All Forum Posts by: Lauren Koon

I am not paying the bill- the tenant does but it usually is only 50/60 dollars a month in the past months so this just seemed a little high for me. The water/ sewer is in my name and is billed back to my tenant I only have one rental property and I was just hoping to get the feedback that this could be normal and something much higher could be indication of a issue at the home. Thanks for the response. 

Any Garfield Heights Ohio investors feel that 97 dollars for sewer seems high? My

Property has three tenants one adult two children. I am worried maybe there is a plumbing issue they haven’t reported? Any thoughts? It’s a single family

Home 3 bed 1 bath 

Thank you! @Brandon Goldsmith @Joe Miller

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $94,000
Cash invested: $27,000

Finally purchased my first single family home in Garfield Heights Ohio after almost two years of reading lots of books and listening to every single podcast! I worked with an awesome realtor that I met here on bigger pockets and am still in the process of updating a few things to get ready to rent and hopefully place some awesome tenants in the property.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I know that I wanted to do buy and hold investing to build wealth and eventually become financially independent.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found the deal through my realtor, who I met through BiggerPockets. It was listed on the MLS and I made an offer but they did not accept it initially and went with another buyer, which they backed out after the inspection. The listing agent reached back out to my realtor and asked if we were still interested and that the seller was now offering a credit to buyer to pay for a new roof to be placed on the house and garage so we made another offer and got under contract.

How did you finance this deal?

I am financing this deal with a 30 year mortgage, 20% down payment.
The seller left a credit of $8985 in an escrow account to pay for the roof from a quote they had gotten through a roofing compnay. My realtor worked with the title company and got the verbage to allow me to use the funds for the roof AND other POS (Point of sale) repairs I needed. I got a new quote for the roof $6300 and can use what is left of the $8985 on other repairs.

How did you add value to the deal?

The couple that lived in the home smoked so my realtor let me borrow his Ozone generator to help get the smoke smell out (works amazingly) I am adding a new kitchen countertop, faucet, backsplash and repainting the kitchen cabinets. I also painted all the interior doors and put on new door handles and am changing out the light fixtures.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

My realtor James Maradits was extremely helpful and knowledgeable and really great to work with.

Hi everyone!

I am FINALLY closing on my first investment property on December 15! With that being said, I am looking for recommendations on a CPA to add to my team if anyone has any good recommendations please reach out! I am located in Cleveland Ohio area. Thanks!

@Saleh Riazi

The house on the outside looks not terrible, the roof looks good from what I can tell. There are stickers on the window saying "smile you're being recorded" (I do not see any cameras on the outside) and it looks like there are some other papers in the window I am not sure if I can go up close to read them and peak in the window. I googled the mans name and a court case came up and it looks like a different property he was renting he was getting foreclosed on which makes me think that he may be willing to sell but if he was having issues why would he not sell on his own?

Hello everyone!

I am looking to pull the trigger and try to find my first real estate deal! I had bought my first single family home February of 2020 which I currently occupy and initially peaked my interest in real estate. Anyhow, around my corner on the next street is a vacant home. It is a small 3 bed 1 bath 944 sqft. I walk my neighborhood frequently with my dog and I think about that property often. \I feel like with it being that close to me it would be perfect for a first deal. After doing some digging through public records there is a name on the property with a Sheriffs deed sale price of $35,000. This was March of 2013. Does anyone know about what a sheriffs deed is and I guess why would someone just have a vacant property? I had researched a little about the sheriffs deed and I am seeing that I guess the property was sold at a sheriffs sale by order of the county?  I bought my home for $127k the street over and the average in this city is close to $155k. I am in a city 15 minutes from Cleveland, Ohio. Do you guys think this is a potential deal or should I move on? Should I try to contact the name on the public record to find out if they are interested in selling? Any advice would be extremely helpful. 

@Tristan Colborg 3.89% ! I have purchased this home February 27, 2020. I was planning on staying here 3-5 years.

Opinion! I bought my first single family home in February. I am occupying it. Do you think I should refinance my mortgage OR purchase a second property to rent out?

@Katrina Razavi

Hey! Thanks for the response! I see you hold properties in Lakewood, Oh. Funny enough that is where my primary job is! I had originally been living and renting in Lakewood but decided to move forward and purchase my first property but I had opted going to Parma Heights, newer home and less taxes. I know Lakewood is the place to be, amazing location it is a very much desired area for a lot of young people! I was wondering your thoughts on those rental properties when Lakewood taxes are so high. I suppose what I am asking is with properties in areas with high city taxes is your return on that property lower than it would be in a city with lower taxes?