New to Small Multifamily in Columbus, Ohio

Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes

Hello all!

I'm a sales analyst from Columbus, Ohio and am currently learning all I can about small multifamily investing toward the goal of creating a house hack for my family by summer 2017.

Beyond that, I am intrigued by the possibility of building a portfolio of small multifamily properties and generating cash flow to increase my flexibility and time with my two young sons.

Right now, I am in the "learn and save every penny" phase of my journey, so I would love to know:

1. What's the best piece of advice, book, or article on small multifamily or real estate investing in general that you wish you had read starting out?

2. If you're located in Columbus, or Ohio I would love to hear about networking opportunities or resources specific to our city / state.

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

Sharon

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Ed W.

Investor / Landlord · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 276 posts · 174 votes

@Sharon Seiter

There will be a FREE meeting next Thursday (October 20th) for experienced and newbie Investors, Landlords, Wholesalers and Flippers at Tommy's Pizza on Dublin-Granville between Sawmill and Riverside. Tommy’s is attached to the western side of Oakland Nursery. The meeting starts at 6:00 PM.

You can arrive at any time but from 6:00 - 6:45 PM they'll have a Q&A which is very helpful for newbies. After that there is usually a featured speaker on an important topic.

There’s typically a good mix of attendees - usually one or more attorneys, a number of agents, many experienced investors, landlords, flippers, rehabbers, contractors, lenders, etc. This will be a very good opportunity for networking and to meet people active on BP (and those who don't use BP).

The meeting will end around 9 PM but the room will be available for networking till about 10. As stated above, except for any food or drink you happen to order there is no charge to attend. Attendance is usually around 40 - 55. This group has been meeting for years and attracts attendees from all over Columbus Metro.

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Account Closed
Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 24 posts · 16 votes
10y
Not a specific book but podcasts and discussion threads on how to compute CoC, what expenses to account for and estimating rehab costs were the most valuable learnings for me. Knowing your numbers and estimating accurately will go a long way to ensuring success.
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Dave VisayaPro Member
Moderator
Audio Engineer and Investor · Cebu City, Cebu · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 881 votes
10y
Hey @Sharon Seiter, welcome to the site! Feel free to jump in the community here and also take advantage of the treasure of knowledge here.
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Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
10y
Thanks Janine and Dave!
Despite being a "numbers person" by trade, I've been surprised by all the expenses in rental ownership that I had never even considered. Rehab costs are an area that makes me both nervous and excited... Done right, they can easily add a lot of value to the property, but not if they cost far more than expected. My dad is a contractors, so one of my goals is picking up some knowledge from my him to help me DIY / manage contractors as well as possible.
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Kim Younkin
Real Estate Marketing Professional · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 299 posts · 125 votes
10y
Hi, @Sharon Seiter, and welcome to BP! I thought I would let you know about the local REIA group, where you can go for a free meeting and decide whether you want to join for a year. It's at www.centralohioreia.com, also called COREE. It's a good group -- they provide a lot of good content for new investors and those looking to soak up a lot of research info, plus, you'll find good networking opportunities. They have one main meeting and three subgroup meetings each month. There's also an investor here in Columbus who hosts monthly meet ups at Tommy's Pizza on 161 in Dublin. He might pipe in on this thread and give you the next meeting's info. Good luck and give us a call if we can ever help answer buy & hold investing questions for you. Cheers!
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Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
10y
Thank you @Kim Younkin! I will definitely check out both resources. I just noticed that Panzera is managing a duplex a few doors down from me in Dublin. Will definitely look to connect with you and the team as we move forward in the next few months!
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Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
10y
One more question, @Kim Younkin... I noticed the next COREE meeting is Tuesday evening. Would I need to RSVP in advance or do anything else to attend? It just so happens that my kids will be out of town, leaving me with a rare evening free. :)
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Kim Younkin
Real Estate Marketing Professional · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 299 posts · 125 votes
10y
That's funny, @Sharon Seiter--it's a small world! Please do reach out in the future.
Yes, you need to go to the website and print out your one free meeting guest pass and I think by doing so you'll automatically register for the event. On the online registration at the very bottom is a "Print a Free Guest Pass" button. Just click there and you should be all set. The attorney panel meeting sounds like it will have some good content and it's nice that you'll be able to work it in!
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Mark Nolan
Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
@Sharon Seiter
Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Make sure to check out all of the informative podcasts.
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Brandon Schlichter
Real Estate Agent · Circleville, OH · Member since 2008 · 633 posts · 488 votes
10y
I've heard good things about COREE but never attended an event (That hopefully will change soon).

