What’s the deal with Ohio?

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What’s the deal with Ohio?

Cameron McNulty
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2020 · 61 posts · 56 votes

Hi guys, this one is for my OHIO investors/real estate people. What’s the deal with Ohio? I swear people are RAVING about Ohio, I can’t stop hearing Ohio and real estate in the same sentence LOL.

The only thing I really know about Ohio, is that not a lot happens in Ohio. This is probably an ignorant statement so TELL ME... Is there something i’m missing about the great state of OH?

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Remington LymanBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @Joe S.:

I see so many people promoting Ohio I almost wonder if it’s being oversold. I kind of wondered about that myself because they have a higher number of realtors promoting their services than it seems any other state.

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  • Robert HowellPro Member
    NJ · Member since 2020 · 12 posts · 6 votes
    5y

    Hey, very interested in talking more.

    How can we connect?

    Thanks 

    1Reply
  • Rob Gillespie
    Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 852 votes
    5y

    @Cameron McNulty

    I have been buying in Northeast Ohio for 23 years.

    I thought it was cool while the rest of the country was calling Cleveland the mistake on the lake, LOL

    We have a great rental market because you can buy properties inexpensively and there are a ton of great supporting jobs to give tenants an opportunity to pay a fair market rent.

    Do not get caught up in the numbers, make sure you know the area.

    I am the President of the real estate investors Association in Cleveland. It’s a great organization to be a part of if you’re thinking about buying in the area.

    I get nothing out of it, I’m just telling you that there’s a lot of local Investors buying and selling there every day.

    Bigger Pockets is absolutely the best thing that has ever hit the Internet for free information and making great connections with other real estate investors!

    Let me know if you ever make it to Cleveland, would love to buy you a coffee.

    3Reply
  • Tony Savage
    Real Estate Broker · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 187 posts · 117 votes
    5y

    My partner and I just purchased (two days ago) a flip in Columbus.  We took a trip to Columbus in September of last year and there is definitely better opportunities there than where I live in California.  I would love to visit Cleveland on our next trip to Ohio!

    3Reply
  • Lemarr Chambers
    Member since 2020 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Mike Mocek I’m looking to invest in your market. I’m from NYC and I’m looking to do out of state investing

    2Reply
  • Lemarr Chambers
    Member since 2020 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Brianne Leichliter I would like to network with you I’m interested in investing in your market.

    1Reply
  • Zeke Liston
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Tony Savage:

    My partner and I just purchased (two days ago) a flip in Columbus.  We took a trip to Columbus in September of last year and there is definitely better opportunities there than where I live in California.  I would love to visit Cleveland on our next trip to Ohio!

     Good work Tony, what part of Columbus is the flip in? 

    1Reply
  • Remington LymanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Tony Savage:

    My partner and I just purchased (two days ago) a flip in Columbus.  We took a trip to Columbus in September of last year and there is definitely better opportunities there than where I live in California.  I would love to visit Cleveland on our next trip to Ohio!

     What is the address in Columbus, Ohio?

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  • Brianne Leichliter
    Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2019 · 59 posts · 77 votes
    5y

    @Nick Shri hey there!! If you’re looking for boots on the ground in Cincinnati, I’d love to connect!! I started as an OOS investor, eventually moved here and am now helping other investors. It has turned into my dream come true!

    1Reply
  • Tony Savage
    Real Estate Broker · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 187 posts · 117 votes
    5y

    Hey Zeke and Remington,

    The flip is in the Berwick neighborhood.

    2Reply
  • Nick Shri
    Rental Property Investor · VA · Member since 2020 · 218 posts · 133 votes
    5y

    @Brianne Leichliter I sent you connect request.

    0Reply
  • Mike Mocek
    Property Manager / Licensed Realtor · Toledo/Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 244 posts · 262 votes
    5y

    Hey @Cameron McNulty You ask some great questions but I think you should be asking .. Why haven't you invested in Ohio Yet?  Every area has something unique and it really shows, if you want cashflow, appreciation, more bang for your buck, you should be here!  You will hear a lot about Cleveland, Columbus and even smaller areas like Akron and Dayton, but you should also check out Toledo!  The Toledo market is a little different from the others, not to mention, extremely low purchase prices on fixer uppers as compared to their retail value, Toledo is full of promises. The need for quality residential and commercial space has become astonishing, making the right investment in Toledo is sometimes not easy with so many different projects to choose from. Whether it is Single-Family homes, Multi-Family homes, mixed use or any other type of property, with such a high demand in Toledo, it rarely stays on the market for a great length of time.

    Some reasons why so many people are flocking to invest in this cosmopolitan community would be:

    - Low inflation
    - One of the safest cities in Ohio
    - Low cost of living
    - Growing metropolitan

    Toledo Investment Properties provide investors with a unique comprehensive platform that makes Toledo a logical place to invest in. The area is always expanding the business district as well as downtown, from Access to low cost regional talent, competitive real estate cost, strong work ethics and excellent facilities for sports, shopping, leisure and healthcare. All-In-All, Toledo Means Business!  Either way you look at it, the midwest has a lot to offer!

