All Forum Posts by: Ben W.

Jamie, I look at each opportunity that is presented like this as another decision point. Run the numbers again and determine if this is still a good investment based on the updated info. I focus on low-moderate income residential and have seen a huge increase in value across our holdings over the past 3-5 years, so we wrestle with selling all the time. That then presents another issue in redeploying the cash. As has been mentioned in this forum, transaction costs do add up. We were opposed to cash out refi's until just recently and with the rates so low, we are now using that strategy to hold on to what we have, make some modest improvements and continue to grow. CAUTION: keep the cash out refi LTV conservative as that cash does have a way of getting spent. Congrats on the thoughtful process and best wishes with your investing.

No law but know that if you play in the HUD space, there are rent reasonableness guidelines and controls in place.

@Kyle Burnett, I am a local investor and do mostly buy and hold but as part of our business model we do have to rehab pptys.  We are in over half of the 52 named neighborhoods in Cincy so have experience with both City (there is no County inspector) and the various neighborhoods (Norwood here).  IMHO, you may have to go back and open some walls to show the work.  Norwood is tough but fair, as are many cities.  Don't ever try to shortcut and sweet talk - I know investors who have been sued later - do the work and do it right.  Sorry for the tough news.  How did you find the contractor?  Did you periodically review the work with him (visiting on sight?).  Happy to talk with you about several ones we use and please know that there are folks in the business (including contractors) who will work with you to help educate you.  You are not in this alone.  PM me is interested.  Can walk you through a 27 unit apartment complex repositioning we are doing in Cincy and you can 1) get scared at how little you know or 2) get excited about how much you have ahead of you.  

Best,

Ben

@DL Martin, excellent choice.  Walnut Hills is world class.  Rivals all the privates. 

@Tyler Weaver, GREAT commentary.  I agree with your assessment of why OTR turned.

@DL Martin, agree with the comments regarding the subdivision/pull out of Incline District from the Price Hill area.  We are doing a major rehab of a 27 unit complex for out of town investors who see the change in the area.  Wish we had been able to snag this one ourselves... PH was an early area for us and we continue to be selective, but continued buyers.  The trick to turning any neighborhood is to focus street by street.  Find solid housing and keep it up, pick good tenants (screen, screen, screen), get to know the neighbors and slowly build a coalition.  You would be amazed how you can effect change.

@Engelo Rumora, like you, we are distressed situation buyers and our portfolio of rentals now encompasses 26 of the 52 neighborhoods.  An area that is not mentioned here is Evanston.  While it has a massive number of really rundown properties and some are not a "quaint" as those on the west side, I believe that you will see more upside if you are selective in buying.  This area is stabilizing faster, the city is focusing on the crime issue and it is close to Hyde Park and Oakley, both of which are on fire and will continue to be. 

Good posts here.  Not as frequent on here as was in past as way too busy working our pipeline, but this is what we need more of - good quality dialogue - and making it a lot of fun along the way.

Andy, the contractor who supports our 125 units here is Cincy is awesome.  I will PM you.

One additional thought - it is all about taking action.  An expensive package is not going to make you a better investor.  Learning by doing will.  There are really no new ideas in this business.  Trust me.  I have a full time career and have built a real estate investing business on the side and have used about every technique to purchase.  Note:  I do not have a trust fund and started from scratch. 

Have fun sifting out all the info.

Sierra,

Be careful. Many investors will tell you that you need a coach and that you may lose much more than the investment amount you may lay out now. I tell all beginning investors to really take a personal inventory and figure out what excites them and why they are seeking to go down the REI path. I have been investing for a long time and have made many mistakes and many would say that I probably have lost $25K along the way. That being said, even a coach (which is really what you are paying for with a system) may not be able to steer you correctly. You have to learn from others and also by doing. While this may seem like I am trying to talk you out of buying a package, I suggest that you 1) spend some time with the much less costly resources here, 2) find a local group or mentor and 3) practice actually investing (start finding some deals and tracking how you would do them). This is a marathon - there will always be good deals out there if you know how to find them. Don't let high pressure salesmen, or gurus, try to separate you from your money.

Finally, congrats for reaching out to this group for advise.  Wish there were groups like this when I started.

BTW, feel free to creep on my profile and PM me if want.  I am in your state.

Ben

Brandon, shoot me a PM.  I have a number of contacts in that area. 

Ben

Brody, it is good that you pay attention to details.  Very important trait in this business.  Good to be careful on ALL documents.  Also, as you grow your business, make sure you keep good records.  If you find that you are personally having to inject monies into the business (lending to your entity - which is ok), make sure that there is a good paper trail.  In my over two decades as an investor, I have had an attorney try to "pierce the corporate veil" one time.  It related to a transaction for which I was buying a portfolio of pptys from a distressed investor on a land contract (we then put our $ into fixing up the pptys.  Years later, when we chose to legally end the relationship, seller was not happy and tried to drag us through court, asking for extensive records, ect).  Long story short, while we saved this investor from foreclosure, several years later she forgot what we had done for her.  Sorry for the digression, but trying to make 2017 our year of no drama.  Happy investing.