All Forum Posts by: Justin Grubbs

Hello, everyone! (sorry in advance if this is a bit lengthy)

So my wife and I are looking to move into the city of Erie to purchase a place of our own so that we can be closer to work and entertainment/friends. We currently live in the country and take care of my Grandmother but she will soon require full-time care in a nursing home and my wife was ready to move months ago because she drives 40 minutes one way. My initial plan was to house-hack to jumpstart our real estate investing career and although my wife is open to the idea of house-hacking, we are having a difficult time finding a multi-family property in an area where we feel safe. It seems like all of the areas we would want to live are single-family only. The B or even C+ class neighborhoods just don't have any options available... and the ones that we did see at the beginning of our house hunt were snatched up before we could make an offer. We're not asking for a turnkey 2% deal or anything crazy, just something decent in a safe area. Because of the slight time crunch, my wife would like to just purchase a single-family home and worry about a rental property later. I'm sort of hesitant to purchase a single-family home because Erie isn't exactly a booming market and it would require a decent amount of our savings for something that I don't feel is an investment. We love the area (except the snow) but I don't want to make a knee-jerk decision just because we want to have our own place. My question is, what am I missing and what would you advise a friend to do in this situation? Other random information regarding this situation; our budget for a single-family would be around 80-90k but have no problem spending more than that on a solid multi-family property (up to 150k). Please let me know if you need any additional information to help provide your opinion/expertise.

@Michael Nicholas Welcome to BP! If there is anything that I could help you with in the Erie, Pa region please feel free to reach out to me.

@Account Closed Welcome to BP! I hope that you are able to find all of the answers to your questions. You can reach out to me if there is anything that you think I would be able to help you with. Have a wonderful day!

@Dillon Loomis Thank you for reaching out to me! Coming out to Girard is a good idea. It is a decent sized community with it's own little micro economy. I have not yet devised a strategy for where I will make my first investment. I have been devoting most of my time to building my businesses and meeting new people! Speaking of which, I would enjoy meeting you for coffee sometime to share ideas about business and Real Estate. 

@Gabriel Hershberger Thank you for reaching out to me! I will be updating my BP profile very soon but the biggest change is that I am now a licensed real estate agent. Although I have not personally purchased an investment property yet, I would certainly be able to help you at any given point in the future, if that is something you would be interested in. Either way I would certainly enjoy meeting you and working together. No biased opinion about Union City either! haha. 

@Kevin Murakami Welcome to BP! It sounds like you already have some experience in real estate. I am confident that you will meet many wonderful people that are willing to share lots of great information. I want you to know that if you ever need assistance with anything in the Erie Pennsylvania area then I would be happy to try and assist you.

I completely agree with your idea of getting established in your area prior to moving towards Erie. As far as your aunt and uncle go; I know I have heard the name. The corner of 6n and 20 is roughly 3 miles from my house so I am very familiar with the area haha. I do technically live in Springfield but it is a Girard address. Small world it seems haha. Feel free to contact me with anything you need. @Daniel Mohnkern

@Chris Martin We have not spoken to anyone else about this property. I suppose that would be a good place to start haha. As far as the questions you have; I will gladly answer any that I can and search for the answers to the ones I may not know the answer to.

@Ron Wickersham Thank you very much for your input. That certainly expanded my though process and put many different things into perspective.

@Max T. Thank you very much for that connection. I have never been to the performing arts theater but now I have a reason to. If and when I get a chance to meet him I will be sure to inform you of how it goes.