All Forum Posts by: Gwen Fyfe

Welcome to the site, @Andrew Bolton!

How are your returns in Princeton? I grew up there and it always seemed super expensive to me.

Hi @Alex Khodnev - This is really interesting! Very cool that you're looking at Cleveland from far away. I lived in Scotland for 9 years and might be returning in another year or two, but want to buy investment properties here in Cleveland in the meantime, so I'll be looking at international buy and hold too. I'd be really interested to know how it works out for you. There are definitely a lot of property managers here and so many different neighborhoods.

I'm exploring neighborhoods too, so if you ever want me to be "boots on the ground" and check out a house or neighborhood, let me know. Let's connect.

Hey Craig - have you asked your accountant whether you'd actually be able to do that? I've done a few returns for people who rent out half a duplex etc., but I haven't seen anyone claim rental income/expenses from a partner. I don't think you can claim rental expenses on space you're living in yourself, even if your girlfriend is contributing to the costs! (If you were renting out a bedroom to her, we could figure out how much of your apartment it is, but I'm making the assumption here that it's your bedroom too...)

We've got a couple CPAs in the office tomorrow, I'll check my thinking with them and report back.

I'm in Cleveland and looking to buy a multifamily property in the next 6 months or so, with the intention of house-hacking. It will be my first mortgage and I'm hoping to get FHA financing.

Does anyone have recommendations on mortgage providers? 

I've contacted a couple, just feeling them out, and so far they haven't been very helpful or knowledgeable about using an FHA mortgage to buy a multifamily property. "I'd have to do a little research on that", "have you considered our own product which can only be used for a completely different type of property", etc. There's got to be better options out there.

I only moved to town about a month ago, and I'm commenting on this mostly just so that I can see the answers... I have exactly the same question!

That said, I was intending to check out Gordon Square, purely because I went on a date the other week with the most hipster of all the super hipsters I have ever seen in my rather hipster-tastic life, and he said Gordon Square was the new up and coming neighborhood. (Tremont and Lakewood are both places he thinks I would enjoy but "already getting gentrified"!)

So if you're looking to invest somewhere that's going to get more fashionable over the next few years...

Edit: That said, obviously I'm not going to take property advice from a dude with a Marx beard without doing my own research. ;)

Jason Radzyminski , I moved to Cleveland only three weeks before the Cavs victory. Now I'm not saying you have me to thank or anything, I'm just saying I'm clearly pretty lucky. ;) What kind of deal are you and your partner working on? I'm looking to get started myself.

I'll be following this thread, I have some of the same questions! I do know that you can get multiple FHA loans over time, but I'm still not clear on the details.

Is it important to arrive right on time or is this type of event a bit more casual? I would love to attend, but I would not be able to arrive at 6.

@Bob Collett: Some low level accounts work for a local company. Billing, bookkeeping, that kind of thing. General finance bod!

I was halfway to Chartered Accountant before I had to leave Scotland unexpectedly; sadly, it doesn't transfer at all, so here in the USA I'm just a numbers nerd with a liberal arts degree.

Hey folks!

I have just arrived back in the USA after nine years living in the UK. Because I hopped a plane just a couple days after high school graduation, I basically have no idea how to do adult life in the USA... so clearly the thing to do in this situation is get involved in real estate investing, ha! I'm a huge numbers nerd, at least, which seems like it will help.

I landed in Cleveland with no leads or connections a few weeks ago and am starting an exciting job on Monday, so from my perspective the economy here is pretty promising. I'm going to give myself a year to get to know the city, study and save up. After that I'll be hoping to buy a multifamily, live in it myself and rent out the other units. I should have about $20-$25k cash to play with at that point which seems very workable in Cleveland.

I'm interested in buy and hold for rental cash flow. Props to all you flippers, but it just seems way too high stress for me!

I picked Cleveland purely because my elderly grandma lives nearby and I want to be available for her. I know absolutely nothing about the city, or anyone in it, other than the fact that it was easy for me to get a good job. I would love to get to know people in the area and would appreciate any advice.