All Forum Posts by: Joseph R Fornwalt

@Brian Midden glad someone else is having this same thought, thanks for all of the responses that have followed your initial question here.

@Jaysen Medhurst The market I'm looking at varies quite a bit from one end of town to another. For most 2 bed 1 bath units, we're talking rent from $750-$1200 depending on which end of town you're in, amongst other things. Again that's a pretty softball range but the problem is rarely do you see rents higher than $1200, but purchase prices are going from $180k - $230k. These are homes mostly built in the 1920s. Many flirt with the 1% rule but I haven't been able to find one with numbers that work. Thanks for the info you provided, I'll see how those changes could affect one of the property's I analyzed before, for reference. Thanks again!

@Matt Wahidi I'm also new and working towards my first investment property. I'm in the Cleveland, OH area which I'm guessing is much different than your area. BP has two very helpful books, one on investing in rental properties and the other on managing rental properties. These both have provided several actionable steps that can be taken without any money involved and prior to a purchase. For example, I've been organizing forms such as lease agreements, estoppel agreements, property inspection check sheets, etc... All of which, I imagine, will contribute to having a format for that next step after purchase. I know I'll need to make these specific to my system and the laws in my market, but it's a start. This is still a work in progress, and if you haven't read either book I would definitely recommend doing so. On the other hand, if you already have your system in place just trust it, or list any of your doubts on here and see what you get. And if you're farther along in the process than myself, any feedback or advice is always welcome. Thanks and hope this helps.

@Charlie MacPherson very cool, thanks for the explanation.

@Charlie MacPherson I am a new investor, could you please elaborate on signing a buyer's broker agreement with a buyer's agent...for example, I have been in contact with an agent, as a buyer, and am receiving listings off the MLS for analysis. No offers have been made yet and I haven't signed anything. It's in it's infancy, if you will, and we have only talked via phone/text. Should I be expecting to receive such an agreement if I were to make an offer?

@Ryan Whitcher @Ryan thanks for the response! The agent I've been working with has also sent me comps for listings I've noted to him. I'll check out that link regarding the analysis numbers and update mine accordingly. However, regarding the county's assessed value... The taxable assessment is significantly less than the market assessed value, and most listing's asking price is significantly above the county's market assessed value. Should comps be relative to the county's assessment? I may be getting caught up on this for no reason but what I've noticed is that in all of my analyzing, the numbers rarely work with a hypothetical purchase price based on the comps and/or market value as per the county site. In the mean time I've got plenty of practice and research to do, thanks again for the advice.

@Erik McKenna I am in no way affiliated with them other than as a customer, but I use simple bank for my personal finances. It's a bank account with a banking app that is essentially just an electronic "envelope system" but it allows you to categorize transactions from every swipe and then credit that expense from the appropriate envelope. They even recently rolled out savings accounts. I intend to open a separate account with them to organize my first properties finances. I know this is merely one small aspect but could be worth googling or looking them up on YouTube, hope this helps!

@Zack Karp also knew nothing of home possible before this comment. Thanks, awesome stuff.

Hello everyone, I am new to BP and this is also my first post. (Reposted in this category). I'm currently self educating and analyzing small multi family properties in Lakewood, OH. I also currently live there as a renter. My most likely path will be as an owner occupant with an FHA or 203k loan. I've very recently been working with an agent and receiving emails with properties off the MLS. I'm curious as to what others are using as their numbers when analyzing a property. Hoping to determine if the issues I'm having are related to my numbers/percentages, or if there are other reasons I've been unable to find a deal that works. Also, is it appropriate to search a property via parcel number on the county site, and use the listed market assessed value? I intend to manage myself for my first property, but include management in my expenses. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

@Anthony Fiorini awesome link!