Rental Property Investor · Elk Grove, CA · Member since 2016 · 306 posts · 76 votes
Hi BP Community,
I am planning a trip to Cleveland in November to analyze the Parma, Strongsville, and Brooklyn area. I am considering a SFH or maybe a MFH. Has anyone had any success there? I am looking at properties under $120,000 price range. Looking for rental income.
I have one in Parma. Pretty happy with it. I put under contract in January. In it for ~70k (61k + 9k repairs) and it pulls in 950/mo since April this year. The purchase market is already higher though with less stuff available, probably expect to be all in on a 3/1 for closer to 80k now for a similar house. (BTW, just about every house in parma are carbon copies of each other, they all look identical so once you see a few, you've seen most of them.) But it's a nice area. Much nicer than I expected having been to crappier areas of Cleveland. Strongsville is nicer yet, A area but more $$. Both are towns that I would not have a problem living in most parts of, if I had a reason to live in NE Ohio. (I don't, though.)
The great deals relative what I mention above is harder to find now. There are a few houses under 70k. Some in the 50's and lower, but I'm sure they have major, major problems and would require massive renovation $. I prefer to find one that is in rough cosmetic shape, but with a good roof, furnace, etc... Paint / carpet / etc. is easier to do.
I'd consider doing Ohio house hunting once the winter weather hits. Unless it's a mild winter, Ohio winters suck, and people who have their stuff listed then, REALLY want to sell it. :)
Edit: More info for you - I have it under mgmt and my after PITI & mgmt cash flow is about $300+ / mo. Closer to under 200 when reserving vacanacy / capex budget. But the monthly payment is like, 250 a month... so even if I had a vacant month, it's not like I'm going to be scrambling for making my own bill payments. :) I'm working on getting #2 really soon. The return is better on these houses than what I'm getting in the stock market (except for 2013 or whatever crazy up year we had somewhat recently.)
It'll be difficult finding a property in Strongsville for under $120k, although I see 4 in the MLS right now. You'll find a lot more properties available in Parma & Brooklyn. Depending on location in Parma/Brooklyn and condition, you can expect $850+ if a 3 bedroom and decent sq footage.
I have one in Parma. Pretty happy with it. I put under contract in January. In it for ~70k (61k + 9k repairs) and it pulls in 950/mo since April this year. The purchase market is already higher though with less stuff available, probably expect to be all in on a 3/1 for closer to 80k now for a similar house. (BTW, just about every house in parma are carbon copies of each other, they all look identical so once you see a few, you've seen most of them.) But it's a nice area. Much nicer than I expected having been to crappier areas of Cleveland. Strongsville is nicer yet, A area but more $$. Both are towns that I would not have a problem living in most parts of, if I had a reason to live in NE Ohio. (I don't, though.)
The great deals relative what I mention above is harder to find now. There are a few houses under 70k. Some in the 50's and lower, but I'm sure they have major, major problems and would require massive renovation $. I prefer to find one that is in rough cosmetic shape, but with a good roof, furnace, etc... Paint / carpet / etc. is easier to do.
I'd consider doing Ohio house hunting once the winter weather hits. Unless it's a mild winter, Ohio winters suck, and people who have their stuff listed then, REALLY want to sell it. :)
Edit: More info for you - I have it under mgmt and my after PITI & mgmt cash flow is about $300+ / mo. Closer to under 200 when reserving vacanacy / capex budget. But the monthly payment is like, 250 a month... so even if I had a vacant month, it's not like I'm going to be scrambling for making my own bill payments. :) I'm working on getting #2 really soon. The return is better on these houses than what I'm getting in the stock market (except for 2013 or whatever crazy up year we had somewhat recently.)
I am planning a trip to Cleveland in November to analyze the Parma, Strongsville, and Brooklyn area. I am considering a SFH or maybe a MFH. Has anyone had any success there? I am looking at properties under $120,000 price range. Looking for rental income.
Thank you.
Hi Amir,
What kind of investments are you looking for? Flips, buy and hold, turnkeys? Cleveland has just about everything here, you just got to know where to look!
I know this thread is a bit older, but thought I'd pop back in and mention that I just signed papers on another property in Parma today. So, I didn't quite wait until winter time, which might have been a bit better from a timing perspective. But the property is pretty good so I had to go for it.
Reasonably close to the same deal as the one I mentioned above. Payment is almost exactly the same. The rents should be the same or very close. It was less out of pocket to get into this new house though. Both less repairs / make ready cost, and a better deal on the financing than the last lender I used so I saved money there too. Basically getting into it for 20%+ less than the last house.
Marc Hanson
Hey Marc
I am an out of state investor from Seattle WA and was looking at SFH investment opportunities in Parma OH. I noticed on the thread that you recently signed your papers for acquiring one. (Congrats!) .I am very interested to learn your experiences and your learnings you gathered about neighborhoods over there and expected quality of tenants. I have a couple properties in sight which I am thinking about in Parma but still unsure about pulling the trigger on offers etc. would you be able to spare a few mins to chat with me on phone so I can get some first hand info :)..
Happy to answer questions. I do prefer to answer questions / discussions on the forum or via private message, however. That said, feel free to send me your questions.
I have a tentative 2016 spreadsheet for year #1 of my first property just about done. After December is closed out and the numbers are actually final, I'll probably write a post on it.
I grew up and currently live in Parma. I'm extremely familiar with the area and most of the surrounding suburbs. If anyone has any questions please feel free to shoot me a message!