All Forum Posts by: Sharon Seiter

Hi @Robert Ellis and thank you for the advice!

The FHA loan seems to be a great option to leverage up and get the cash flow benefits of a triplex or quad. Having grown up in New Jersey, I'll never cease to be amazed by how much house one can get in Ohio for under $500k! :)

Thank you for those zip codes.  When you say "highest multifamily", is that by count or % of total residences in the zip code? 

All of those areas are interesting to me, but I am also tracking properties of interest in Dublin and Hilliard since that's where we live and work currently. 

We currently live in the Riverside neighborhood, and may consider investing here, due to the high percentage of multifamily homes and the fact that we pay Columbus taxes but go to Dublin schools. The area attracts a lot of working families with children and seems to have fairly low rental turnover in the 6 months I've lived here.  Of course, deals may be hard to find as a result... most of the properties I've tracked sold for 90-95% of asking.

Out of curiosity, are you seeing the same % of asking price in the markets where you invest?  Trying to benchmark for what we should expect to achieve once we're ready to buy.

I'll definitely be watching the zips you provided over the next few months!

All the best,

Sharon

Thanks for the invite @Ed W.!  I don't have anything that evening, and should be able to attend.

Is there a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near you?  It's one of my favorite places...

Basically, they pick up used furniture, appliances, screen, cabinets, etc. at no cost and then resell them at modest prices.

The stores near me have tons of used appliances in good condition a fraction of the cost to purchase new.  If you're lucky, you might even find a few brand new appliances with cosmetic damage.

I'm in!  Thank you again for organizing, Shay.

Definitely hope to attend!  What time are you planning on starting?

I am very interested!  Just starting out in Dublin, and would love any opportunities to meet and learn from more experienced investors.

Welcome Chad!  I'm also starting out in Columbus... we just moved here, and are going to start by house hacking with small multifamily within the year.  We love living and working here so far, and the city is definitely growing.

Best of luck,

Sharon

Welcome Gabriel!

I'm also in Columbus and looking to use house-hacking as an entry point for small-multifamily.

Sharon

Very inpiring!  It's so great to know that this kind of cash flow is achievable through gradual, intentional building of a great portfolio.

Curious to hear responses on this, as it is a question I am debating too, before beginning to invest in the Columbus area.

A nice rule of thumb I heard is that worse areas tend to have better cash flow potential but lower appreciation potential.  The reverse is true for better areas.

Another thing to consider is the attitude/expectations and upward mobility of tenants: Tenants in the very best areas may be "entitled" and expect a perfect unit and lots of improvements.  They may also turnover more, since they are more likely to have the money to become homeowners.  Tenants in medium or worse areas may be less entitled and more appreciative of a good, clean unit and may turnover less. 

At the end of the day, I am personally leaning toward B neighborhoods that have access to above-average schools.  So much demand is driven off of school quality!