Newbie Introduction from Canton Ohio

[Tom Harrington]

Hi everyone, my name is Tom Harrington and I just wanted to introduce myself to the community here! My wife and I live in Canton Ohio (home of the Football Hall of Fame) and we were recently blessed with the birth of our first child in April.

Real Estate Investing has always made sense to me but it took becoming a dad to get off my duff and start learning everything that I can about it. I feel very fortunate to have found the BP community here and have already learned a ton from the blogs, and podcasts. Thanks so much to all those who contribute to the site and share their knowledge.  I was also really excited to see there are so many people from the Ohio area who are having success!

After lots of reading and listening to podcasts (with lots more still to read, listen and learn) and joining the Stark County Real Estate Investors Association my wife and I have decided to start with a buy and hold strategy using single family home rentals in the Stark and Summit County areas. We are targeting single family homes, with 3 – 4 beds, 1 – 2 baths, and a garage which need a little work, in B grade neighborhoods. Once we get comfortable with that, we’d like to expand into duplexes, triplexes, and larger multi-family properties.  I’d welcome any insights the community here might have on investing in and better evaluating the Stark and Summit County markets.

I’m looking forward to meeting new people, making some great relationships, and giving back to the community as I continue to learn and gain experience! 

-Tom

[Tom Harrington]

@Brandon Uehlein

Thanks for the greeting! I'm just down 77 from you. It looks like your a part of Holton Wise. I've read some of James' posts and enjoyed the recent podcast. It's awesome to see guys in NEO having success! Do you happen to know what the best REIA is for the greater Cleveland area? I joined down here in Stark but I'm going to check out the Akron group too. Cleveland is just a few more minutes up the road so I'd like to find a group up there. Thanks!