All Forum Posts by: Jacob Repreza

You're not too late. My suggestion would be searching through these forums and seeing which agents are being recommended to people because you're not the first one to have that concern. You can go to the forum posts all about Cleveland and search there or simply type in Cleveland agent into the search section and you'll probably find other posts about it as well. And from there just reach out and see who's a good fit and is willing to walk you through a transaction! 

I personally would recommend using an agent from a referral and not one that is promoting themselves, not because promoting themselves is bad but just because a referral would mean it's probably coming from someone who has actually used them. 

All depends. You can find cash flowing properties here in California you just have to go further out from the big cities. If you go out to bakersfield, apple valley, sun city, etc etc places on the outskirts are still pretty cheap. I can't tell you too much about those markets but I did meet a gentleman at one of our meetups that was doing well buying stuff in bakersfield and it was cash flowing. All depends on your risk tolerance, capital available, etc etc. 

Just realized you're not too far away in San Diego! Love heading down there for weekend trips. I will absolutely reach out once I check out the podcast! @Michael Swan

@Andrew B. okay that makes more sense. I understand the staying away from wholesaling in that situation. We like lakewood but you are right that it's a little tougher to find deals there. We haven't looked too much in parma and those areas. Maybe check out our areas and If we get a deal in those areas i'll shoot it over to you.  

Hey Alex! I get what you mean and while I haven't bought my first house yet I do believe that you should be able to splurge for your personal home. Now that doesn't mean overpay, always make sure you or your agent (if you have one) are checking the comps to make sure its reasonably priced and put in a reasonable offer. If it really does check off all your boxes and its reasonably priced do it! Even though my whole career is based around numbers and finding a good deal on houses, I believe there's some personal things that you just have to pay up for and hey like they say what's the point of having money if you don't spend it on stuff that makes you happy. 

As a side note tho I don't think interest rates are ever going to be lower than they are now so I'm not sure if a refi will be possible in the future, and if they are lower then we as a country are going to have all sorts of other issues. 

Also last side note, while I do think prices will be dropping in the next 6-12 months, going based off of the last housing crash Orange County held its own very well and didn't feel the drop nearly as badly as riverside, inland empire etc etc so you should be okay. 

Hey Andrew! Not nearly as experienced as @Michael Swan (which btw I will be listening to that podcast as well because i'm really interested in how he got 230 units, thats just amazing). But me and my team have been investing in Ohio for a few years now and to me it seems like you might be analyzing too conservatively? Just as a point of reference we were in contract on 4 properties from the MLS in early April out of about 20 offers or so we sent out? Now I do believe that the Covid situation might have scared some sellers into accepting our lower offers but we do see deals out there.

Other couple things to point out, as rentals go we usually go for 2-4 units for the rentals and mostly just use the SFR for flips so that could also be another thing that's making our rent numbers more acceptable. As far as area we're in University heights, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights and are negotiating some properties in Maple Heights so besides maple heights I'd consider those areas the same B-ish grade you're looking for.

Lastly, wholesaling is not illegal in Ohio. I've been seeing that a few times on bigger pockets and I'm not sure where they are getting that from or if I'm missing something? We've wholesaled a few properties just in the last few months and know other people who are doing much larger volume than we are. I usually see that sentiment from agents who want to discourage wholesalers from starting but I haven't seen/heard any legislation passing in regards to that. Would love to know if I'm wrong tho, don't want to be breaking any laws. 

Anyway just my 2 cents! 

Currently have a SFR property in Cleveland Heights that we just leased out, should be cash flowing about $3-400. The better route for the home was going to be a short term rental but we have a relationship with the tenant that we know will take good care of the home and everything so we prefer that stability on that one. Also in escrow on 2 duplexes one in south euclid and one in Shaker Heights that I can update on in the future!

@Gio Fuentes California is a rough place to start off in. Not impossible by any means but you gotta be ready to act quickly and take advantage of a good deal when you see one. Due to the wide margins here there's a lot of deep money looking for opportunities and a lot of times they're happy with decent percentage returns so they'll buy close to retail and a lot of sellers know that. Don't get discouraged tho because one good deal will make it worth your while just have to be patient and take the no's. 

Hey Zach! Me and my team invest in Cleveland although we're out of state. Currently in escrow on a few properties and finishing rehab on another. We held a meetup last time we were in Cleveland and we will hold another one the next time we go over there(whenever that will be). I'll shoot you a connection! 

Hi Hanna! As someone in Orange county who had a similar start as you I hope I can help. House hacking was my goal initially but if you're going to do it in the OC you have to know what you will be getting yourself into and make your choice. 

First off, there's not too many multi families available in OC. You see them in the older areas like Santa Ana and Fullerton and also along the coast but of course once you get to huntington and newport the prices get outrageous. Now from what I've noticed most of them are old which means you have to do some sort of rehab to them and usually aren't less than about 450/475k+. 3.5% down on 475k would be about $16,625 as a down payment, mortgage with PMI and taxes around $2500ish. So more than likely the other unit will pay for MOST of your rent but not all and it will almost surely not cash flow. Now that's not the worst thing in the world.

The key would be to wait until you move out and you can rent that side as well. Then 2 units paying you market rents will more than likely cash flow nicely and then the almost guaranteed southern california appreciation kicks in over the years and it's just icing on the cake. 

I'm still debating doing this but just feel like my money is better off out of state. We're in escrow on 8 different properties in Cleveland at the moment and that 15-20k downpayment here can have more effect elsewhere. Just my 2 cents!