About half of my units are duplexes in the central Ohio area. Although there are tons of risks and problems associated with them, many which are just general issues in real estate, don't be too fearful. The thing is, with enough diligence and a decent financing plan, you can screw up pretty badly with duplexes and such and still make plenty of money in the end. I've been going back and forth with a seller who has 30+ rental units, all very, very poorly managed. He's owned them for about 20 years, and still manages to make good money on em. If I took them over I'd be able to increase NOI by at least 30% within 6 months of taking them over just by changing a few things around. That isn't to brag on my skill, it's just to say that with rentals in general you can inflate out of alot of early mistakes. My first rental was likely overpaid for back in 2007, I still own it, still makes money, and by this point I'm now clearing $300/mo net compared to next to nothing early on, simply due to the 9+ years of time between then and now.
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Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
10y
Thanks @Brandon Schlichter! It's great to hear that you're having good results in Central Ohio, and that duplexes are pretty forgiving. If you don't mind me asking, are you investing in any specific neighborhoods in Columbus?
We're big on doing anything to make home ownership less of a liability and more of an investment, and it seems like owner-occupied small multifamily will be an ideal way to get our feet wet in REI without too much risk.
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Brandon Schlichter
Real Estate Agent · Circleville, OH · Member since 2008 · 633 posts · 488 votes
10y
I'm a few miles south of the outerbelt, have nothing actively in Columbus.
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Ed W.
Investor / Landlord · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 276 posts · 174 votes
9y
@Sharon Seiter
There will be a FREE meeting next Thursday (October 20th) for experienced and newbie Investors, Landlords, Wholesalers and Flippers at Tommy's Pizza on Dublin-Granville between Sawmill and Riverside. Tommy’s is attached to the western side of Oakland Nursery. The meeting starts at 6:00 PM.
You can arrive at any time but from 6:00 - 6:45 PM they'll have a Q&A which is very helpful for newbies. After that there is usually a featured speaker on an important topic.
There’s typically a good mix of attendees - usually one or more attorneys, a number of agents, many experienced investors, landlords, flippers, rehabbers, contractors, lenders, etc. This will be a very good opportunity for networking and to meet people active on BP (and those who don't use BP).
The meeting will end around 9 PM but the room will be available for networking till about 10. As stated above, except for any food or drink you happen to order there is no charge to attend. Attendance is usually around 40 - 55. This group has been meeting for years and attracts attendees from all over Columbus Metro.
1 Reply
Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
9y
Thanks for the invite @Ed W.! I don't have anything that evening, and should be able to attend.
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Robert EllisBusiness Member
Developer · Miami, FL · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Sharon Seiter:

