Struggles of investing advice and help

[My Le]

Hi all!

I am out of state investor, investing in Cleveland, Ohio looking for a real estate agent.

My criteria:

My criteria is C neighborhoods and better in Ohio. I would love any property with strong cash flow with cash on cash return over 10%.

I prefer packages of single family, and/or multifamily, and even apartments.

I am hoping to build my portfolio and go strong. I need boots on the ground. A good team who can be part of my family. A super star agent and a contractor. But again, most importantly- I need boots on ground.

My special/strong interest that entices the purchase are creative financing deals (like subject to deals).

I currently have 4 single family homes in Cleveland, OH under my LLC. From being scammed by a contractor, losing money, surprised rehab costs, evictions, tenants not paying their bills, etc (nightmares)… I had learned a lot since 2021.

I am still currently struggling to find deals. Also, I am struggling to find a trustworthy team to build my portfolio. I want to make a profitable journey with a team in the long run. 

How do I build my portfolio? I have been reaching out to wholesalers, real estate agents, trying to connect to investors, and trying to find contractors for over a year since I first started in 2021. I lost a lot of deals and haven’t had any luck. I read articles, follow and listen to podcasts, read books, connect with other real estate professionals; but it is still hard to figure out what to do. 

What advice can I get? At times, I feel like this journey is getting too dark. 

[Theresa Harris]

Quote from @My Le:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

While the return is important, so too is the type of property you buy. If you focus too much on a high rate of return, on paper you will be attracted to cheap houses that often attract not so great tenants, require more management and more money.

This is very true. I thank you for your input. What are your areas of investments that you recommend? I had always wonder if appreciation is more of value versus a strong cash flow. Either one is attractive! 

 It depends where you are.  I have properties in one area where cash flow is going to exceed appreciation and in another area it is the reverse.  In part that is because in one area house prices haven't gone up a lot in 15 years and in the other, they sky rocketed.