kind of mentality, but these are the kind of people you can partner with and your families can become very close.

@Nicole A., I've considered that, but just want to make sure it's not a problem for Local SEO and GMB. It's definitely better than a PO Box. In fact, I was just at the post office yesterday, and they suggested that option. If that has worked for you and your business, awesome. 

The phrases that scare me off from doing that from Google's description are: 

• Make sure that your page is created at your actual, real-world location.
• Use the precise address for the business
• If your business rents a temporary, "virtual" office at a different address from your primary business, do not create a page for that location unless it is staffed during your normal business hours.
• Do not include information in address lines that does not pertain to your business’s physical location (e.g. URLs or keywords).

So, while you can get a physical address, it's not actually your business' physical location. You don't have normal business hours. I just think getting a suite at an actual physical location (not the post office) fits their definition better.  

As you said, maybe I'm being too nitpicky, but in 10 years of SEO, I've learned to try to do what Google says. ;)

@Nicole A., there's certainly one side of this conversation which is the legal address you can use. 

The other side of this, which I am probably more interested in knowing, is finding a solution that works well for Google My Business. 

Here is from Google's site: 

Use a precise, accurate address to describe your business location. PO Boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations are not acceptable.

• Make sure that your page is created at your actual, real-world location.
  • Use the precise address for the business rather than broad city names or cross-streets. P.O. Boxes are not considered accurate physical locations.
  • Suite numbers, floors, building numbers, etc. may also be included. Information like cross-streets and nearby landmarks should only be included in regions where the official street address doesn’t accurately pinpoint the business's location.
  • If you need to specify a mailbox or suite number within your physical location, please list your physical address in Address Line 1, and put your mailbox or suite number in Address Line 2.
  • If your business rents a temporary, "virtual" office at a different address from your primary business, do not create a page for that location unless it is staffed during your normal business hours.
• Do not include information in address lines that does not pertain to your business’s physical location (e.g. URLs or keywords).
• Do not create more than one page for each location of your business, either in a single account or multiple accounts.
  • Individual practitioners and departments within businesses, universities, hospitals, and government buildings may have separate pages. See specific guidelines about individual practitioners and departments for more information.
• If your address doesn't have a street number, or you're sure that you've entered the address correctly but the system still can't find it, you can pin your business's location directly on the map by following these steps.

So, no PO Box. Need a physical location. Virtual offices don't satisfy Google's paramaters because they are not staffed. 

The best solution I can see is to get a suite number at an actual physical business location. 

Welcome Will!

@Shaun C., thank you for the insights. Both, very helpful. 

Hey BP,

As a less experienced flipper, I'm curious about different contract structures you've used to work with and keep a quality General Contractor. 

Particularly in my situation, I don't have a lot of flipping experience yet. So, I lean on my GC pretty heavily early on. 

Any structures where there is upside for the GC to do a good, quick job and want to work with you again on the next one? What has worked well for you? 

Thanks!

Agree with both @Tyler Weaver and @Ariel Sizemore about the area. At the same time, Evanston is a key neighborhood that the city is incentivizing development in. So, could look a bit different in 5 years. 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/community-development/neighborhood-development/nofa-notice-of-funding-availability/