All Forum Posts by: Rob Gillespie

@Brendon W. It is not specific to Pittsburgh, This is the same method to use anywhere.

I begin by going 1/2 mile radius and sales within the last six months.

Make sure the style of house is the same, ranch to ranch or bungalow to bungalow etc..

I look at age of home and make sure they’re within 20 years of each other.

Look for basement versus slab. Make sure your comparables have the same foundation if possible.

Bedrooms and bathrooms being close to equal amount is certainly important, but I believe your question is how to adjust the comparable if they are not. My answer would be that you are not needing to be this spot on for value.

Remember that an appraisal is just an OPINION of value.

Look at everything, market time is a big indicator on how much value you can lose from going from three bedrooms down the two bedrooms or from two Bathrooms down to one bathroom. Then that is the point you take a guess on how much of a price reduction would be necessary to get the inferior property to move as quickly as one with more features.

Typing all of this is much more complicated than just explaining it, I need to find a way to just post a video LOL

I’m actually out in Pennsylvania quite a bit because my wife’s family is from there, it’s a great market!

Best of luck!

@Matthew H.I would be careful how you word this with your investors. What you are describing sounds like you’re slushing funds.

I would simply give them a mortgage and allow them to get a fixed interest rate and that is up to you to negotiate.

I would not bring them in on Title and let them make decisions or take 50% of the profit.

If you are raising money for a fund, make sure you get a good SEC attorney and prepare a strong PPM.

Good luck!

@Cameron Riley it becomes unethical when the unit is filled and you’re still taking applications LOL

When we take applications we tell everybody that they are good for an entire year on any of our properties that come up. I do not think $25 is too much. We actually changed the application To a Jott form that we have them fill out via text message and they pay at the end of it. really streamlined the process.

Think of all the people that wanted to look at the unit and made an appointment and then didn’t show up, when they raise their hand with their wallet prior to looking, it really increases the follow-through from them.

@Kelsey Gabhart

Congratulations on getting started! If I were to give you one piece of advice to follow it would be too identify a strong market to work in and master that market. It makes it way easier to move fast when you know if somethings a deal or not.

You have to move fast, when I make a decision to buy, I can do it based off of pictures and usually within 3 to 5 minutes after a couple of questions feel very comfortable putting a contract on a property.

Using a software that does the bidding process for you for repair cost that only helps you know how much it will be, it also gives you ammo with the seller to lower the price.

There is so much to tell you and I don’t want to make this post into a novel LOL

Feel free to reach out to me if you want to jump on a call for five minutes with some questions.

Best of luck! You can absolutely do this!

@Manik Zaman

Over 20 years and more than 1000 transactions all in Northeast Ohio/Cleveland area. Feel free to reach out and network with me, I still go out for coffee even with Covid lockdowns, LOL

@Jeremy Shechter

I use a one-page agreement that is super simple. I’d be happy to share it with you.

Do not overthink it, if you find a deal people like me are willing to buy it and use our own contract and still get you paid. Just identify the deal and then start calling some real players in the market, the rest is easy.

Best of luck to you!

@Donna Dade welcome to Bigger Pockets!!

I signed up for the pro membership for the same reason, I want to support the community that does so much for everyone.

I would love to connect with you, I’ve been investing in the Cleveland market for over two decades full-time and Would be happy to help guide you if you would like.

Best of luck!

@Jorge Vazquez I sort of agree. I do not believe there’s a management company out there that you can completely trust to do a great job without your involvement as the owner.

I believe you need to manage your manager a lot closer than most landlords like to think.

I have found the Most successful investors use an assistant to help them manage but they are still involved with decision making.

So in short do not take the calls directly yourself, but don’t let other people sign checks for you.

My 2 cents 

@Tiana Anthony

As you would expect to hear, all of Cleveland is not equal in value. Do you not get caught up in the excitement of a great capitalization rate

Without considering the neighborhood.

I would be happy to look over anything you have going in Cleveland/ NE Ohio, that has been my market for over 2 decades.

@Sagi Nusseri

We have done just about every area of Cleveland, any place in the suburbs are good for flips, and even the west side of Cleveland proper does well.

Dealing with some of the point-of-sale cities can be tough but can also give you some of the best deals if you know how to do it.

If you want any help feel free to reach out.