All Forum Posts by: Roger P.

Thanks fellas, all good things to look into.  Hopefully they are good tenants, and that brings up another point.  Whether to hire a property manager or do it myself.  I am leaning hard to do it myself, as I can do many things on my own, but there would obviously be some things I'd need help with, especially if a big project were to pop up.  Finding good quality contractors seems to be a reoccurring theme in the forums that have broken the spirits of many investors when they either underbid the job or do not complete the project with quality work or are not timely with finishing.  I'm also going to try to put together a list of highly trusted contractors in Cleveland via BP for various specialties before jumping in.

Hey folks, I have a friend with a brother looking to sell his duplex and a tri-plex in the south suburban Cleveland, Ohio area in the very near future. I told my friend to let his brother know I'd be interested in meeting with him to discuss. I have a general list of questions prepared for him, but since I have not purchased MFR before, I'm researching and asking around to find details I may not know about. Has anyone found/created a proven single comprehensive "tried-and-true" list of questions and/or checklist that has worked for you to go over with the seller before deciding to negotiate a deal for their property? Thanks, Roger

Hi Terry,

I am considering the same thing.  I think I may go ahead and do it on LegalZoom.com and just get it over with so I don't have to rush it if I'm about to make a deal and realize I need it last minute.  Although, I'd consider forming a relationship with a local attorney in case I need to make other transactions which would require something only a lawyer could do, such as buying a multi-family and converting each unit into separate parcels for sale.  That's another thing I'd like to seek on BP, is finding a local attorney in Cleveland that is experienced in a variety of real estate transactions.  One more tool in the toolbox that maybe a LegalZoom can't provide as well as a face to face local?  Maybe we could get some feedback on that as well.

@Jimmy Murray  If there was an emoji for Zeke Elliot doing his "let me eat" gesture, I would post it right here!  Haha, Apple better get on that...

Being a south 'burb Cleveland local, I know the familiar rental spots that @James Wise has in the aforementioned map, and I think that is a great resource for sure!  In the early-mid 2000's, I had a lot of friends that moved to the Lakewood area for the close location to their jobs in downtown Cleveland, and the cheaper rents than downtown, not to mention Lakewood has more bars per capita than any city in Ohio.  Lakewood seems to keep the young and nearly established professional crowds coming in.  Lots of neat chefie-foodie type of restaurant upstarts there too.   ;0

I think the business model that James is sticking with on the "west side" of Cleveland is actually pretty smart.  He is from there, and his people would know the community and the people.  Ride that model til the wheels fall off.

For those not familiar with the personality and character of Cleveland, the city of Cleveland proper is split by the Cuyahoga River into the East and West sides.  It's not quite a full fledged rivalry to our generation, but for our parent's generation, it was... in a fun, anecdotal kind of way mostly.  That being said, in the 70's and 80's as families spread out from the city into the suburbs on either side of town, west-siders rarely made it over to the east side, and vis versa.  (As a nearly lifelong resident of North Royalton (south-west side burb), I can honestly say I haven't been to the east side since the Feast of the Assumption fair in August.  It's just one of those things, we have everything we need over here, and they have everything they need over there.  It's not personal, it's business!  :)

But, there are plenty of west side opportunities to go around, as I'm sure there are on the east side, but I'm sure James has his hands full with more than enough deals on the west alone.  Perhaps he will one day start an east-side chapter of HoltonWise, which of course, with the right management would excel I'm sure.

One thing I haven't researched or heard too much about is the opportunity for the Medina county area (next county south of Cuyahoga county).  I believe Medina county was the fastest growing county by population in Ohio in one or both of the decades between 1990 and 2010... I need to check that out and see if multi-family is worth looking into there.

Cheers

Thanks Jim, thanks Mark!  Kudos for the tips... looks like I will be up late again tonight on research duty, love it!

Hey folks, I'm Roger. 

 I live in the 'burbs south of Cleveland, Ohio. I love to fish for steelhead and other species in the area. Maybe we could meet out on the Rocky River and fish/chat about real estate investing? ;)

I am currently researching sales deals and studying available properties to make my second investment. The first was the rehabilitation of the home I have lived in for 10+ years. I feel I should have started this at least a few years ago, but here I am. I'm ready to stop investing a high percentage of my W-2 salary into the ol' 401k and begin investing into a new facet...

I work for an aerospace engineering company, am in my early 30's, very detail oriented, and have been doing research for a while now looking to learn about purchasing real estate for either holding, fixer-up then rent, flip, or building new single or multi-family residences. Purchasing multi-family so far seems most intriguing, though, and I'd like to pursue this over SFR. There is so much more I want to learn, and when I stumbled upon BP, it was almost unbelievable the amount of information I have watched/listen to/read so far this week, and still tons more to go. I believe in life-long learning and continual improvement in all aspects of life, and that principal does not change with investing.

Over ten years ago, with mostly sweat equity and a HELOC, I completed a total gut-out to the foundation and frame and remodeled the current home I live in. I also have a lifelong friend that is an electrician, and he is almost complete with a self completed addition/remodel of the home he lives in now. We are considering investing together as a team, but I can also invest solo.

Although I work full time, I will be making time to meet, learn from, and talk with experienced people that have, and are, making deals in the Cleveland area. This includes my willingness to do any kind of grunt work or seemingly small tasks for/with you. The only payment I ask for will be that of your conversation and knowledge.

I love to get my hands dirty (literally and figuratively), and I started at the bottom in my professional career, would have done it no other way, so naturally I'd like to get to know real estate in the same manner.

I'd also love to get to know folks from various backgrounds on BP and hopefully we can all leverage our strengths as individuals to make gains as a team!

Good luck, and Godspeed BP!

Roger