Hi everyone!

I have been researching (listening to a TON of BP podcasts, reading the forums, audio books, etc) and learning over the past couple months and have decided it is time to take action and begin my journey real estate investing.

I am interested in buy and hold real estate - I want to to take advantage of cashflow and begin building my portfolio today! I am currently looking at the Columbus market and am very interested in Dayton as well, although location is really not a factor for me - I will go where the deals take me.

If you have any tips, tricks or guidance that could help someone learning as they go, I would greatly appreciate it! I can't wait until I can contribute what knowledge I have to help make the path easier for others.

I am looking forward to being a part of such a wonderful community!

Vincent

Vincent, 

It's awesome to see that your taking action. I actually just had a client of mine purchase a home in Springfield OH. They had over 20 calls for renters in the first day. They took their sign down the second day. There is high demand there for houses to rent. I'm a Realtor in the Columbus area but just thought that I would share. If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to help. See you around! 

Austin Steed

Welcome to BP and investing!  If you are already in Columbus I don't see any reason why you would need to go outside of central Ohio to pick up good rentals!  There is plenty of opportunity right here!

Hi @Vincent Wood ! Welcome. I agree with @John Horner . With proper marketing targeted at the areas you're infested in, you can probably find all the deals you can handle in Columbus. Go deep not wide! Good luck in your new journey. 

Welcome @Vincent Wood
I'm also a newbie to BP and looking to buy my first rental in the coming month(s). I have a realtor and have begun getting MLS listings daily.

My biggest unknown at this time is finding a trustworthy and affordable contractor to work with.

Best of luck!
Chad

hello @Vincent Wood , glad to see you joined the real estate journey. We have turn key properties in Toledo, Dayton, Cincinnati, Middletown etc. If you are looking for advice, I suggest finding and following @Engelo Rumora wherever he is at the moment (podcasts, social media, catch up on "yellow ladder tips" and read his blogs)He is very well versed in getting deals every where from Ohio to Australia. He reinvented the real estate game in Toledo Ohio and continues to be a trail blazer, constantly thinking outside of the box and finding solutions where others only see issues.

Hope this will help you!

Originally posted by @Rebecca Cirisan :

hello @Vincent Wood , glad to see you joined the real estate journey. We have turn key properties in Toledo, Dayton, Cincinnati, Middletown etc. If you are looking for advice, I suggest finding and following @Engelo Rumora wherever he is at the moment (podcasts, social media, catch up on "yellow ladder tips" and read his blogs)He is very well versed in getting deals every where from Ohio to Australia. He reinvented the real estate game in Toledo Ohio and continues to be a trail blazer, constantly thinking outside of the box and finding solutions where others only see issues.

Hope this will help you!

Thanks for your kind words Rebecca,

We sure do blast out quite a bit of content ;)

Always happy to help everyone

Much success

@Vincent Wood  welcome to BP! I would definitely seek out @Engelo Rumora and have a chat with him with what you're trying to do and how you can help expand/grow his business. Best of luck!

Originally posted by @Ayodeji Kuponiyi :

@Vincent Wood  welcome to BP! I would definitely seek out @Engelo Rumora and have a chat with him with what you're trying to do and how you can help expand/grow his business. Best of luck!

Thanks for the mention Ayodeji

Much success

whatever market you decide to begin investing in, I would encourage you to visit with at least two property managers in the area. Find out what area works best and which areas provide the most difficulties for them.  Also if you are purchasing a home that was a previous foreclosure I would encourage you to purchase a one year home warranty.  More often than not mechanics break down as a result of the house being foreclosed and not utilized for an extended period of time. 

@Austin Steed Thank you so much for the insight. I never gave much thought to the Springfield market, but it sounds like I may need to check it out!

@John Horner Thank you for the welcome! I definitely would like to focus on central Ohio.  Your stated real estate goals are very similar to mine! I wish you luck in acquiring more rental units and I am sure we will cross paths in the future!

@Tim Dye That is what I like to hear! Any guidance on any particularly good or areas to avoid in Columbus? Even though I live here, I feel like I don't know a lot outside of my common areas. (Live in Dublin, work in Westerville/Polaris, date someone in Gahanna.) I am working hard to try to change that!

@Chad B. May I ask who your realtor is? Are they an investor as well? How is your experience with them so far? Best of luck to you!! I hope we can share our experiences as we invest and learn!

@Rebecca Cirisan  @Ayodeji Kuponiyi  Thank you for the referral. I will definitely check out @Engelo Rumora . Sounds like he is a great resource for content! I am always looking for people to work with where we can all win!

Do any of you guys attend any local REIAs? If so, which ones? 

Hey @Vincent Wood I am using Jackie Gray and Trudy Salyers. Jackie was my realtor when I moved to Columbus about 8 months ago.

As others have said, you probably won't have any trouble in the Columbus area. 

Having said that, though, there are some CRAZY deals in Dayton right now. I'm a wholesaler in Dayton, so if you want to be on my buyers list to see what deals I have come up, send me a colleague request and we can connect. 

Congrats on taking action. It's so important and yet sometimes so difficult  

@Chad B.

@Vincent Wood

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.