All Forum Posts by: Thomas St John

Hello Gary,  

I've been investing in Toledo for 7 years now and deal strictly in the $10k-$30k price range .   The 43608 and 43609 zip codes offer those types of deals every day all day.  Crime is much higher in those areas and you can expect vandalism especially when a vacancy arises.  Alarm systems help but often do not deter people from breaking in.   I've found the 43612 and 43605 zip codes to be much better as far as tenants and quality of properties .  Either way, appreciation will be near zero.  But if cash flow is your goal, as it is mine, then those areas will work for you.   Feel free to PM me if you want specifics on particular deals or any other questions you may have.   @Ryan Pyle is a great source for info on Toled .  He has made a living for over a decade as an investor here in Toledo 

Hey Brian,

Welcome to the site. I've been investing here locally for a little while too. Its a great place for rental properties! Feel free to get on touch with me if ya want and talk shop.

Ryan Pyle and Andrew Fidler are seasoned investors locally as well. Both make themselves available if you have questions. Good luck

My phone is 419-514-6184

Hey Ryan, welcome to BP. It is an awesome place to learn and read about the wide world of real estate. You are in a good market to get started. I have properties in the areas you are looking into and would be glad to offer my opinions and talk shop with ya. Call me at 419-514-6184 if you'd like

Dave, my thoughts are to NOT use your 401k t invest just yet. Search for other options. I know if you buy real estate in an IRA, the profits must remain in the IRA thus Locking them up. Its not a bad thing, just not my choice

Winston, I am getting just under 12% on the loan. Terrible huh? I just didn't really care because its only for 5 years. So overall the interest I'll pay over 5 years isn't that bad as compared to 15 or 30. I can easily pay this off faster using income from my job so i have that to fall back on. The paperwork, process was easy and painless. The whole thing took one week. It could have been direct deposited in 5 days if you get all the docs right away. Pay stubs, proof of address, bank info. Its simple. Keep me posted.

Hey Sean, my payment with taxes and insurance is $480 per month. So to answer your question, I doubt its going to be cash flow positive. The house is on very good condition, newer mechanicals , roof and such. But I do have 11 other SFH's and I know repairs are inevitable. Following the 50% rule, I'll be in the hole. I just didn't want to pass up on this one even if it meant using my job to cover the negative cash flow

Hey everyone, I just wanted to leave a quick post regarding Lending Club as a means to fund a deal. If you haven't listened to the BP podcast with Dawn Anastasi's, I highly recommend it. I recommend reading her posts as well, they have been valuable to me. I borrowed $18,000 to buy a rental property in Toledo, OH and am renting it for $700 per month. My market is similar to Dawn's in Milwaukee where these types of opportunities are plentiful. These are not war zone areas, rather lower middle class areas that still rent extremely well. Its a 5 yr loan and the house will be paid off. It is not a home run as far as my cash flow for these 5 years, in fact, I know a lot of people will think this is a bad move. But quick and easy money from Lending Club and a free and clear house in no time is a success for me. Thoughts and questions from anyone are welcome

@Michael Galloway. The rents I'm receiving from the vary between $500 and $800 per month. The student rental by the University of Toledo generates $1200 a month though. The North End and some areas of the South end that I mentioned in an earlier post get lower rents, usually topping out at around $550-$600. In these areas, however, you can purchase homes in decent shape for as little as $15k and generate some good cash flow. Just understand you'll be selling these houses to other investors at about the same price. Are you interested in this market or any area of the Toledo market in particular?

Hello @Mike Carino. There are definitely some rough parts of the south end now. Most of those areas are closer to downtown but still can make mighty fine rentals if you have a strong gut for the tenants there. The 43614 area of south toledo is still very strong. I own 3 houses on the east side, a couple by Toledo hospital, a few in the North end, one student rental by thee University and a few in the Washington Local school district area. That area is very good for rentals and flips because of the school district and is my main area of focus right now. I'd like to hear about your investments and strategies over a drink sometime too. I'll send a colleague request and we'll make some time to do that soon.

Jon, in my market you can purchase a 3 bed home in a good school district for between 35k and 50k. These homes retail in the mid 80k range. There are also opportunities in the surrounding suburbs in the 60-70k range that would retail between110-120k

Hello everyone, I am from Toledo, OH and have been in the business for about 5 years now. Currently I have 11 single family homes and am looking to grow. Before adding more rentals, I'd like to flip some houses to strengthen my cash position and have a lot of questions. I am very comfortable with repair estimations and have a good sense of my market. My ultimate goal is to develop a large monthly cash flow through multifamily apartment buildings. I am very happy to have found this site and am looking forward to soaking in some of the knowledge of the many highly successful people here.