Hello all!
I'm a sales analyst from Columbus, Ohio and am currently learning all I can about small multifamily investing toward the goal of creating a house hack for my family by summer 2017.
Beyond that, I am intrigued by the possibility of building a portfolio of small multifamily properties and generating cash flow to increase my flexibility and time with my two young sons.
Right now, I am in the "learn and save every penny" phase of my journey, so I would love to know:
1. What's the best piece of advice, book, or article on small multifamily or real estate investing in general that you wish you had read starting out?
2. If you're located in Columbus, or Ohio I would love to hear about networking opportunities or resources specific to our city / state.
Looking forward to getting to know you all!
Sharon
I'd start with your budget first. I'd recommend going big than going small (for you I'm guessing you are doing FHA or lower down payment as a hack). I'd do a 3 or 4 unit if I could start again instead of a duplex. Where you are looking in Dublin (not sure if that is but that's what you mentioned), duplexes are going for over $200k and three units depend based on square footage. The most affordable areas that most would consider "Class A" are near the University where the most multifamily in the county exists. By Zip Codes, the highest multifamily properties between 2 and 4 units are 43201, 43202, and 43206. I'd recommend starting with the first 2 and get yourself on an alert for properties in Columbus that are the kind of multifamily ones you'd like.
[email protected]786-494-6766
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Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
9y
Hi @Robert Ellis and thank you for the advice!
The FHA loan seems to be a great option to leverage up and get the cash flow benefits of a triplex or quad. Having grown up in New Jersey, I'll never cease to be amazed by how much house one can get in Ohio for under $500k! :)
Thank you for those zip codes. When you say "highest multifamily", is that by count or % of total residences in the zip code?
All of those areas are interesting to me, but I am also tracking properties of interest in Dublin and Hilliard since that's where we live and work currently.
We currently live in the Riverside neighborhood, and may consider investing here, due to the high percentage of multifamily homes and the fact that we pay Columbus taxes but go to Dublin schools. The area attracts a lot of working families with children and seems to have fairly low rental turnover in the 6 months I've lived here. Of course, deals may be hard to find as a result... most of the properties I've tracked sold for 90-95% of asking.
Out of curiosity, are you seeing the same % of asking price in the markets where you invest? Trying to benchmark for what we should expect to achieve once we're ready to buy.
I'll definitely be watching the zips you provided over the next few months!
All the best,
Sharon
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Robert EllisBusiness Member
Developer · Miami, FL · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Sharon Seiter:

Hi @Robert Ellis and thank you for the advice!
The FHA loan seems to be a great option to leverage up and get the cash flow benefits of a triplex or quad. Having grown up in New Jersey, I'll never cease to be amazed by how much house one can get in Ohio for under $500k! :)
Thank you for those zip codes. When you say "highest multifamily", is that by count or % of total residences in the zip code?
All of those areas are interesting to me, but I am also tracking properties of interest in Dublin and Hilliard since that's where we live and work currently.
We currently live in the Riverside neighborhood, and may consider investing here, due to the high percentage of multifamily homes and the fact that we pay Columbus taxes but go to Dublin schools. The area attracts a lot of working families with children and seems to have fairly low rental turnover in the 6 months I've lived here. Of course, deals may be hard to find as a result... most of the properties I've tracked sold for 90-95% of asking.
Out of curiosity, are you seeing the same % of asking price in the markets where you invest? Trying to benchmark for what we should expect to achieve once we're ready to buy.
I'll definitely be watching the zips you provided over the next few months!
All the best,
Sharon
Hi Sharon, by that I mean the most by percentage and by sales. They are one in the same. Because there are so many in those areas of Columbus there are also the most sales. Watch Dublin and Hilliard, there are great areas that come up that are 3 or 4 units. Some of the best ones just come up and if you are watching them every day or every week you can get a good 3 or 4 unit. If you need help getting setup on the alerts for that or you want to talk further let me know.
We are seeing the same amount in most areas unless the property is overpriced. But all you have to find is one priced low and get it at list even slightly above and you are good to go. There are plenty of other ways we've found properties but for a first one I think that would be best.
[email protected]786-494-6766
Section 8 Launch52 Reviews
Website View Page
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Sharon Seiter
OP
Wooster, OH · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 19 votes
9y
Thanks Robert! My analyst side was getting the better of me wondering how you calculated those numbers... :)
There do seem to be some nice options in Dublin/Hilliard! I'm going to spend at least a few more months learning and getting ready, but will definitely reach out when the time comes.
All the best.
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Robert EllisBusiness Member
Developer · Miami, FL · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Sharon Seiter:

Thanks Robert! My analyst side was getting the better of me wondering how you calculated those numbers... :)
There do seem to be some nice options in Dublin/Hilliard! I'm going to spend at least a few more months learning and getting ready, but will definitely reach out when the time comes.
All the best.
I figured! I am very analytical too and love to run the numbers. I'd look at lease price per square foot for some of those areas (can really help you run numbers well)
[email protected]786-494-6766
Section 8 Launch52 Reviews
Website View Page
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