All Forum Posts by: Matthew King

Welcome to BP!

@Warren Lanham My advice would be to check the Find a CCIM portion of the CCIM website. You will be able to sort by speciality, and more significantly by SFR's. You may find most CCIM's specialize in more Commercial areas.

Absolutely, anyone can take a CCIM course. It's obtaining the designation that requires a certain level of production and or experience.  Start with the Intro or 101 so that it doesn't overwhelm you at first. My opinion, Intro would be the way to go. Take it in person, travel if not offered locally, the contacts you will meet will be valuable in the future, regardless of what market you work in. Good Luck!

@Account Closed Happy to help. A RE License should not be costly to maintain. I also look at it like this, use it one time, it has paid for itself for years. To my knowledge, New Jersey is similar to Ohio and some other more difficult licensing states. You will have to find a sponsoring broker before becoming licensed. What this means is that a broker has to sign off that you will be working under the brokerage prior to sitting for the exam. Finding a broker that is understanding that you will only be working part time, or that you will not be billing a high volume, will prove difficult. As a broker, we have fixed overhead costs per Agent in the form of MLS fees and Insurance Fees before space, admin, business cards, signs, etc. We want and need to cover these costs so we obviously are looking for individuals who are going to continuously produce. You need to align yourself with a broker who may charge you a nominal annual fee, I have seen $500 annually or a large house that is more interested in a large volume of agents vs. a smaller quantity of producing agents or help a CCIM or a broker part time so they need to sponsor you! After you find this broker, you are now ready for the classroom hours to obtain the license! See New Jersey RE Licensing Requirements.  All the best,

@David Rogers You are indeed correct that the Heights area of Cleveland "enjoys" a high tax rate. However, based on the snapshot from the Cuyahoga County Auditor's site you posted, the building is assessed at a value of $129k. Providing your purchase is filed with the auditor and not a LLC share sale or a tax foreclosure sale, the property will be reassessed at the new purchase price of $40k (or very close). You can certainly petition the RE taxes with an appraisal or a Real Estate Broker's Opinion of Value and possibly an appearance in front of the revision board or if contested further, the appeals Court in Columbus. See Cuyahoga County Real Estate Tax Revision Protocol.  I also recommended seeking the advise of a Tax attorney for more details.  Good Luck!

@Bryan G.  Great area!  This area has undergone a recent regentrification over the last 5-10 years. Several large luxury apartment complexes completed, breaking ground or in the works.  Student, Medical and young professional driven growth (slowly) occurring in all directions except East around the epicenter. The City of East Cleveland and its known issues are prohibiting new growth heading into their direction for the time being.  However, as @Account Closed said, you will have to analyze street by street as it can get dodgy very fast.  In my opinion, the majority of students still continue to commute to Case from the Heights or Downtown.  But with the new development of retail, bars and restaurants in the area, the tide will start to turn.  Good Luck!    

Well said @Mitch Stanley +1.  Additionally, I have noted that some of the larger private RE Investment firms are using entry level people to "bird dog" deals for them.  In other words, you call on prospective Investment properties, underwrite them, and if purchased, a payment of cash or equity is made.  Good Luck! @Account Closed

Email sent. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Thank you! @Antonio Biasiotta

Well said @Account Closed 

There is a ton of attention on Cap rates currently. Not always the barometer of a successful investment. In my opinion, just one calculation in several that need to be considered when measuring risk / return on an asset.

@Russell Gronsky There is a Find a CCIM area on the main CCIM website, look a local one up.  There is a good chance a local CCIM (or colleague) may already be familiar with the deal. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

@Jacquelyn Ceasor I have run into Israeli, Argentinian, Canadian, Brazilian, Australian, Chinese, Indian, Maltese, Greek, French and English Investors buy / own Apartment Complexes in the Cleveland market. In my experience, all cash purchases, no financing, except for some Canadians who are able to secure lending in Canada for U.S. property. Yield buyers, generally turn key investments in A-B areas, budget normally not an issue, roi is. C areas for the risky with a good, experienced local management team. 

@Joe Ebanks  I am surprised the appraiser used an 8.5% cap rate. My humble opinion would be 12% if it is in the area surrounding Kent, 10% if in Kent.  Additionally $45k per door sounds high if it is in the Ravenna, Akron or other markets that are not in Kent proper. Bottom line, be wary of this appraisal and do your own homework of the market / property to better make an educated decision.  Good luck!