All Forum Posts by: Rob Gillespie

@Jose Baeza Welcome to BP. great place to get some inside info on different areas. 

if you are referring to "East Cleveland" as in the Republic of East Cleveland, keep out! 

The city is broke with very limited police and fire. They also have a point of sale that really serves no purpose since most of the houses are boarded up and half burned down. LOL! Really look for them to get taken over 

from another city in the next 5 years. 

If you are talking about the east side of Cleveland, it is depressed, but you can buy cheap, rents are high and you have the support of Police and fire from the City Of Cleveland. No point of sale, and plenty of tenants to choose from. 

With that said, you can not just turn a manager loose over there and hope for the best, you will need to be involved with staying on top of your deal. 

So in short, a little more effort, but nice returns.

@Rich Rodman I will relate it to flying. You need to look at the number of hours of private flight vs. the number of crashes. Then the same with the automobile. 

My point is, I honestly have more problems on stuff on the east side of Cleveland than I do in the burbs, but that is because I have a TON more houses there. 

With all things equal, they both have their pros and cons. 

I do a Hybrid management system. I never think it is a good idea to give any company complete control of your portfolio. 

As a side note, the city of EAST CLEVELAND  is VERY different than the EAST SIDE of CLEVELAND.   I do not deal in the "Republic of East Cleveland" Too many issues for ANYONE!

Hope that helps a little

@Lesley Ray I deal in off market properties. You can find some on the MLS, but it is usually a battle for the good ones. Would love to chat with ya. feel free to PM me.

In Cleveland, the water follows the property. 

You can have them pay it, but it is ultimately your bill if they skip out. 

Make sure you watch the balance. 

Not sure if it will hold up in court, but I have some friends that have in their lease that it is the tenants responsibility to pay the water but it is to be mailed to landlord. any money paid goes toward water/sewer FIRST then toward rent, so they bill gets paid and if they fall short, then it is rent they are missing and can be evicted. 

I am not saying it is legal, just telling you how some of my friends write it up. 

The only advantage to investing right in your back yard is to self manage and self maintain your property. Once you get away from that, it really does not matter how far you go. 

I sell to folks all over the world, many of them have never even been to Cleveland. However they have a team in place to take care of things that are necessary when owning a rental. 

Wherever ya choose the money is made and lost by the management system you have in place. 

(and of course the numbers have to work, so that is why you are not buyin in LA, LOL)

@Joanna Golden

Cleveland! I am obviously bias because it is my market, but to get a double for 40k that brings in over a grand per month is not bad!

As for everyone that says "high risk" or "bad neighborhoods".  every business deal is a risk. people come to Cleveland for low purchase price and high rents. When you move into the burbs, the numbers are just not as sexy. The investor can buy in his/her own back yard at that point. 

last 4 evictions I have had. 

Sheffield lake- beat up my  house and was a pain to deal with

Avon lake- beat up my house and was a pain to deal with

North Olmsted- beat up my house and was a pain to deal with

 Cleveland (east side "war zone" as some would call it)- had car accident, came to court crying and apologizing and paid all of her back rent 3 days later 

So my point is. everything has risk, just know what you are buying and run it according to where it is located.

Hope that helps, and I am sure I will get some arguments on this one, LOL

P.S. I am not speaking from a place of reading about statistics, I am speaking from over 2 decades of dealing  with hundreds of tenants in what some may call "The Hood"

@George H.

If you have someone that qualified for the home under those standards, you hardly need a manager. You can just give them a rental number that you check once per day and you can deploy your own connections for repairs. 

As for collecting rents, with tech today, you can auto draft and get paid via phone so easily. 

I am assuming the house is REALLY NICE. if so, it will attract good people. if the house is questionable, it will attract questionable tenants. 

I personally am not score driven on rentals. I look for stability. I hate habitual movers. I want to see they stay when they move into my place. I want to see long job time. Heck even a long marriage. Just show me something you have done longer  than 6 months!  I will not take prior evictions, and they must be able to afford the property by showing DOCUMENTED income. (not tips and cash under the table)

I do not think you are unreasonable, but I think that the wrong manager will strip all of the profit from that deal. I am very serious when I tell ya to get a "boots on the ground" assistant to help ya while your away and to self manage. 

hope that helps, now let the haters begin with tearing apart my theory, LOL

@Michael Norris and @Neddie Smith

Michael is not only a great insurance reference, he is a great guy! 

Helps a ton with the local Real Estate Investors Association and is 

very giving.

(BP, I am not an affiliate of Michael Norris, and do not get paid to send him business, so please do not flag or remove . )

double closings are not legal in Ohio, so I do not know of any title companies that will do them. 

By definition...

Party A is selling to party B

Party B is selling to party C

Party C is bringing funds to the title company.

Party B is using those funds to pay Party A. 

You will want to use Transnational funding for those deals. It is easy and can be cheap. 

with that said, yes there is DEFINITELY a difference between title companies. I have a few I work with that are really cool. I do not want to post them on here because it may look like a promotion. If you want to message me, I will be happy to share some names and numbers. 

Hope that helps

FHA is the new sub prime. I said that back in 2010.

Here is the deal. I may not agree but it is Americas reality. 

without financing, we are a third world nation. 

EVERYONE is living on a payment plan for everything. 

Finance your house, car, boat, motor home, carpet, furniture, jewelry, Heck

I even saw an ad to finance a safe! If I cant pay for my safe, what the heck do 

I have to keep in there?! LOL

THE BORROWERS need to take some responsibility for themselves and stop 

blaming the banks for their inability to make their payments. 

Anyhow sorry for the rant. the point is. We need banks to give folks with

questionable credit loans or this economy is done!