All Forum Posts by: Slocomb Reed

@Joseph Todd what kind of a return are you hoping/planning to get? That will definitely determine the neighborhoods you should be looking into, regardless of the metro area you choose.

Columbus is definitely booming, Cincinnati is growing too. I'm a Cincinnati investor and agent personally, and we're seeing a lot of what's been mentioned in this thread so far as well. It's the out-of-town money that's lowering cap rates, because people from the coasts are willing to get a lower ROI that we midwesterners are accustomed to.

Hey Ben,

Are you talking about your 4-family? The City of Cincinnati is definitely going to want that to be permitted without a doubt, especially since it's a 4-unit property, which the city doesn't treat as residential. I'd be happy to connect you with people who could let you know more about the permitting situation if you'd like.

@Russ Draper  No reason to believe that the tenant will damage the house, except that he has no intention of leaving. Tenant may get vengeful, though, if a notice of eviction gets posted without him having been given any other (recent) alternatives. No liens on property, investor has owned it outright since April 2017. So you take the risk of Tenant tearing the place up out of vengeance and get him out ASAP via eviction?

@Will G.  Are you saying that you'd offer $2,500 "cash for keys" if the meeting went well? Tenant hasn't made any of his rent payments for the past six months, I wouldn't suspect that he'd start paying in full on time just because a new owner was in place.

@Cara Lonsdale  Great question! I don't know if there's a paper lease in place, but that would certainly help with the eviction. The squatter would still have to be evicted (given notice of eviction, then my attorney goes to court, then Tenant has 30 days to get out before the sheriff shows up). Also a good point about the insurance.

@Adam Curry So you wouldn't pay any more than $500? Why not? Also, if I were going the cash-for-keys route, it would include a signed document stating that tenancy would be terminated by an effective date with the Tenant and all of his stuff moved out by that date, which would be when I paid him.

Thanks for the answers y'all! Unfortunately the deal fell through before I really had a chance at it (intermediary waited too long to bring it to me, investor found another buyer), but this deal still felt like a good mental exercise so I wanted to share it with the BP community.

How would you resolve this issue?

I recently came across a flip-style deal in Cincinnati, OH where the numbers looked excellent. All-in to buy and rehab the property at $160k with a conservative ARV of $220k and the possibility of selling as high as the 230s. Good neighborhood, would've sold quickly. House just needs light updating (within the $160k) and the numbers are solid.

Here's the rub:  The house was occupied by a former owner. He was facing foreclosure and had deeded the property to an investor who paid off all the liens, let him stay in the property for a year, making payments, so that he could resolve his credit issues and buy the house back (at a profit to the investor of course). After six months the tenant hadn't made a single payment to the investor, who wanted to go ahead and cash out to put his capital to work in another deal.

So if you buy the house, it comes with the tenant. The tenant will have to be incentivized to leave. 

What do you do? How much would you be willing to do/give to get the tenant out?

Would you evict and take the risk of the tenant doing extensive damage to the house (eviction takes about 45 days and $400 in attorney fees)? Would you offer to pay the tenant to leave? And if so, how much would you pay? Do you have another solution? Or would you just pass on the deal without meeting with the tenant because of the risk of inheriting a non-paying tenant who used to own the property and doesn't want to leave?

@Joseph Koenig I just sen't y'all a message. Hope to hear from you soon!

Hey @Ben Gammon,

If what you're looking for is really just a handyman to work alongside you or to do some simple projects on their own, I may have a couple good ones for you. Text me and ask me for the introduction.

@Tim S. @Ariel Smith @Andrew Johnson Thanks for the advice! I'm planning to recommend that he Airbnb it, and that he get it on the market fast enough to be rented for graduation (good call!)

@JingJing He the school-year tenants will be required to pay rent year-round, they just don't move in for the first time until this coming school year begins in August.

@Dhanush Kondoth I'd be happy to connect with you about deals in the Cincinnati area but I don't have any in hand at the moment. If you want to connect about the specifics on what you want, please send me a connect request. Hope to talk to you soon!

@Hannah Diment I currently own three properties over 100 years old, all in the Cincinnati area. Just recently bought a 1900 single family in Norwood that I don't actually know all that well (partner does) but the stone foundation is solid and everything else was already updated. 

I have an 1825 3-family and an 1870 four-family in a little historic district near downtown Cincy that I love. Solid stone foundations, solid brick construction, the floor joists are original and a little warped but that comes with the territory. I use luxury vinyl flooring because it's durable, affordable, and it'll contour to the weirdness of my old joists. I also bought them with plumbing and electrical already up to code.

One thing to look out for is that flat rubber rooves are much more expensive to repair or replace than pitched rooves that can take shingles. I ended up having to completely replace a rubber roof that, because of the oddities of the 191 year-old house, cost me just over $12,000 for just under 1,200 sq ft of roof.

Also, check to see if the properties fall into a historic district in your area. if they do, local government will have regulations about remodeling and updating, especially on the exterior and on the facade.

Hope this helps Hannah!

A client of mine is buying a large single family rental in Clifton, a neighborhood of Cincinnati, very close to the University of Cincinnati and to a few major hospitals. It's also less than a couple miles from downtown Cincy and some major event venues (sports, theater, opera, etc.) He'll buy at the end of January, spend February putting in at least one new full bathroom (it'll either be a 5bed/2bath or 5bed/3bath), but then the house will sit vacant until his daughter and her friends move in at the end of August. She's a UC student and the rent her friends pay will more than cover the expenses of owning the property, turning my client's expense of housing his daughter for college into a source of a little income.

My question to you is:  If you were the one buying this property, what would you do to generate income with it after the rehab is complete and before you have long-term tenants moving in (March through mid-August)? Would you try to find short-term tenants? Would you put your daughter's dorm furniture in there and try to Airbnb it with only part of the house furnished? Airbnb it unfurnished? Do you think it's too risky to try to get people in there before your long-term tenants move in?

What're your thoughts on this?