All Forum Posts by: Simon Ashbaugh

Hello guys! 

I am a 34 year old woman in Ohio pending a divorce and will have about $100k to start over and rebuild when the dust is settled in a few months. I've dabbled in several investment types with limited success (stocks, crypto, etc), and the only thing that paid off significantly was our marital home (it nearly doubled in value since 2018)! So I'd like to embark on my real estate investing journey to grow my money, and am curious as to how you all would go about doing this to achieve the best ROI! Here's my situation:

 My goal is to establish passive monthly income along with owning properties that accumulate in equity. I will not need this money immediately, so am open to either short term or long term strategies. 

I have a credit score of 738, make about $105k a year in base salary and also earn about $30k-50k annually in bonuses. I currently have $100k liquid and am saving an additional $4k per month. Additionally, I am in our marital home and can remain once the divorce finalizes, but if I decide to sell or refinance the home to get money out, I would have an additional $80k in funds from equity to use for whatever route I decide to pursue in real estate. 

I am totally new to real estate investing (other than the primary home we own), and know nothing about maintenance/repairs or the costs of contracting someone to do this on a potential home (my now ex was in the home renovation industry, so he took care of all this)-- but I have the expendable income that would allow me  to afford improving a property if it is  in need of a little care. I also would prefer to be hands-on since this would be my first investment property, so am primarily interested in real estate in the Columbus, OH market and other local surrounding areas. 

Any tips or insight would be extremely helpful!

Hi All, 
long-time lurker on Bigger pockets, but a first-time poster. 
I am beginning my real estate investment journey and know that I want to invest in a property out of state (I currently live in Seattle, WA). I would like to find a property in the 200k or less range to start. I am thinking of a single-family or small duplex. I am hoping for a CoC of around 10-12%.
I am open to most markets in the US but starting to feel overwhelmed by the multitude of options. I am having trouble narrowing my search down to one market. 
I am curious how you out-of-state investors narrow down your search criteria?  Addtionally, what markets would you recommend to someone like myself? 

Thanks in advance for your advice

TL;DR: If capital was not an issue, where do we start?

Hi everyone! My husband and I are new investors in the Tampa Bay area. We ran a successful business that provided us with a lot of capital, but we will be selling it in the next few months. We are in a position where we have cash but will not have an income soon so our ultimate goal is to create an income stream through real estate investing.

We live in Tampa Bay where housing prices are through the roof and we cannot make the numbers work to BRRRR. We are working with a wholesaler to do our first fix and flip, but due to the slim margins, are unsure if this is the right path to follow.

My question is do we look at out-of-state investing to make the numbers work? Is it foolish to start our first project out of state? If not, are there other specific regions or cities you would recommend us to research that provide strong cash flow in the current market? What would be the smartest first move to learn and get experience with a successful deal to start our RE journey.

Hi Paulette, so I've researched both Cleveland and Columbus and I have to say I definitely prefer Columbus Ohio and as someone who works with a lot of out of state investors - there's so many catalysts for why you should invest here. Specifically, there's job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide, etc) and the population is growing (unlike Cleveland or Cincy). I really see Columbus Ohio as an extremely safe bet for the next 10-20 years. Plus, there's still so many positive cash flowing and 1% deals here in Columbus Ohio. Just a few weeks ago, I helped a client close on a deal getting them 20% cash on cash return. As a local investor and agent here in Columbus, let me know if you have any questions or want to connect! 

I’m new to the investing in real estate world. So I have been doing the 2% and 50% rule and nothing around my area which is central ohio added up a positive cash flow? So say a house that cost 180k to create a positive cash flow would have to rent for 2410/m to break even is that correct or am I don’t the math wrong? But even at that it’s only 1.3% on the 2% rule. So any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks