Investor in Training

[Monte Cooper]

Hello everyone!

Monte from Michigan here. I am currently on a months long journey to learn the in's and out's of real estate investing. I am a CPA but my specialty has nothing to do with taxes, certainly not real estate related taxes so I am not here to sell anything (e.g., I had to google what a 1031 exchange was). I am here to learn, particularly about STR investing, and to hopefully one day contribute to this awesome community. My goals are cash flow and building equity over time through a buy and hold strategy.

[Jimmy Lieu]

Quote from @Monte Cooper:

Hello everyone!

Monte from Michigan here. I am currently on a months long journey to learn the in's and out's of real estate investing. I am a CPA but my specialty has nothing to do with taxes, certainly not real estate related taxes so I am not here to sell anything (e.g., I had to google what a 1031 exchange was). I am here to learn, particularly about STR investing, and to hopefully one day contribute to this awesome community. My goals are cash flow and building equity over time through a buy and hold strategy.

Welcome to BP, Monte! If your focus is cash flow and long-term equity, short-term rentals can be profitable but they also come with more management and regulatory challenges, so it’s important to weigh those against long-term buy-and-hold single-family or small multifamily properties. Markets like Columbus, Ohio are really strong for buy-and-hold investors because you can still find properties in the $120K–180K range that hit the 1% rule, generate positive cash flow, and benefit from strong population and job growth with companies like Intel, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Honda expanding here, which also supports appreciation over time. Happy to connect and answer any questions you have!