All Forum Posts by: John T.

I'm saying the down payment on 48k is 12k, plus 8k for renovations makes my upfront costs 20k. The net rental income is $1000/mo.

My cap rate on this one would be 15% but there's a lot more work and upfront cost involved than buying a property that is ready to go. My short term goal is to buy into enough rentals to support myself and work a part time day job. Long term is to make rentals my only means of supporting myself.

Hey All,

I bought my first property last year, a duplex that I am living in half of. Now in my pursuit of self employment I am looking at purchasing another. I found a foreclosed 3 unit for 48k in a very desirable area, but it requires a lot of work. 25% down and after renovations i'll be looking at 20k, which will provide a net rental income of $1000/mo. It would take me about 1 month to renovate each unit, working part time. It's an attractive thought, but i've been wondering if it makes sense to keep saving for another year or so and buy a more dense property, maybe a 5+ unit building. What do people usually do in this situation?

Thanks

Thanks everyone for the guidance. In this case, my home is in my name. I live in one half of the house. So I will represent myself. Is there any trickery to this process?

Thanks for the information Adam. My building is located in Cleveland though and the laws are a bit different from what I've been told. I have heard that Lakewood has one of the best eviction processes in the county. 

I was finally able to get a hold of someone at the Clerk of Courts office that was able to provide knowledge of the actions required. 

Hey all, I am a new landlord of a duplex, since October 2014. My downstairs tenant has stopped paying rent this month. Rent is due on the 1st, and there was no grace period in the lease. The lease was drawn up by the former owner of the house and I kept things month-to-month. The tenant has said that she can't pay rent and is on hard times but is waiting on a check to pay rent. I told her that I would give her through the weekend and alas, still no rent.  It should be noted that the unit is under rented and the tenant has been there for 6 years at the same rent. In one breath I hate to get rid of a tenant with that kind of history, although I don't know first hand what the payment history has been like.

At this point I think eviction may be the best choice. Is anyone familiar with the process in Cleveland? The courts and people answering the phones there have not been helpful to this point. What I know if I need to serve a 3 day notice requesting the tenant leave the premises. Following that i need to order a Forcible Entry and Detainer form. Can I order this form online? What is the most convenient way to obtain this form and submit it to court. Following submission of this form I believe 21 days later the tenant receives the court date and things move forward from there. I think the tenant will likely choose to move out on his own will during that time. Provided he does not and the court case follows, what is the procedure there? Am I able to file a Second cause hearing for past due rent, damages to the property, moving fees associated with eviction, and possible time lost from work due to attending these hearings? What types of limitations are involved in this second cause? Will a judgement in the plaintiffs favor cause the tenant's wages to be garnished in order to make payment?

Finally, does this eviction automatically go on the tenants credit history, or would that be a different filing?

Thanks in advance

Larry - If you had read my post one of the takeaways from it was that I am asking for advice to further my education. I am trying to discover working strategies from people here because I don't know anyone first hand that is successful in real estate. I am not trying to hastily make a decision, rather I am trying to set a goal so that I have something to work toward.

--Does this forum really not allow editing/deletion of posts? Maybe I am just having trouble navigating it.

Hey All,

I  purchased my first rental this past October. It is a duplex and I am living in half. So far it has been great. I was fortunate to have great tenants already occupying the other half and all is well. 

Now I am looking toward purchasing additional properties. One idea that I have in mind is buying them on a less desirable side of town. For instance there are many properties there that sell for $20-40k and probably need their fair share  of maintenance, but providing that is done and the tenants rent and pay their rent, they could be profitable endeavors. With this strategy, I would be paying a management and maintenance company to try to be as hands off of the operation as possible. What kind of working strategies are available here? 

What i'm looking for is a hands off investment property strategy. I am capable of some level of maintenance but I also have other things on the side that take up a large amount of time. Maybe commercial real estate would be better suited to this? What are your thoughts?

Thanks

I'm looking west and in Lakewood. I didn't realize that rent was higher on the east side. I am counting the rental income as having tenants and not living there myself.

The property will be owner occupied and 2-4 units.