All Forum Posts by: Sonya A.

@Brandon Turner Hi. I cannot find my inbox either. I tried your above instructions but my notifications say I have none (I'm trying to get to an old message that I just saw yesterday). I also tried the link but it is invalid. I am using an iPhone and acessing the website through Safari. Can you help? 

@Bill Gulley I will definitely check out your blog. It sounds interesting and any information I can absorb is obviously to my benefit. I would love to be investing by summer. Thank you for the information and reaching out.

@John Cohen Glad to hear you are out of state investing and it sounds like it is working wonders for you. It is so encouraging to hear that it can and does work. Investing can be so intimidating especially when you don't live in the market.   Thank you for your encouragement. 

Hi Ali. Thank you for your interest. Akron was one of the areas in Ohio that interested me. I was also looking at Youngstown, Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland. When I looked at some of the streets with SFR and MFR for sale I noticed that most looked like average well kept neighborhoods of working class families. I like that these areas have a lot of freeways around them so people can easily travel to work and not have to live in the city. I like that there are colleges near by and many successful larger companies. The areas did not look like a ghost towns to me, although I'm sure there are some areas that are.

Also, the price point seemed very  reasonable and my investment would be for cash flow, not necessarily appreciation. $50k is not my top budget it's just a ballpark figure, but is definitely a desirable amount. I am open to discuss options that are suitable to my situation. Any advise or information is highly appreciated. Thanks again! 

@Ryan Arth

Great tip!!! Thank you!!! I want to go multi family, but have been thinking I should start with Sfh because easier to manage and less to maintain such as bathrooms and kitchens. 

@Aaron Westerburg

Wow...perfect. Sounds like you know that exact areas I'm contemplating, and your an inspector too. : ) thank you for your comment. I have actually pondered buying a multi fam specifically to rent by the room since you can get higher rents. My thoughts were that since the property is always occupied you don't have to renovate so often. Just fill the room. However I think it would need a lot more management and I get that college students would not be ideal for maintenance. It was a passing thought.   : ) thanks for your input

@Jen Kurtz

Please see above message. Not sure why that didn't work the first time. 

@Jen Kurtz

Hi. Thank you for adding that. It helps hearing from locals. I noticed you are looking for multi families in Akron. May I ask why you choose Akron over Cleveland or Youngstown? Just curious as all three of those areas are areas that I'm looking at. 

@Zach Zimmer

@Paul Timmins

@Tim G.

@Curt Davis 

Hi everyone and thank you again for all the responses, concern and advise. 

I picked Ohio because as I looked at areas such as Dayton, Akron, Youngstown, and Cleveland I noticed they were very close to multiple freeways. These areas did not look like they were far from civilization. I noticed in Akron there were many large businesses, hospitals and golf coarses. Dayton was similar with many hospitals, multiple freeways and an international airport. I know these areas were hit hard with the foreclosure crisis and are still trying to make a comeback. Some believe these areas are ripe for a comeback and I'm sure some believe they won't. I know I have zero experience and almost zero knowledge. I used to dabble a little in the stock market and one thing I learned is you have to do the opposit of what the majority are doing. Sell when everyone is buying. Crisis is opportunity. 

I also understand that low income places are risky because the type of tenants that are  attracted to the lower priced properties tend to thrash the place. If you fix it they thrash it again. However, my understanding is $40k-$70k properties are normal for these areas. I may be completely wrong but aren't there working class families that live in a lot of those areas? I had hoped to rent to blue collar or near university college students maybe. Buy something turn key or pretty close to. I've seen a few places that are already rented and seem to have potential for good cash flow. 

Trust me I am afraid. I dont want to lose the little bit I have. Some one said if I have $50k to invest I should look else where. : ) I don't have $50k to invest and if I did I didn't want to put it all into one place. 

I picked this area for those reasons and because I could probably qualify for loans on lower priced property where near me I can't. $50k properties closest to me are in areas that are desolate and no one lives there such as Borrago Springs and 29 Palms. Yes, the have houses there for $50k but no one lives there and there aren't any businesses let alone large hospitals, Fortune 500 companies or freeways. 

I see that others are able to make it sure and I am sure there are many that have failed but I think if you can do I can do it too. I get that the property manager could be the key to making the entire thing work and I admit I know no one in the area and I am terrible at networking. I have a lot of things that are not in my favor. I'm not trying to sound like I have all the awnsers. I just don't see others areas as being a better advantage when I will be far no matter what. 

Please correct me and tell me where I am wrong. Any and all feedback is welcome. 

@Tim G. 

Thank you for the invite. I am interested. Please tell me where and what time on May 6th. 

@Raymond B. : ) i got it!! thank you for you help

Thank you everyone for welcoming me with  your kind words and replies. I don't know how to address each of you with @ and your user names yet... Big newbie here. 

I do understand that the management and maintenance can be a challange when your long distance.  I'm sure you are all busy but I would love to contact you regarding the neighborhoods and which ones are best for rentals. Thanks again for sharing!!