All Forum Posts by: Ryan Provost

Hi Moe,

Thank you for interest in our area. Like any city, Dayton has nice areas and not so nice areas. Here are my own considerations for investing in the area:

- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the biggest employer not only in the area, but the entire state (or so I'm told). I even work there for my 9-5. Approximately 20,000 of the 30,000+ there are government civilians, most of which are either Dayton natives or plan on staying here long term. What does this mean for investors? Stable employment, good salaries, and not much risk of losing employees due to layoffs or relocation.

- While the Air Force is not the only employer, other large companies in the area offer no guarantees. A couple of the largest employers in the area have left Dayton in the last 10 years or less, which has not helped with growth.

- Dayton does not see a lot of rent or property value fluctuation. Just steady, slow appreciation over the long term. I doubt we'll see west coast property value swings though.

- I personally avoid the area directly west of I-75/the Miami River. You can find extremely cheap properties (less than $20k) in some of those areas and with good reason in my opinion. I have heard of out of state investors buying these properties only to sell them once they realize that it's a D neighborhood. There are good people in all neighborhoods, but if investing out of state you'll set yourself up for a very high chance of having tenant issues.

- South of the city is generally good especially right around I-675. Beavercreek, Yellow Springs, Bellbrook, Centerville, Kettering, Oakwood, Springboro, all are B or A areas. My preference is finding properties here because very high ranked school districts drive demand in Dayton.

- I can't speak too much about the north city of the city demand-wise. It seems hit or miss by neighborhood.

- Dayton is currently a nation-leading city in the heroin/fentanyl epidemic. Because of this, I would suggest putting systems in place to vet possible addicts/traffickers.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

- Ryan

Hello Jerome. If you are looking in the Dayton/Cincinnati area, it is important to consider the neighborhoods that you are looking in. You will find everything from $20k houses to multi-million dollar homes in the area.

If I were giving myself advice for investing in this area, I would suggest looking at school rankings for different neighborhoods. Higher rents seem to be directly correlated with the nicer school districts, both in Dayton and Cincinnati, and you can find reasonably priced Real Estate in any of the towns as long as you aren't buying at retail price.

@Christina Carey I could certainly see that, things are pretty nice up as you get closer to I-70. @Han Oh, it seems to me that you have a solid Due Diligence Plan. If you do come into town let us know!

I do think @Andrea Castor has a good point though... I know for a fact that I could find similar housing for around that price point other places in Dayton (Belmont comes to mind specifically), and be in a "better" area than most of Trotwood. Definitely find out about the current tenants and what their circumstance is if you can.

Just my opinion, but if I was out of state I wouldn't touch the Trotwood area. I'd be cautious about buying there and I live within 20 minutes drive. Like @Darrin Carey said, it's mostly "D" properties for sure.

You will likely have a lot of turnover in that area, and the numbers sound a little to good to be true... at least for that area. I'm not saying don't buy there, but I would definitely do some extra due diligence just to make sure.

Good information, Jerry. I'm always glad to see that financing is readily available out there.

Welcome to the site, @Richard Cook! I work on base at Wright-Patt as well (as a civilian), and I spent enlisted time when I was in the Air Force at Shepperd AFB out there in Wichita Falls. Good luck in starting your rental investing!  

Hi Tony!

I'm also from the South Dayton area, a newbie investor here. I've got one property that is a buy and hold and I'm looking into trying the buy-rehab-rent-refinance model next. I don't have an answer to your question though, but I am certainly interested in the answer if anyone can chime in!

-Ryan

Mark, I would love to meet up as well.

I also look forward to joining the meet-up group. Will be in contact with you both soon. 

Hi Mark! I'm from the Centerville area, prior Air Force, and I work at Wright-Patt now as a civilian. I, too, am a newbie to REI and I'm looking to network with people in the area as I save for my first rental property. Glad to see another Daytonian!

Hi all!

Wow, what an awesome community here. I have been browsing the site for a couple of weeks and I am definitely interested in this forum.

A little about me: I'm in my mid-20's, married no kids, and I work in Acquisitions for the federal government. I don't have any experience personally in real estate investment yet (everything thus far has been peer-to-peer lending, 401k, and mutual funds), but my dad has bought and successfully flipped a couple of houses now and so I was intrigued.

Here's where people might caution me, and I'm aware of it: As of now, I have pulled most of my investments (minus my 401k) to put a largish down-payment on my personal home that I just purchased... I kind of wish I did not do that looking back on it. I have never been a fan of the 401k route personally, other than I receive some employer matching. I am considering pulling the money from my 401k that I currently have saved, invest it elsewhere for the next year or so, and then re-direct the percentage of my income that I was putting into retirement towards saving for a down payment for a rental property.

In the future, I am interested in possibly flipping houses, but I'd like to wait until I have a few of cash flowing rental properties first.

Has anyone else on here taken out their 401k savings to invest primarily in real estate? I know that this might be a naïve move, however, I'm just looking for opinions. Thanks in advance for anyone's advice!