All Forum Posts by: Rob Gillespie

@Charlene Isoh We have absolutely no issues in finding tenants, however with the Covid, evictions can be a little tricky. 

I personally have bought all over NE Ohio. from A+ areas down to areas that you need a bulletproof vest! LOL

every area has its pros and cons. I went through the crash back in 07 and the good times that followed. There is money 

to be made in all economies with the right knowledge. 

I would love to see the details on your current investment property and hear about your experiences so far with it .

Feel free to PM. me. 

Hope your staying safe and healthy!!!

@Patrick Ruff I know what it is like to burn the candle at both ends. My youngest just turned 18 and I feel like I have so much more time now!

Cleveland has exactly what you are looking for, HOWEVER out of town investors are sometimes attracted to high

CAP rates offered in D areas, but you can actually get good returns and stay in a good stable area.

I advise my investors that I consult to buy in areas that are in areas that they would not mind living in. These types of houses really need very little management and although do not look as good on paper... they look way better in reality!

I would be happy to jump on a call with you if you want to PM me.

Good luck with all of your investments and most of all enjoy time with your little one... They grow up fast!!

@Orlando Perez That is very realistic for the Cleveland Market. From what I see, you are saying you want to do a no season cash out refinance. The challenge would be the lending guidelines, not the area.Banks usually go off of purchase price plus improvements or appraised value, whichever is lower.  It is possible, but it is going to determine a lot on how you structure  the deal. I am always happy to talk in detail about it if you PM me. 

Good luck in all that you do and stay healthy!! 

Hi Brad, 

I do not do all of the markets, just Cleveland for 22 years. 

1. HUGE medical base

2. 3 sports teams

3. Casino

4. Tons of tourism stuff to do on the lake. .

The reason I mention this is because there is a ton of work for tenants and housing is very inexpensive. even in the burbs with A and B class, you can buy far below market value and start out with a ton of equity and cash flow is still there. 

When the crash hit, we were barely affected in the Cleveland burbs. Inner city is a different story, unless you are in one of the areas of gentrification where there is a HUGE upside. 

I did about 100 deals in the  Mansfield market and it just did not compare to Cleveland because of the lack of everything I listed above. 

If you are not far from the area and wanna meet for coffee, I am open .

Good luck!

Hey Erika, 

Been involved in more than 1000 transactions over the past 22 years in the Cleveland market. Not a lot that I could not answer about Northeast Ohio Real Estate. would be happy to help. 

By the way, welcome to BP, this is a great place to connect and learn!

I am the President of the Greater Cleveland Real Estate Investors Association and BP is like us ...but with a million members! LOL

Hi Adrienne, 

I am in the Cleveland market so I can not speak for Dayton, however in Cleveland the housing stock is older and you need to take the inspection report with a grain of salt. Inspectors although needed when buying from a distance, can make a place sound like it is ready to fall down when in fact it is not really that bad. 

I have home inspectors call me quite a bit for advice on what I think of something because we buy so much stuff. The problem is that inspectors do not have a ton of credentials to be doing the service they are being paid to provide. 

Ok, now that i have slammed the inspectors I should answer your question. Like any other profession out there, everything is negotiable and I like to think about how long it is going to take them to do the task. If they can do a 6 unit inspection and write it up all within 10 hours. I think 500 bucks is more than fair. They will try charging you much more, but I would negotiate and i would try to build a relationship with them to do multiple deals over time. 

Hope that helps and I was not too abrasive with my answer. :-)

good luck!

Hi May, 

Welcome to BP. great place to learn and connect,. 

with 50k you have a lot of choices. I would not head into a war zone to buy a bunch of cheap rentals with high rents, that is not for the beginner. It can be very profitable, but you gotta know what you are doing. 

I am in the Cleveland Ohio market and If it were in this area, i would look into an entry level house in the burbs that needed some work or cleaned out. I would pay cash for it, knock the scary off of the house and resell it at a profit. 

Repeating this process can grow your 50k quite a bit and then you have even more options of what to do with your cash. 

I find this to be very low risk and a great learning experience. 

Would be happy to dive deeper if you have more questions . 

Good luck!

Hi Kimberley,

When I am dealing with out of town investors, I always tell them they need to CO-MANAGE their investment. Giving your property over to a manager blindly is like putting your kids into a white panel van with a stranger and asking him to give them a ride to school! 

I help my investors build a list of their own contractors that they control, set up cash app or zelle to pay them directly. have pics sent back and forth for records, etc.. 

It may sound like work, but it is pretty simple and my most successful investors that I work with do this exact process. 

feel free to reach out to me if you want me to point you into the right direction with how to cultivate your own team in Cleveland. 

good luck!!!

Hi Itay, 

I would say the seller may be telling the truth. I am sure He/She bought it after the fact and probably never did city of Cleveland disclosure forms to check. With that said, sometimes it is not bad to cleans up and can be an AMAZING negotiation tool to get huge discounts at closing. I would be happy to look the report over with you to give my opinion. I have some guys that can do it if necessary. 

Good luck!! 

@Trevor Wolski

I buy and sell in both areas.

Garfield is better in my opinion for Point Of Sale purposes. Point of sale can be a killer on deals. 

Garfield is exterior only now with no escrow hold. 

As far as crime, everyplace has good and bad points. I feel safe in either place .

It is all about the management wherever ya buy. The right or wrong manager is everything.