All Forum Posts by: Corey Liepelt

I second @Sean Dawson’s recommendation. I’ve been a COREE member for 4 years, and I continue to go because the networking is great and I always learn something. Check out the website for more info: https://www.centralohioreia.com/

@Sean Dawson makes a great point—it's harder to rent a 1 bedroom, and you certainly take a hit on rent if you only have a single. I would focus on finding a 2 bedroom (or something you can convert to a _legal_ 2 bedroom) if you can. Also, keep in mind that a condo comes with HOA fees that can increase in the future, eating into some or possibly all of your cash flow. And to expand on @Benjamin Reemsnyder said, condo bylaws sometimes prevent more than a set percent of the total units to be rented. So even if the bylaws don’t prohibit renting entirely, you would want to see how many units are currently being rented.

I would argue that it's not terribly important what the comps are in the future if you're planning to hold for the long term. That may sound foolish at first, but here's why I say that. As long as you buy a deal where rents are at market rates and the property is cash flowing, who cares (to a point, at least), what comps do? Said another way, you make your money when you buy.

So in your example, as long as the buyer can cash flow that turnkey at $75,000, they should be fine. Might they be upside down if the market turns? Sure. But as long as rents don't go down (which is, admittedly a possibility that potentially changes my argument), they will still be cash flowing and will be fine.

@Justin B., I wholeheartedly disagree that wholesaling is the easiest way to get into real estate. Wholesaling is, in my opinion, perhaps the hardest niche in real estate. Here's why:

1. You have to know how to find off-market deals.
2. You have to know how to accurately estimate repair costs.
3. You have to be able to negotiate killer deals—to buy such that you not only have a good deal to sell to your investor buyers but also have some profit left in there for yourself.
4. You have to know where to find the investor buyers (probably the easiest item on this list).
5. In order to do it legally in Ohio, you either have to (1) be a licensed real estate agent, or (2) have access to funds so that you can buy the property before you resell it.

It's for these reasons that I think @John Horner is spot on. A decent wholesaler realizes how much less work they have to do, and how much more they can make, if they just keep the deals for themselves.

I think when you fill out the coupon for free attendance it asks you for the member's name who invited you. If so,  you are welcome to use my name. Either way, look me up if you make it to a meeting.

Hey Jared, I just sent you a PM with a contact for you. Best of luck.

@Brandon Schlichter, the Ohio Associaton of Realtors canon of ethics is not law. It doesn't matter what the canon of ethics say. What is important is that the Ohio Revised Code chapter 4735 says it's illegal to wholesale without a license. It doesn't ever use that term, but the language makes it clear.

@John Horner, buying a property below market value is totally legal. You buy from distressed sellers all the time, and you add value by improving the properties. That's good business. The Ohio Real Estate Commission is concerned with unlicensed wholesalers who tie up a property in contract with little to no money, then assign the contract rights for a profit. That is viewed by them as predatory and unfair. In the case of most wholesalers, that's exactly what it is. There are, of course, wholesalers who operate legally (with a license) and ethically, but they are not in the majority.

Austin, if you haven't subscribed to the BP podcast, you'll definitely want to do that. GREAT content there.

As for local networking, I highly recommend COREE (http://www.centralohioreia.com).

Elly, you should consider coming to a COREE (http://www.centralohioreia.com) meeting. There are lots of investors with varying backgrounds and levels of experience for you to network with.

I second COREE as a great group. However, they don't meet at Tommy's. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month (so the next meeting is tomorrow) at the Doubletree Crosswoods in Westerville.

See https://www.centralohioreia.com for more info.