    3Reply
  • Patrick DruryBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH & Cleveland OH · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Jeff Hastedt

    Two major components to making Columbus Ohio so good for real estate investing are definitely the job opportunities and population growth, which are driving real estate prices to the moon like the GME. Have you yourself thought about investing in Ohio or just curious?


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  • Rochelle Provenzano
    Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2019 · 5 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    I just received a tip about Cleveland. They are rolling out a Lead Safe plan for all homes built before 1978. A few zip codes have already rolled it out, others are coming soon. Homes will have to be Lead Safe Certified and that could run you anywhere from a couple hundred for the inspections and paperwork to thousands for actually removing it and making the property "Lead Safe."

    1Reply
  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    Ohio is a state that has some cheap housing and "on paper" some good rental returns.  But keep in mind many of their cities are declining areas.  Youngstown especially.  But also Toledo, Cleveland and Dayton.  Clearly Columbus is the place to invest.  The City has a large university and is the Capitol.  

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Brooke Park Drive · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Brian Ploszay:

    Ohio is a state that has some cheap housing and "on paper" some good rental returns.  But keep in mind many of their cities are declining areas.  Youngstown especially.  But also Toledo, Cleveland and Dayton.  Clearly Columbus is the place to invest.  The City has a large university and is the Capitol.  

    Ohio has great potential!

    “Mr. Ratiu is a senior economist for Realtor.com, which, along with the Wall Street Journal, recently named Toledo as the No. 25 emerging market in the United States, one of four in Ohio to crack the top 25 along with Springfield (No. 3), Akron (No. 12), and Columbus (No. 17).

    The rankings aimed to get beyond simple supply and demand, which accounted for just 33 percent of the methodology, to gain a broader perspective with quality-of-life factors like wages, unemployment, small business activity, and amenities to gauge the impact on the sensibilities of home buyers.

    Where the data turns especially interesting for those who remember the Rust Belt era is in cross-market demand. Of the people searching for homes in Toledo, Mr. Ratiu said only half of them, 49 percent, are from the immediate area.

    The rest are from other locales in Ohio (22 percent) and out of state entirely (28 percent).

    Beyond the usual southeastern Michigan suspects like Detroit and Monroe, Mr. Ratiu said they're seeing out-of-state interest in Toledo from places like Chicago, New York, and Atlanta — part of a national movement in which more people are considering mid-sized markets where their dollar goes further than it does in big cities.”

    2Reply
  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Michel P.    Toledo is a good example of a city that you need to be careful.  The population in 1970 was  almost 400,000.  Today it is about 275,000.   The real estate has "surplus" housing as this population left.

    And that surplus housing is reflected in the low pricing.  The demand isn't strong.

    Go to Zillow and type in houses in Toledo under 100K.  And then under 50K.  Lots of them.  Try that in Phoenix, Nashville or other markets that population has grown recently.  Places where people want to be.  All houses are well over 100K in those markets.

    Mr Ratiu's statistics are interesting, but the view on the ground is that the City is not growing.  Recent populations statistics suggest this as well.  Because the real estate is cheap, landlords can get some high cash flow returns, provided they can rent their units.  Appreciation is another aspect for making money.  Toledo's appreciation will be muted.

    Again, Ohio focus in Columbus is a smarter bet.

    2Reply
  • Dave PoeppelmeierBusiness Member
    Realtor · Maumee, OH · Member since 2015 · 491 posts · 722 votes
    5y

    @Brian Ploszay Do you own Investments in Toledo? Are you from Toledo? As a Resident of the Toledo Metro area and an Investor/Realtor/Property Manager here, I can tell you Toledo is a fantastic place to invest if you are looking for cash flow. Toledo as a community has reinvented itself over the past 15 years, and is a great place to live. Does Toledo have difficulty with urban blight? Of course, what larger city doesn't. But try to buy a SFH or duplex in West Toledo right now. Or South Toledo. You can't even find anything to buy that's not overpriced (for investors) in the more desirable areas of town like Westgate, Franklin Park, Washington Local, etc in Toledo, let alone the A-B class suburbs of Sylvania, Maumee, and Perrysburg. Then, if something pops up that is worthwhile, it's gone in a matter of days, let alone hours.

    The Rental market here as also been just as red-hot as the rest of the market. Rents continue to increase, see the article below. Especially if you have an updated property in the B-C areas of town, you can really push rental rates right now and someone will rent it out. Again, Toledo is a cash flow market, and that's what is attractive to many people that can buy a house for $70k, drop $10k into cosmetic improvements, and still be able to cash flow and attract excellent Residents. 

    Investors are smart (for the most part). Of course most of them are not going to buy the houses for <$50k that need $30k+ in rehab costs. The numbers don't work. Toledo has been working with Investors and Owner Occupants on improving the more blighted areas of Toledo with grants, local/federal programs, etc. 

