All Forum Posts by: Ryan Ball

It all came down is that section.  Nothing left but the rafters.  When I received the picture from the property manager, before talking to him, I thought it had been taken down intentionally to fix something.  I can't tell from the photos how the plaster was applied but there does not appear to be any mesh.  Only thing I can think of is that this section was damaged/repaired at some point in the past and either ignored or repaired incorrectly.

Over the weekend we had a plaster (not drywall) ceiling fall down in one of our units.  It was about a 10 x 15 foot section in a living room.  Fortunately the tenant was not sitting under it.  Our property manager has not seen anything like it and we are at a loss to explain what caused it.  No water leaks or other visible causes.  We have owned the building for about 1.5 years and it was/is very well maintained.  Has anyone else ever seen something like this?

I would go with the fixed rate. You are not getting much of a break on the rate for the ARM. From a cash flow perspective the shorter amortization makes a lot bigger impact than the 0.25% rate difference.

We own in Walnut Hills, Roselawn, Kennedy Heights, Silverton, Madisonville. Kennedy Heights has been the best performer for us. Actually Roselawn has been very strong as well. In C-ish neighborhoods it really varies block by block. Madisonville seems like it should be an up and comer for all the reasons cited but we have not seen it yet. 

We own 9 properties out of state.  As others have said, you have to find someone who knows the neighborhoods and where the better rental area are.  I suggest finding an agent who works with investors or better yet investments themselves.  It can be really deceptive just evaluating a property solely based on what you see on the internet.  Those really cheap properties are usually really cheap for a reason.

100% agree with @Jared Sturm on Clifton. We looked there back in 2012-2013. Very old buildings for the most part. A lot of old houses that have been converted to apartments so you get weird configurations and have a lot more maintenance. 

You also are largely going to get what you pay for. Very low price generally equals less desirable neighborhood, beat up property, lower rents, etc.  When we first bought in Cincinnati, we had a list of properties that looked good based Internet info. Our realtor suggested most of the best looking places on paper were not areas he would buy in. 

Other things you might want to think about are:

1. Are you going to manage them yourself?
2. Are you only looking for properties in your locale or other markets?
3. What type of return do you want to get?
4. Why put more than 50% down versus leveraging your funds?

Market timing is a tough thing as you have to be correct twice, when to get out (or stay out) and when to get in.  I think there is a huge benefit to at least getting started as it will make the second deal that much easier.

I think the idea is great and I looked into it a couple years ago as well.  Google "Ross Chapin", he has done a lot in this area and has some examples of where it is has been implemented.  We could never come up with a winning solution between the cost, zoning, location but I am sure there is a way to make it work.  We found for the cost to build even small homes, you had to jam an unrealistic number of homes on a parcel to make it profitable.  We were looking at infill in good locations so the land was expensive.  We don't have any builder connections, so we were also basically getting a retail building quote.  

I don't know those markets specifically but my guess is they are like most places and finding a "deal" is much more challenging than it used to be. Our last three 4-unit purchases have surprisingly been from the MLS. On two of them we put offers in on the first day they were listed, one for full price. The other MLS building was in an estate and had definitely been a bit neglected, so that likely scared a lot of buyers away. We already owned two buildings on the block so knew the area well. Anything remotely decent, that is priced right, is gone in a day. We have also done some direct mail and purchased one property from that effort. Expired listings is the other avenue we have had some success with, although less so recently. We invest out of state as well. I think having a realtor that has experience with investment properties, or hopefully owns and/or manages properties, is key.