All Forum Posts by: Joseph Cornwell

@Michele Velazquez

I invest in Cincinnati and I often use the 1% rule as a rule of thumb metric. There are of course countless variables that will make or break a deal which is why this is a rule of thumb. At a glance, I can look at a property and see that the market rents are 800/door/month and my all in costs for purchase and rehab are 80k/door. It meets the 1% rule, and therefore could be worth putting the time into underwriting. If the market rents were 600/door and they want 90k a door, then I know without even looking its probably a bad deal. That is how I would use the 1% rule as a metric. For me, the biggest factor after determining the 1% rule is what are owner paid utilities? If its a 1% deal with owner paid heat, then its likely still not a good cash flow deal, if its 1% with tenant paid heat or all utilities, it could be a great deal. Then I would underwrite it completely.

@Joshua Thang

I will echo what others have already mentioned. I work with a ton of out of state clients who buy in Cincinnati, it is difficult to take on the tougher neighborhoods unless you have a strong manager and a great relationship with them. If you find that team member it may not be as risky, otherwise it may be a better option to look in a more manageable area especially for your first deal.

@Kanwar Sodhi 

I have been referring my clients to Blue Vista Realty, PM me for contact info! Good luck! 

Looks like a solid deal! What neighborhood? Congrats! 

@Alex Briones I am happy to chat if you have any questions about the Cincinnati market. Feel free to connect, best of luck! 

@Jason Reinhardt I sell investment property in SW Ohio and Cincinnati, and most of the deals my clients and I buy need to be made into good deals. Meaning, AS IS current actuals are usually very underwhelming, but finding the right property where you can move rents to market quickly, or without a lot of turnover is key. Basically, you make good deals now, you won't just find them often. Most buyers are buying the opportunity more than the actual numbers as they exist. 

 Yes, it is my first full gut student rental, but I have been doing large scale renovations on traditional rentals for the past 6 years. I am looking forward to finishing it soon and doing the REFI so see how much equity I have created! 

@Evan P Stegman

I have been doing BRRRR deals in Cincinnati for the last 6 years. For me, it just comes down to the math, will you get a better ROI on that capital if you refinance it out? Will you grow your cash flow by buying another property sooner? You can still get decent rates with 10/1 ARM, and hopefully rates come back down at some point and you could refi out of the adjustable rate. Shop the rates, do the math on the current property and other deals you could move that extra cash into. See what option is best and make the decision at that point. As for the second question, I typically move existing tenants up to market rates slowly overtime instead of kicking anyone out. If they are a good tenant who pays on time, I let them stay and just tell them, hey you are X amount under market, I am going to increase it over the next 3 years until you get there. If they choose to move then I will go ahead and renovate the unit and raise the rent up to the new market rate. If they are a problem tenant, then I may move them out when possible to renovate that unit first. If you have any other questions, I am happy to jump on a call. Best of luck!

That is an amazing story, I am also a graduate of UC! I am doing my first student rental this August on Flora St. I bought the building last year and have done a full gut renovation on the building, I am excited and hope to share your success. Thank you for sharing, and best of luck to your daughter on her next journey. 

I second Cincinnati and invest here locally. If you have any questions about this market, let me know! Best of luck on your research!