    I'll get off my Toledo soapbox now. 

    https://toledo.oh.gov/news/202...

    https://patch.com/ohio/toledo/...

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  • Stephen Brown
    Real Estate Broker · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 872 votes
    5y

    Ohio has great rental markets. Our market here in the northwest of the state is fueled by a diverse job market. You can buy properties inexpensively and tenants want to stay close to work obviously and so they stay for years on end. I've ran into several tenants who have lived in the same place for 20 years. Can you imagine renting for 20 years in the same place? Obviously the numbers are great but really it's the qualitative factors which make our market so unique.

    0Reply
  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Dave Poeppelmeier   I do not live in Toledo, nor own investments there.  I have family from the region so I've been there countless times.  And I looked around for real estate about a decade ago.  That is when I formed my opinions about Ohio.

    Yes, Toledo is an area that has superior cash flow returns, but over time, less appreciation.  All relates to the fact that the area has lost population over time.  And there are better parts - I've been to Sylvania.  

    I believe in investing locally, so local Toledo investors surely know what they are doing.  When going to outside markets, where I don't live, I prefer appreciation.  And buying very strong assets. 

    My warning to potential outsiders about this town is that they can end up buying investments in weaker parts of Toledo.  The surplus housing stock that I was mentioning.  Houses below 100K may not be a bargain in the long run.  

    0Reply
  • Nathan Ophardt
    Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    Out-of-state investor in Columbus. Cost of entry was great a couple of years ago, but of course prices are exploding like everywhere else, it seems. When we were looking at possible markets, it seemed to have a lot of downtown redevelopment, specifically targeting a young, hip crowd. Combined with a range of employment, and a city that has ways to attract a wide range of people there seemed a lot going for it. We've even considered relocating there.

    1Reply
  • Darius Ogloza
    Investor · Marin County California · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Brian Ploszay It seems to me the pertinent question is what percentage of out of state interest in Toledo cited by Mr. Ratiu is coming from real estate investors looking for "cheap" "cash-flowing" investments.  Out of state investors flipping houses to each other in a game of musical chairs is not economic development.  

    2Reply
  • Mike Mocek
    Property Manager / Licensed Realtor · Toledo/Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 244 posts · 262 votes
    5y

    Great information and outsider look to Toledo @Brian Ploszay, I am also curious if you have ever been to Toledo. I often love talking to others about Toledo and I completely agree with what @Dave Poeppelmeier covered in his response, very nicely written.  Just some food for thought on the future of Toledo though and why investors and people are moving back:

    Over the last five years, the investment numbers are truly astounding, Downtown Toledo suffered and was not prepared for the 70s and 80s which brought a huge decline to the city.  However, major companies are coming back to Toledo and are making big impressions.  For example, Just in the downtown area, there was $75 million put into renovating the steam plant creating ProMedica’s headquarters. There was $40 million spent on renovating the Renaissance Hotel. Work at the Tower on the Maumee - $40 million, The Berdan Building - $35 million, Hensville - $20 million, the Toledo Lucas County Main Library - $12 million. And that's just a quarter of the billion dollars spent the last five years.

    Local leaders say renovating the steam plant into the ProMedica headquarters in 2017 brought jobs, enthusiasm and momentum, setting off a shockwave of development and investment, and it’s being felt throughout the downtown streets.  ProMedica President and CEO Randy Oostra says in the last five years there’s been $1 billion invested in Toledo. And he says there will be another $1 billion in the next five.

    What is really awesome is for the first time in the history of Toledo there is this huge engaged business community working with the county, city, port authority.  But Toledo’s best days go beyond the aesthetics downtown and there are already discussions on what might be the next neighborhood.  At the end of the day we are revitalizing, Detroit’s gone through it and is on the incline even Cleveland’s had its' own renaissance, now it is time for Toledo to flip the script!

    2Reply
  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Mike Mocek   I wrote in my post that I have been to Toledo numerous times.  Too many times to count, I have family there.

    Toledo is still losing population, despite some of the good investment(s) that you reference.  Can't get around the fact that there is "surplus" housing and that shows up in some of the pricing.  

    I want to be careful here - I am not bashing Toledo.  My clarified point is that outside investors should be careful in buying the lower end housing stock.

    2Reply
  • Remington LymanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Ophardt:

    Out-of-state investor in Columbus. Cost of entry was great a couple of years ago, but of course prices are exploding like everywhere else, it seems. When we were looking at possible markets, it seemed to have a lot of downtown redevelopment, specifically targeting a young, hip crowd. Combined with a range of employment, and a city that has ways to attract a wide range of people there seemed a lot going for it. We've even considered relocating there.

     I relocated from Connecticut to Columbus, Ohio. It was a great decision.

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  • Veronica Hennessey
    Eugene, OR · Member since 2017 · 18 posts · 9 votes
    5y

    @Jennifer Petrillo

    Hey Jennifer! We have 100k we are looking to do the same thing with. Where did you buy?

    2Reply
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