All Forum Posts by: Marshal Amon

I would love to connect with Columbus investors! I just recently bought my first duplex and I'm looking for the next deal by the end of the year. I'm still new to Real Estate and have lots of questions for anyone who's a Columbus local. Please reach out to me if you'd like to connect.

Hello BP community!

I've been a member for awhile now but haven't gotten the chance to do exactly what I planned since beginning last year. Being in my last semester as a student, I'm looking to transition into owning a duplex I can househack and put some sweat equity into in the Columbus area this coming summer.

I saw some similar forum prompts on BP, but they were Pre-Covid. I'm not sure with Covid and the residential market being on fire if anything has changed. My question is, when is the right time to find an agent and start seriously looking around? I've searched most platforms where I can see property options (Realtor, Zillow, Redfin, etc.) and have been saving them to review them but I'm unsure of the exact process. I'm pretty green to the real estate community and I want to ensure I'm making a correct first step in my investing career. I want to bring on an agent who knows the game so I'm not "shooting in the dark" per se. 

I'm assuming the best time to find an agent is right now! So, I would love to have referrals for buying agents in the Columbus area. I'm open to having a discussion and I know your time is important. As a FYI, I'm not looking to move until June/July 2022. I have yet to find financing options but I'm looking to do that once I identify which lenders I want to go through.

Thank you in advance for the answers, I very much appreciate it!

Hi BP community,

One of my friends owns around 12 acres of a landlocked parcel in Highland County, Ohio and is looking to sell but wants to know how much he could get for it. He has 100% equity in the property and has just been paying the property tax on it bi-annually for awhile now. Since it's landlocked, there is an easement but there are no additions or anything else built on the property itself, mostly comprised of just woods. 

I decided to undergo my own research to learn more by looking at the county auditor's website and I found some stuff I don't quite fully understand. The 100% Land Appraisal was around $40k but the 35% Assessed Value was around $14k. I have an idea on what this means but I can't verify that with certainty.

My guess on what this means is that the appraisal is what the land is valued at and could be sold for and the assessed value is 35% of the value of the appraisal and also around the total amount of property taxes paid on the parcel. *Please correct me if I'm wrong here* 

A couple months ago, I was told my friend received a cash offer for the parcel via direct mail, not sure on the exact offer number but I think it was around the 35% Assessed value, around $14k.

My question is if my friend wanted to sell this parcel either by owner or through an agent, would he want to aim for the 100% appraisal value as a starting listing price or would he only be able to sell for around the 35% assessed value? It seemed to me like that direct mail cash offer was a low ball offer from some guy who was looking up parcels of land in that specific county.

If I'm wrong, out of line, or am missing any crucial information, please let me know. I'm very new to this field of real estate! Thank you for the advice and insights in advance!

I saw a duplex in Columbus, Ohio for $275k the other day. Strong bones with more recent upgrades. AC/Furnace (2014), Appliances (2015+), Windows (2007), Electric Boxes (2019), Roof in good shape, etc. I calculated that the duplex will bring in around $2400/month with almost zero renovations if any (Maybe paint and landscaping). My question is, as a first time investment, would it be wise to put a low down payment such as 3-5% and collect small positive cash flow long term say 10+ years?

Broadly analyzing, the 50% rule leaves me with $1200/month for mortgage and cash flow. Putting 5% down with a conventional loan puts my mortgage at around $1,100/month depending on the approved interest rate of the loan. My cash flow would be ~$100/month which seems silly but the duplex doesn't need much work and the property would appreciate over time since I plan on holding it long term. ROI looks good as well. Am I missing anything?

I'm pretty greenhorn to real estate investing so I thought that making a move like this would give me good experience and a good first step in the right direction. Thank you for the replies in advance!