All Forum Posts by: Remee Martin

@Remee Martin, I'd be interested in hearing how this goes for you. I'm new to REI here in SoCal and keep going back and forth on sticking locally and going long distance.

Take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. It should help provide some background for when you and your friend fly out.

@Remee Martin we just had our October meetup on Monday, the next one is scheduled for Nov 2, you can see more info here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/881588-west-sacramento-re-investor-meetup

Hi Kristin, when I run my numbers I personally start from the ARV and work my way back, in this part of the year I try to go conservative on my ARV and then even take 5-10% off that just to ensure the deal still works, then I run my rehab numbers, add an additional 5-10% on that just to ensure a buffer in the event something unexpected pops up (it will) and THEN I will find my acquisition price, ultimately I want to be ALL IN at about 75-80% of the ARV. Hope this helps.

PS: I HIGHLY suggest getting out to meet ups and investor meetings throughout Sacramento as those will help you rub shoulders with those who are having success in the very industry you want to break into. the Real Estate Roundtable is awesome (find them on FB) , theres a west sac meetup thats ran by my guy @Sergey Tkachev thats an awesome one, as well as @Tapan Trivedi who has a meet up as well which provides GREAT insight to the market and other investors.

Boots on the ground and networking will lead to more deals and successes than any amount of online study or training!

Best of luck!

Columbus is 2.5-3 hours from Cleveland. Not exactly local. And I don't know the Cleveland market intimately like I do Columbus, so I'd like to find someone I can trust to help. 

The value is that I have learned the past few years that I'm better off using professionals to help me find and manage properties, while I focus on my highly time-consuming but well-compensated profession. I want the most 'passive' real estate portfolio possible, even if that comes at a cost of having a couple of others eating off my plate. 

At some point several years from now, I may retire from Corporate America and have more time to spend on acquisition and self management to reduce my overall costs. But for now the goal is 'passive as possible'. 

@Kevin Douglas - I have been following the section 8 path for a couple of years now.  A few things to be you should know:

1. The property will require an inspection by HUD/Sec 8 before tenant can take possession.

2. The voucher system allows for the potential tenant to have a real choice in where they live. If your property is in a very, very bad area, or is not above average (based on your market) you may have issues getting applicants.  

3. There will be more "service calls" from class c property tenants. 

The pros:

1. Tenants are held to higher standards by HUD / Sec 8. I had one tenant that had damaged the unit half way through the lease. He was required to make the repairs or lose his voucher. He paid for the repairs.

2. You are guaranteed a good portion of the monthly rent. HUD does not pay all, but a large enough % of the total. If the tenant fails to come up with their portion, you will have time to decide what steps to take while still getting that portion of the rent.

Let me know if you would like to discuss in further detail.

@Austin Whisenhunt : There are a number of companies that have experience with program 8 properties as well as with market rent properties with a portion of section 8 voucher tenants. Since I do not want to violate BB's solicitation rules, I will send you a private message.