All Forum Posts by: Shane Kelly

I can only speak on Cleveland here, so that's what I'm going to do. Before I even get to property talk though, I have to say that Cleveland can be quite humid in the summer, a 70 degree day can feel like 90 because it's 90% humidity. Very dry in the winter months though. As for househacking in Cleveland, if you want a "nice" area, it will be hard to find any A/B househack opportunities, but there are a lot in C areas like Parma, Old Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Lakewood, and others. Most of these areas are very quiet and are blue collar workers and older people. Can get a little more D class once you get to the north of Old Brooklyn though. You can get decent to good cashflow from most of these, but as is all things in Cleveland, nothing appreciates much. All this means is you need to find a good deal or you can easily end up with no equity for many years. As for actually living here, I love Cleveland. The people are great, there's good food, and we have 3 solid sports teams (especially the Cavs, doing great this year). All you have to deal with is snowy, cold winters and hot, moist summers. The nature is better than people gives it credit for once you go 20 minutes out of the city.

If you need any other guidance, I'll do whatever I can. Thanks!

1.) Edgewater/East Lakewood is a hard area to classify in one short summary. There are very large apartment buildings right on the lake in the area called the "gold coast", some very expensive townhomes in the trendy area of W 117th, some "older money" homes on Clifton, and some cheaper homes as you get more South, and Edgewater can be street by street in that you'll have homes that are owned by people in their 60s+ that are kept in great shape where the street over is basically an alley with homes that are in need of some love. Feet on the ground can be a game changer in all of these scenarios.

2.) Depends what you're trying to get out of it. Cleveland as a whole is not known for appreciation, but Lakewood, Ohio City, Tremont and similar spots can see higher appreciation than other areas of it. If you're buying for cashflow, you can do better in cheaper areas but you'll have more headaches. Lakewood in particular doesn't see as much problems as a whole, so lower cashflow may mean less money on repairs and finding tenants. Market rents vary greatly, as stated in #1, but Lakewood is "more expensive" market rent as a whole.

3.) Find a good PM, and if they're good themselves, they'll know good people. I've heard it said that as an out of state investor, you want to find a good PM as much as you do a good deal.

4.) Honestly, too new to the game to tell you this. Sorry. I'm sure others' advice is better said here.

5.) Same as said in #5.

You're welcome to reach out for anything else. Thanks!

Coming from the perspective of a leasing agent at a property management company, East Cleveland is a hard area for a lot of reasons. You (and other posts) hit most of the points, as rents are lower, quality tenants are scarcer, turn overs are higher, vacancies can be longer, and probably the biggest point, is its stigmatized. Most of Cleveland natives will do anything it takes to avoid East Cleveland, to the extent where I'd say people are blowing it a little out of proportion, but there is some merit to it. Like all cities though, there are better areas and worse areas, for example, East Cleveland borders both University Circle and Cleveland Heights which are more gentrified and/or "old money" areas and have much higher property value and rent, so if the property you're considering is towards either of those you'll be better off. I'd highly recommend talking with someone who has boots on the ground about the property in more depth because East Cleveland can vary street by street. Cleveland is a great city though, and can have very great cap rates and high r.o.i. with lower costs. Glad you are doing your due diligence though, and I wish you the best of luck!