All Forum Posts by: Marc Rice

 Much appreciation. I am working on making it down there to rent first, learn the market better, and buy accordingly.

Which city do you prefer to invest in and why right now ?

Hi BiggerPockets Community,

I'm a new investor based in San Diego, CA/, exploring the Cleveland, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio market for my first multi-family property investment and would love to get some advice from experienced investors.  I'm mainly looking for duplex, triplex or quadplex.  

Market:

I’m looking for although not sure what would be the best neighborhoods:

• Properties priced around $150,000 or less.
• Areas with low vacancy and crime rates.
• Neighborhoods where rent prices are stable or increasing.
• I'm mainly looking for properties which are tenant occupied. 

Key Questions:

1. Neighborhood Insights: What has been your experience with these areas? Any insights on market trends, potential pitfalls, or things I should look out for? What are the better neighborhoods in Cleveland/Columbus that I should consider for multi-family units?
2. Financing: I’m planning to use conventional financing for this purchase. What’s the best way to approach financing for a first-time investor? Any recommendations on lenders who are experienced with multi-family properties in Cleveland?
3. Risk Mitigation: What strategies do you use to mitigate risks when investing in older properties in Cleveland, especially in terms of unexpected repairs or property management?
4. Rent-to-Price (RTP) Ratio: I’ve been looking for properties with an RTP ratio of 0.60 or higher. For those who’ve invested in Cleveland, is this a realistic target for multi-family units in the neighborhoods I’m looking at?

Investment Goals:

I’m interested in create steady and consistent cash flow with a long-term appreciation with this investment. I would prefer prefer neighborhoods that are showing signs of population growth and economic development but open to recommendations.

Would love to hear from anyone with experience in the Cleveland market or similar! Thanks in advance for any insights.

Thanks in advance,
Hector

Hello all, 

Here goes my first post. 

I am currently looking for a small MF to house hack as my first property. I am looking for ways to force value into a prospective property in order for the refinance/HELOC part of BRRRR to be favorable.

Can anyone provide me with some insights they have for the best/most efficient ways to increase  property value? I appreciate your time in advance. 

I am a new investor located in the Cincinnati, OH area if you want to connect. Thank you and best wishes. 

Look, someone from Columbus is again telling someone to invest there. What a surprise.

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The first thing you want to do is repurpose the word turnkey into rent-ready. Turnkey is a system - rehabbed property marketed and sold by a company who bakes the property management into your future. You have limited appreciation and often the taxes go up later and shortfall the cash flow expectation.

Rent-ready for you would also mean live-ready, but by having two residences and two short-term options when you are not there, you are creating a lot of upkeep and maintenance on both that will be very hard to manage.

Hello all. I am from TN and the real estate here has gotten too pricey to produce the returns I am looking for. We are shifting our focus to NE OH and are looking to build a strong and ethical team for successful BRRRRs. Any advice or referrals would be greatly appreciated. And if I can be of any value to someone looking in TN, please let me know.

Can any Ohio real estate agents that own personal rental property answer this question? I drafted a lease agreement using other agreements and looked up some things from the Ohio revised code. I am about to rent out my single family home that I personally own. I am also becoming an agent soon and it is an illegal practice of law to draft a lease agreement as an agent and one could loose their license. Does that apply to my own personal property? An attorney wants to charge me $1000 to look over & make changes to my agreement. I would also like to use this agreement for future property I might aquire. Want to make sure I dont loose my future license because of this agreement. Thanks!

I am considering my first rental/vacation property and would like it to be in Puerto Rico for a few reasons:


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1. I loved it when I went. Amazing beaches, food, nature, culture, etc. I enjoy speaking Spanish and salsa dancing and it is a great location for this.

2. It scores a 100/100 (san juan) on airdna, so it seems to have a strong rental market.

3. $$$ going into the island from the new tax incentives. It's a place to legally go and sell stock/business without capital gains. When those individuals are there for over half the year, it will bring prosperity to the island.

4. Quick/cheap flights from Philadelphia, where my primary residence is.

5. After establishing or continuing it as a rental, I'd like to move there myself for at least half the year.

Question: What are people's general opinion on PR in 2024? Is it still a good investment? Rough for a beginner? Important resources(articles, books, podcasts) to review?

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Searching properties:


Size: 0-2 bedrooms
Price range: 300k max

I've started looking on clasificados, and trying to determine where to search. I like the idea of san juan, specifically miramar, santurce, or anything 1-2km from the beach with food/entertainment really. Condo or house I am open to either, as long as it can be a reliable rental. I am sure everyone else feels the same though, so if there are any other recommended areas I'm open. Locations that are a 0-1 hour car ride from san juan to a nice town/city with more affordable areas walking distance to the beach would be interesting as well. 

Examples:

https://www.clasificadosonline.com/UDRealEstateDetail.asp?ID...

https://www.clasificadosonline.com/UDRealEstateDetail.asp?ID...

https://www.clasificadosonline.com/UDRealEstateDetail.asp?ID...

https://www.clasificadosonline.com/UDRealEstateDetail.asp?ID...

https://www.clasificadosonline.com/UDRealEstateDetail.asp?ID...

Question: What are any issues with the above? Do I at least seem to be picking reasonable properties?

Question: What other areas of puerto rico do people suggest? I really enjoyed san juan, but realize it might be the most competitive area.

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Financing:

I would like to do 20% down, or more if needed, but I would like to avoid 100% cash offers as it would likely be the majority of my liquid assets.

Question: How does financing differ from the mainland? Am I likely to get a mortgage with a 20% offer or is it too competitive? Can mainland banks be used?

Agents:

I've read/heard that areas are largely represented by specific agents. I tried to get in contact with an agent through BP's find an agent, but the concierge said BP didn't have an agent in the area.

Question: What is a good way to get in contact with an agent who can help me narrow down locations and then focus on finding properties there

Property management:

Seeing as this is my first investment property, I would like to start with property management and learn more as I progress.

Question: Is property management common in PR and are there any recommendations?

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Thank you in advance for any guidance. I appreciate the podcast and forums here!

Hello all! I currently own two rentals in upstate NY and I've recently moved to FL. I've got a decent amount of money that I want to start investing into section 8 rentals in Florida/Out of state doing DSCR loans. Not sure where to start but if there's any experienced section 8 property owners that could I could connect with/get some advice from that'd be appreciated!