All Forum Posts by: Roger P.

While I agree that all regions of Cleveland have opportunities, for someone like James that runs a full service agency/brokerage/PM/insurance/wholesale/buy/sell/rent it's very cost and time effective to work within an area that is of a certain radius, i.e. shorter drive times, market knowledge, networks, etc., as long as there are plenty of opportunities to keep fully engaged. But of course, as any business grows and builds a team that can handle a larger area, then it can make sense to spread out further. I'm sure his team is exploring options to spread further east eventually. Looking at the amount of business that Holton-Wise does right now proves that they have a great share of the market and are doing quite well. The bottom line is if you build out any business too quickly, you run the risk of sacrificing quality and customer service. The speed of how well a proven system of cost effective and customer friendly processes is implemented by a competent growing management team is paramount to any business before expanding its market. It was really cool to hear podcast #127 and hear about a local business doing very well!

Hi @Ryan Evans !!  

Welcome to Cleveland!  Have you been through the Gordon Square / Ohio City districts on the west side?  In which neighborhood did you buy your Cleveland property in?

Hey BP,

Perhaps this varies by state (I'm in Ohio), but if I have a deal made and the seller is willing to offer financing, are there any rules and regulations for the buyer that differ significantly from conventional mortgage loans?  Are the terms generally open to negotiation between buyer and seller such as interest rate, terms, conditions, etc. and are there any rules the government butts in with this process?  Would banks frown upon me getting the 25% down payment for a property via seller financing, and then the other 75% of the financing through a standard 30yr note with the bank?  Any smaller community banks credit unions get involved much with little to nothing-down multi-family property loans?

Thanks,

Roger

@Brett Dawson I just joined the Great Lakes REIA over the weekend and am planning to attend for the first time on March 16th @ 6pm in the Crown Plaza in Independence. It's 30$ if you're not a member, or you can get a year membership for 250$ and are able to go to all the events and get some other benefits as well. The website said 200$ for year membership, but I was charged 250$. Not sure if the other 50$ is refunded after they see you have the funds or if they just raised the price and didn't update it on the website, either way, just an FYI.

Hi Jason, I actually just joined the Great Lakes REIA Cleveland chapter today, it says 200$/yr for single membership but I was charged 250$, maybe they need to update their site?... The meetings are the third Thursday each month at the Crown Plaza in Independence, OH (CLE burb). The upcoming one is going to discuss tax implications of REI. You can also attend for 30$ if you don't want full membership. Thanks

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