All Forum Posts by: Brian S.

@Domininc R Liva I think house hacking is a great idea. I started exactly the same way, bought a duplex (Parma) with an FHA loan. I lived there a little over a year and moved out. During that time, I added many updates including rebuilding a balcony, putting in a new floor, upgraded the electrical panels and fixing parts of the driveway. It has been a great investment for me, cashflow is 2x my mortgage (just about), and always in demand due to the location and because each unit has 3 bedrooms.

I looked at many houses in Lakewood but I was not impressed for several reasons. First...prices were too high, and that was 4-5 years ago. Second, the houses were too old and many of them had the old knob/tube wiring in the basement. I'm not sure if this is the case, but maybe you cannot get an FHA loan with that kind of electrical because its considered a fire hazard? Maybe someone else could jump in and verify that, but bottom line was that I didn't want to mess with it. My duplex had the old screw in fuses and that was the first thing I upgraded once I started renting out the bottom section.

I don't keep up too much with the Cleveland market these days, but I am still on buyers lists. I see deals often so I am sure you can find a good deal in your price range. But I wouldn't go any lower than a C area for your first time being a landlord. I would recommend anyone getting into real estate to house hack and try to landlord themselves to really understand whats its like. If its not for you, you can always get a PM down the road.

@Melody Kushi I was in a similar position with my 401k. Long story short, I took another position in my company that put me abroad for a few years. Since it was technically illegal for me to receive US dollars from my company, including my 401k, I had to figure something out. 

I left the money in the 401k for about a year then finally decided to use it for RE investing. I found the IRA rules are too strict to buy property with the money but I did find a RE hedge fund to put the money into. I shopped around for an IRA to move the money and eventually found a company with reasonable rates. After the money went to the IRA, I invested with a reputable RE hedge fund with a nice rate of return. I don't think its gets any more passive than that. This is great for me since 1, I am still out of the country and 2, this is my retirement fund and prefer to hands off anyways.

Brian

@Marco Magoni Happy to help - send me a direct message and we can chat there.

Brian

@Marco Magoni Foreigners buying from overseas is very cumbersome to say the least. We work with foreigners abroad, mostly in Asia at the moment, and what we've found is that the best way is to partner with a US company. An entity is created (such as an LLC) and 100% owned by the foreign national, and this is used to purchase real real esate while the US company manages the day to day items (permits, property management, evictions, setting up bank accounts, etc).

Hope this helps.

If anyone is looking for a Cleveland PM, shoot me a DM. I've had interactions with several PM's and currently use a company that I would recommend. I am as far away from Cleveland as it gets (Shanghai, 12 hour time difference) so obviously reliability is extremely important for me. Cleveland has many PM companies but only a handful are any good IMO.

@Evan Hacker Welcome! There are a few of us expats living in China so you're in good company. I was about to ask if you are in Shanghai where I am but you said living expenses are extremely low, so I think maybe you are not here lol.

You getting a mortgage may be an issue but not impossible. I'd say it would probably be best to go in with a partner or someone you trust (family, friends, etc.) especially someone back in the USA. Normally you'll need to get pre-approved before you can even start looking at properties, so you'll know right from the beginning of what the banks will require before getting too far into looking at properties, making offers, etc.

We have a real estate group in wechat if you're interested. @Troy Williams put the group together and its really been useful. He's also in Shanghai. Feel free to DM me.

Brian

@Gaby Liu I'm from Cleveland but working in Shanghai at the moment. If you have any questions about reputable companies to work with, please feel free to send me a message.

Brian

@Justin Pineiro Hey Justin, actually Sarasota is probably out of my price range but its a great area. I keep my eyes open in Sarasota just in case. Last time I was in St Pete, Clearwater, etc., I was specifically looking at vacation rentals. I didn't like the numbers so I changed my strategy a bit. I did find some nice single family homes in Dunedin. The more I look at that suburb, the more I'm liking it. 

As far as boots on the ground, I have a few people I work with but I'm always networking. While I am focused on multi-family, a nice SFR would be ok too. If the numbers are there, I'd definitely take a look!

@Amado Torres

I am from the Cleveland area and have rentals in the suburbs. However, I am out of the country for work although I do go back several times a year. I'd be glad to answer questions you might have.

On the other side of this, I am specifically looking at the Tampa Bay area for investing. I have a lot of family that lives in St Pete so I am quite familiar with the areas around Tampa. Specially looking from Sarasota to Dunedin.

Brian

@Shawn Carothers Welcome!

@Ron Szmik Good to know! Hows the turnout at Melt? I'm currently living/working outside the USA now but I'd love to join next time I'm in town. I'll be back again early Sept but leave on the last wednesday of the month lol..

I'll have to catch you all next time and plan my trips accordingly if you get good turnouts at these meetings.

Brian