New Investor in Military Looking to Invest in Home Location

[Joe Richissin]

Hello All - 

I wanted to introduce myself and begin networking with like minded people in my area and discuss some of the roadblocks I have hit.

My name is Joe Richissin, active duty Army serving in Fort Carson, Colorado. The home I am currently living in in Colorado will be a rental when I leave, but I am looking to add homes to my portfolio in the greater Cleveland area because this is where I will be returning to in a couple of years. I am excited to start digging through these forums for valuable information, but I am always looking for any helpful words of wisdom from some other beginners to the seasoned vets.

I have been working with a realtor in Cleveland for the last 5 months and have put offers in on houses anywhere from Medina, North Olmsted, Westlake, Rocky River, Brunswick, ranging from small 3/2 SFs to 6/4 MFs... All have come back dry. I feel pretty confident in analyzing numbers and putting forth competitive offers but have not had any luck thus far. For example, my last offer was 17k over asking on a full rehab, the ARV numbers supported the offer, and the house had potential cash flow and great buy and hold appreciation potential. I know there are a ton of other variables I could get into, but just spelling out some generalities.

What have others had success doing in the area? Strictly off market? Cash? Anyone finding luck on the conventional side with offers? Are you including inspections or waiving? 

Anything helps, even an intro. Good luck to everyone and than you in advance!

[Corby Goade]

It's a misconception that there is some amazing off market deal waiting for you. Occasionally, you might see a decent one, but I see better deals on the MLS almost daily, you just have to be fast and decisive.

You might have a few things going on here- how experienced is your realtor? There is much more to getting an offer accepted than just throwing money at it, especially in a competitive market. You have to be creative and you have to work the sellers and/or their agent. If your agent is just writing offers and blindly sending them, they're probably getting lost in the pile of offers. 

Secondly- terms. Terms can be MORE important than price in many cases. Are you finding out the seller's situation and submitting offers that address their problems? 

Don't give up- sometimes it truly is just a matter of time, keep going!

Best of luck-