All Forum Posts by: Jaron Walling

@Tim Jones Local investor here. In my opinion Indy and the mid west in general is has been popularized, exhausted, and nearly bled dry. We purchased a property on the east side for $90k about 2 months ago on market. We're near the finish line for the remodel which was extensive. I think we over paid slightly and we went over budget on our renovation. We're working with a GC, learning a lot, but it's not easy.

If you combine those things you won't make a profit. We haven't listed the property but my expectations are low. The quality of our property is superior but that doesn't mean the neighborhood will support it. Learn from my experience and don't buy on market. We have experience buying on/off market a few years ago, but tails winds were boosting investor returns. In 2025 it's a soft breeze or no wind at all. It's wrecking the profit for flippers who buy wrong. We didn't buy wrong (can still BRRRR) but we purchased a skinny deal. That's the truth. 

REI is cyclical. My wife and I bought a knife to a gun fight. The big players like Simple Quarters LLC, Ben Buys Houses, and big local wholesalers are churning skinny deals with little to no risk. Don't buy those houses. Spend some capital and market for your own opportunities if you want to flip RE. That's challenging on it's own but probably the best way to make a profit. 

Cheers. 

@Neil Narayan It's unclear if you're promoting data centers or REI near them. Edit; this is just a rant and not directed towards you.

As someone that works in the environmental field (specifically water resources) I can tell you I'd never buy real estate near a data center; specifically buy and hold RE. If I owned property and found out land was rezoned for a future data center I'd be listing that property asap. The data centers you mentioned will bring very little jobs and consume massive amounts of water and electricity. Some states are offering big tech (always behind the LLC) property tax abatements up to 15 years. They get land, resources, tax savings, but bring no value to the local economy. It's not adding up and a lot cities/towns are coming full circle and stopping data centers. This battle is happening in Indiana right now. It's locals vs. big tech. Construction doesn't last forever, jobs come and go, and leave investors/property owners in arguably in a worse position. If a center went up near your property you can kiss the property value good bye. They create noise pollution, and light pollution at night.

Technology for data centers is improving but not fast enough. Offsetting the consequences for energy use is almost impossible. Right now the utility industry is regressing due to the White House policies, and big tech frenzy for data centers. Energy use is putting more and more pressure on the grid forcing utilities to keep outdated coal power plants online. They can't afford to go green and that's unfair to the environment.

Indiana has been a target for data centers which is why I went on this rant. We hear about future investment and big numbers just like in Texas. It's a net neutral for job and population growth. It decrease property values if you're nearby. There's almost no positives for a small REI like my self. People in Texas will figure that out as well if they haven't already. We're against more datacenters in our state. I'm just a desktop warrior sticking up for the environment and our future generations.

@Craig Cann Renovating and upgrading older properties is really rewarding. We have old properties in our market. Lots of upfront lifting to get a high ARV. Needs to be worth the time and money.

"Three, remove all the old plaster down to the studs and then put new drywall. If I did this method then it would be a good time to do electrical upgrades and add insulation (seems to be the most expensive by far)" - This is a good take and probably the best approach for kitchens and baths. If you don't need to demo the entire interior don't do it. Drywall work is expensive. Doesn't matter the market. 

Buy a property with basement access. It's cheaper when running new electrical and plumbing. Depending on the layout, strategy, and goals for the renovation you should cut costs if you aim for a rental. I would not cut costs if going for a profitable flip. Motivated buyers will find it and not make offers. With more inventory on the market you need some wow factor to get offers. 

We're in Indy. I'll share a Zillow listing for a house we looked at a few months ago. The property was overpriced from the beginning. I walked around the outside and passed. It's needs a full renovation, but rents would hardly justify the investment. Could be a flip but it's very small. It's only 765 sqft. of livable space. That hurts the ARV big time.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/335-S-Dearborn-St-Indiana...

We ended up buying a house down the street that over looks a park for $90k. It's 1050 sqft. of livable space, fenced back yard, one car garage, and full basement. 

