All Forum Posts by: Isaac Hayes

For the last couple of months, a homeless person has been living in the alley of a Columbus, Ohio property I own. I've been trying to fill one unit for the last two months, but nobody has signed due to this person living in the alley. I've engaged local police multiple times to help since the person has some of their things on the property, but we have not had luck getting them to permanently leave. Looks like their possessions take up a space of 5 ft x 15 ft.

Do you have any tips for permanently pushing this person away from the area of this property?

I just closed on a property, and the seller let me know that a security system exists at the property. It sounds like the cost of this was billed to the seller, and the tenants were reimbursing the seller each month. However, the payment for the security deposit is not on the lease. The seller would like to transfer the security system to me. I would not like to take this system on, but it would be nice for the tenants to be able to use it. I'm concerned the security system company may bill to the property rather than the seller, which could cause an outstanding debt payment that I wouldn't know about.  A couple of options I've considered are:

1. Let the tenants know they can transfer the system into their name if they'd like

2. Do nothing

Has anybody had a similar situation? How did you handle it?

@Remington Lyman Can you share the names of the lenders that do 15% investment property loans? Is this single-family only or multi-family?

@Account Closed I invest in Columbus, Ohio while living in Texas. It's been a relatively straightforward experience so far after completing around 6 months of hardcore self-education in reading books and listening to podcasts. My average pure cash on cash return should be 8%-9% after raising rents to market price as quoted by my PM and realtor. I see you're concerned about the age of the property as this could increase maintenance and capex relative to a newer and or remodeled property. One way to calculate these costs in your numbers is to use the MRBA and MCEBA calculators from Brandon Turner's multi-family millionaire book bonus content. I've integrated these into my underwriting tool, so age of maintenance/capex by age of property is automatically considered during underwriting.

I second what @Remington Lyman said. I would reach out to @Kyle Tom for property management in Columbus, Ohio. He manages my properties as well as my brother's, and he's been fantastic so far!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Columbus.

Purchase price: $319,000
Cash invested: $90,000

The rents at this property are below market value, and I plan on increasing them to the market rate to increase the cash on cash return.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I'm interested in passive cash flow through real estate to enable me to stop trading my time for money. This deal aligns with that goal.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found it on the MLS
List price: $340k
Initial offer: $296k
Seller counter offer: $327k
Accepted offer: $319k

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional financing

How did you add value to the deal?

I plan on increasing rents to the market rate

What was the outcome?

Purchasing my second deal

Lessons learned? Challenges?

A different buyer had this property locked up since they offered more than me. When that buyer fell out of contract, we were the backup option. I learned to keep monitoring a deal you're interested in until it closes in case it falls out of contract.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Zeke Liston at Reafco

On my first deal in Columbus, Ohio, the appraisal came back at the exact purchase price. My understanding is that the lenders usually want the appraisal to come back at exactly the purchase price so buyers aren't allowed to roll other closing costs into the loan. As the buyer, a higher appraisal is attractive to me as it would allow me to roll closing costs into the loan to decrease my cash outlay so I can buy more properties. I'm less worried about the risk with a high LTV since I know the financials on properties I buy are solid after underwriting.

Are there methods to use to legally influence the appraisal to what the property is worth vs. the purchase price of the property?

@Joshua Janus can you share a resource to point me to down payment assistance for investors? Is this for owner occupants only? I'm looking to have my ducks in a row to do my best to continue to purchase properties once I run out of cash.

Just found an interesting article, and it sounds like the state of Ohio is working to bar school districts from disputing property values. A bill just passed in the Senate and now needs to pass in the House. https://www.cleveland.com/open...

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Columbus.

Purchase price: $455,000
Cash invested: $116,000

This property was purchased under market value. I plan on increasing rents to the market rate and refinancing to increase the cash on cash return and gain access to cash for an additional deal.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I'm interested in passive cash flow through real estate to enable me to stop trading my time for money. This deal aligns with that goal.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found it on the MLS
List price: $485k
Initial offer: $435k
Seller counter offer: $462.5k
Accepted offer: $455k

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional financing

How did you add value to the deal?

Purchasing under market value
Plan to increase rents to market rate

What was the outcome?

Purchasing my first deal

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Breaking a large goal down into much smaller pieces enables you to achieve a goal much more easily
Renting to college students results in a homeowners insurance surcharge

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Zeke Liston at Reafco