All Forum Posts by: Charles A.

I had 4 total vacancies when this OP was made.

2 are now rented and showings continue on the other 2.

I'm finding that the old theory that grade B rentals are the place to be during a downturn holds true.

They are the units occupied by RNs and teachers etc.Those are jobs that get paid regardless.

The vacancies I'm currently struggling to fill are C class units.Those folks have all either been furloughed or laid off.They're your hairdressers, coffee shop barristers etc.Sadly they're unlikely to be booking a showing to rent a unit most places anytime soon.

It certainly is an option to turn the units into long term rental if you own just a few.

Perhaps the only option.

Many of these businesses with 100s of apartment units solely on the Air BnB model will suddenly be dealing with monster vacancies all at once though.

It's not at all easy to go from zero to full occupancy in the current market.

And tenants may soon begin to default on rent even on longer term leases.

Coupled with all the creative financing that makes a scaled larger Air BnB portfolio possible, it's a perfect storm.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-bargain-with-the-devilbill-comes-due-for-overextended-airbnb-hosts-11588083336

Are you offering any incentives?

Or demanding extra security deposits?

There has been an irresponsible fad on real estate sites like BP for at least the last 5 years.

Single family homes were now for suckers and everyone and their grandma has been attending syndication boot camps and coming here to write sensational posts and “success stories” on BP.

You are about to find out who is an investor and who is a scam artiste.

But don’t worry,the actual investors will be here to hold your hands and offer Kleenex through all the tears and blood.

We all learn in this journey of life.

No need for gotchas and “I told you so”...just life lessons we all learn at some stage.

I wish you as little pain as possible over the rest of the year,brothers and sisters! 🙏

Nice post.

But this is why I’ve never flipped.

You made $2750 over 9 months.That’s $306/month active income.And the asset is now sold.Forever.

Given all that stress and sweat, that’s abysmal return.After taxes,it’s even less.

But lesson learnt.

The closest I’ve come to a flip is my several BRRRRs.

You refy out,pay back lenders and partners AND keep the asset and small cash flow.Forever.

But I understand it’s not always possible for everyone’s circumstances.

@Michael Swan

I have said it in a very polite way in an earlier comment:

It’s hard to know who’s genuine in this online world where any Tom Dick and Harry can claim to have “$100m of assets under management” or “own 250 doors and plan to get to 1000 by 2020”.

Only novice investors and BP newbies get click-baited by absolute nonsense like that.

We know they spend all their time evicting “tenants from hell” from all these so called “assets under management”....all while I’m vacationing in Italy with my family.

I for one do not care how large anyone’s portfolio is.

We are not competing against one another.

I just want quality assets that gets me more time with my family. 

And when I find assets on my portfolio that don’t conform to that standard,I offload them ruthlessly as I just did with these Cleveland buildings that prompted this post.

Unfortunately, there are numerous folks on BP who post rabidly everyday as an online strategy to grow a struggling business.They comment on every thread and greet every new BP member.

Nothing wrong with that:

But if you peddle falsehoods in this age of information, know that you will eventually be caught out.

And beware because what you posted in the forums in 2013 are still there and available with a simple search.

You can’t go back and delete every comment you ever made.

You had better be consistent with your fake news if that’s the game you play.

But don't come on my thread and try to claim to be what you’re not.

My threads tend to attract savvy experienced investors, not just the newbies you’ve been impressing with your lies for like forever on BP.

*Above not directed at anyone in particular.

Just a public service announcement.

@James Wise

No need to be facetious.

If I didn’t put any more work in than look at a map,I wouldn’t still be in business all these 10 years.

I even lived in Cleveland for 5 years if you must know.

I know when you started your business.

Parma and Middleburg Hts were my hoods.

So I’m not your average out of state investor.

If I could miss some of these nuances, a fly-in-for-a-few-days investor risks missing them too.

That’s all.

I know if you’re honest, even you have had some losses in your career in Cleveland so far.

The fact BP tends to celebrate mostly wins doesn’t serve the rookie investor very well.

It has the effect of downplaying mistakes and is a dangerous approach to learning. 

@James Wise

That’s a very valid point you made.

It’s only a small sample size based on my own personal experience.

Others have backed it up with theirs on this same thread though.

I have owned SFH in Strongsville with a long term tenant that stayed there 10 years.

So it’s not like I haven’t had any good experience at all ever in the Cleveland area.

Interestingly enough, for my apartment buildings,I relied heavily on your map to decide on Cleveland Heights which you designated a solid Grade B neighborhood and bought what should be a class B building.

I don’t think I was putting money into low “class assets”.

Again,

Everything depends on local knowledge and there are way too many pitfalls.

That’s all.

@Jad Boudiab

Hey Jad, we worked together trying to find suitable deals early on in the process.

You’re a great professional.

I think we shouldn’t miss the point of the post, which is that Cleveland (as a sort of poster child for the cheaper MidWest markets) is fraught with dangers for out of state investors who surely do not have the sort of ground knowledge locals have-nor can they get that knowledge by simply flying in and driving around with a broker for a few days...as Jay mentioned.

For me, it’s pretty obvious to any neutral reader of this thread that all the counter posts to my original post have been by people BASED IN CLEVELAND or who run a real estate related business in Cleveland.

That’s not a coincidence.

And it’s enough proof for me that my post touched a nerve with those who have stakes in the market.

That’s understandable.

But it’s the investor who risks capital.

Not the stakeholders who stand to profit with their business, be they brokers, contractors or developers.