@Lior Shulstein Echoing what @Zachary Clevenger mentioned Tuxedo Park is pretty rough. It's C/C- class in my opinion. It's improving but mostly near the parks and main corridors. New bike lines are a plus. There's plenty of sketchy streets mixed in. 

I lived on the east side for 6 years and started my journey there, but I bought in Irvington. It's a nicer neighborhood. Either way the majority of houses in the east side require work. The housing stock is old (1920-1960s), charming, and relatively good size, but they require lifting if you're chasing top market rent. You'll find distressed rentals with tenants paying $750 per month when market rate for a renovated property is $1400. Closing that gap comes at a cost to any investor. 

Renovation quality matters. If you think you can buy an OOS property for cheap, replace a roof, and slap some paint you're not going to like the tenant pool. Admittedly we over renovate our rentals, but we don't have issues finding higher class tenants. The market is tough in general, but we have had zero vacancy for almost 8 years. The BRRRR strategy is alive and well, it's heavily front loaded, and requires keeping more dollars in the property (that's call investing). Be prepared for that or avoid this strategy in the east side. Cheers.

@Austin Fowler We're close to finishing a BRRRR (possible flip) deal right now. From our experience with distressed SFH houses the market has stalled.

The market is not going to "save" investors who buy wrong. There's almost no tail winds driving prices. It's been talked about in the forums and BP podcasts lately. Prices have stagnated in most markets including my neighborhood. We're not even done with the remodel and wish we paid $7k less on the buy side. The rehab went over budget, and sales transactions have slowed. Only quality properties priced correctly are selling. We're not worried about the quality, but profit for a flip has compressed. I'm bracing for that and exploring cash-out refinance options like a conventional (6 month seasoning), or DSCR.

When you niche down into neighborhoods you see the voids. The sold price for fully remodeled home vs. a dumpster fire is crazy. Distressed properties that need basically everything have way longer DOM. 

Considering what's going on in this country REI is a first world problem. We're blessed to be in these conversations. Cheers.

The problem is most fail without a financial foundation. Small business failure rates generally increase over time. Stats show 65-80% of new businesses fail in the first couple years. 

Instead of working, establishing a career (regardless if it's the forever job), investing from a young age, setting goals to buy assets, and working the social media side hustle they end up with nothing.

Influencing is big business. YouTube has tightened monetization rules, and platform saturation makes it hard for small guy to go viral. Even established content creators with millions of subs are talking about plateaued growth. I've followed a creator for years who's a clothing/candy entrepreneur. He started Ever Forward clothing and sold sold Sour Strips Candy for $75M to Hersey's. He hasn't gained any followers for years. 

@Maxwell Wuensch We're 3/4 of the way through a rehab right now in Indy. We hired a GC but I'm still managing the entire project. I'm going over there today to make sure the exterior is painted correctly. 

From a mom and pop investor prospective doing this OOS would be a nightmare. I would need boots on the ground that gets eyes on the project at least 1-2 times per week minimum. Cell phone pictures and texts from the GC doesn't cut it. I've made numerous small changes, bought materials, and resolved problems outside of our agreed SOW. Good contractors work fast, need materials when they need it (multiple jobs going), and get managed occasionally. 

We're paying $27k just for labor. The details matter.  

@Carson Cicenas Echoing what others have stated. You should house-hack. 

Set a 2 year savings goal (on top of your Roth, 457 plan) then buy a duplex or SFH. This could be a fixer (value add) or something nice. Keep your cost of living ultra low living with parents and continue keeping it low by renting the other other unit or living with a roommate. If you follow this plan for the next 3 years you'll build STRONG FOUNDATION and own a cash-flowing rental. 

The first property can help you buy another. You'll have options to sell or rent the first property (win-win). You need good credit, two years of verified income, reserves, signed leases, etc. so lenders want to work with you. This stuff doesn't happen overnight. Don't rush the process. 

@Alex Hileman Exactly this. A lot of newer investors don't realize the cost for capex expenses. A new HVAC is $10k, water heater $1k, cast iron plumbing to PEX replace (with basement access) can be $8k if not more. All needs looked at closely before a deal is determined.