looking for a good neighborhood's in Cleveland Ohio

Investor-friendly agents in Cleveland, OH

See the agents BiggerPockets members work with in Cleveland, OH.

Most Popular Reply

Bob CollettPro Member
Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
6y

@Elram Raguan

In order of where I would recommend to a friend as a place to live:

1 44129 Parma preferably south of Snow

2 44134 Parma

3 Lakewood further west is better

4 Fairview Park

5 44111 west of 140th... further west the better

6 44135 West of 140th

7 South Park in 44109

8 44144 further west the better

9 The rest of 44111

10 The rest of 44109

11 44102, with expert help

12 Tremont or Ohio City or Gordon... trendy neighborhoods for singles or couples... street by street, house by house

All other west suburbs are good, but get more expensive as you move further from Cleveland proper.

Bob Collett

Realtor, Remax Trinity Property Management 

7Reply
See this reply in the discussion

28 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Remington LymanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Elram Raguan:

    I'm lookin for a good neighborhood's and zip codes in Cleveland Ohio that I can buy a single family house up to 100k

    thanks 

     @Erin Dorsey Robinson is a great Realtor in Cleveland that understands how to work with investors extremely well!

    [email protected]614-541-8475Podcast Guest on Show My Job Laid Me Off, So I Replaced My Salary with Rentals
    Reafco512 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Bob CollettPro Member
    Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
    6y

    @Elram Raguan

    In order of where I would recommend to a friend as a place to live:

    1 44129 Parma preferably south of Snow

    2 44134 Parma

    3 Lakewood further west is better

    4 Fairview Park

    5 44111 west of 140th... further west the better

    6 44135 West of 140th

    7 South Park in 44109

    8 44144 further west the better

    9 The rest of 44111

    10 The rest of 44109

    11 44102, with expert help

    12 Tremont or Ohio City or Gordon... trendy neighborhoods for singles or couples... street by street, house by house

    All other west suburbs are good, but get more expensive as you move further from Cleveland proper.

    Bob Collett

    Realtor, Remax Trinity Property Management 

    7Reply
  • Matthew Terry
    Rental Property Investor · Mesa, AZ · Member since 2019 · 138 posts · 144 votes
    6y

    I'm looking at a property in Garfield Heights. How is that neighborhood?

    1Reply
  • Bob CollettPro Member
    Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
    6y

    @Matthew Terry

    Garfield Heights has fairly good housing stock and a strong tenant base. It has quick access to downtown Cleveland, and has Marymount hospital, a Cleveland Clinic hospital. A sting neighborhood for people who grew up in Garfield, and also for people wanting to upgrade from Cleveland. Taxes are high. POS is obtrusive. City requires rental registrations and inspections.

    4Reply
  • Ryan Evans
    Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 653 posts · 769 votes
    6y

    Garfield Heights can be a good option for starting out. It's a stable area and it's not as old as a lot of the city proper. Euclid, Parma, Brooklyn... There are plenty of good options out there. 

    @James Wise should be along any minute now with his trusty neighborhood map!

    2Reply
  • Elram Raguan
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    Thank you very much @bob collett

    @remington lyman

    1Reply
  • Tom Ott
    Equity Raiser and Turnkey Provider · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Elram Raguan:

    I'm lookin for a good neighborhood's and zip codes in Cleveland Ohio that I can buy a single family house up to 100k

    thanks 

     I would stick to the suburbs. Plenty out there under $100k. Check out Euclid, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Mayfield Heights, Bedford, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights, Warrensville Heights, Willowick, Wickliffe, Eastlake, and Mentor. 

    1Reply
  • Elram Raguan
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    Thank's @tom ott

    1Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 31k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Elram Raguan:

    I'm lookin for a good neighborhood's and zip codes in Cleveland Ohio that I can buy a single family house up to 100k

    thanks 

     Give The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods a read. Should give you basically everything you're looking for.

    2Reply
  • Elram Raguan
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    Thank's! @james wise 

    1Reply
  • Brian Garlington
    Realtor · Oakland, CA and a Real Estate Investor with Multi-Family Units and a Self Storage Facility · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    @Elram Raguan    I second what another poster said. Erin Dorsey Robinson is a fabulous Realtor in Cleveland. She owns investment properties herself there and she works with OOS Investors all the time. She also knows who the good PMS are there as well. She will also communicate with you promptly by voice or email or text. BEWARE of other Realtors or PMs anywhere that are great "marketers" but horrible PMs/Agents.

    3Reply
  • Account Closed
    Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    @Matthew Terry I love Garfield Heights as a investment. A lot of upside too

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    @Bob Collett I 100% agree. The POS for Garfield isn’t as harsh as Cleveland heights or maple heights though. But it’s still a POS (piece of S**t) lol

    0Reply
  • James G.
    MD · Member since 2018 · 71 posts · 23 votes
    6y

    @Matthew Lupica

    I hear people talking about POS on here a lot. What is it? Just city codes that have to be followed or you get fined?

    0Reply
  • Michelle Fenn
    Real Estate Agent · Cleveland OH · Member since 2015 · 216 posts · 275 votes
    6y

    Point of Sale, requirement to maintain property to rent or transfer.   Initially started by Shaker Hts and followed by many east side suburbs attempting to prevent declines in their housing stock.    Many cities require an inspection prior to transfer of a property, producing a violation list.    The list includes not only health and safety issues but pretty also.   Many cities include paint and scrape on their violation lists. 

    Due diligence is then needed to determine how the individual city requires these violations by addressed.  Some require that monies by escrowed with the city to guarantee that the repairs are made.   Escrow amount requirements can be up to 100% of the repair cost.     If the seller does not correct all violations prior to a sale the buyer may assume the violations.    There is also generally a cost to assume the violations.   POS is more prevalent in the eastern suburbs.    In Cleveland suburbs always check POS, tax rate and school ratings prior to jumping on the next great deal.    The high tax rates in Euclid, Garfield Hts, Maple Hts, Shaker Hts might make the difference whether the property cash flows.  I will purchase in these high tax rate cities in arms length transactions, as the sales price will determine you tax basis.  It is relatively easy to dispute your taxable value with the Board of Revision and get the taxes reduced for a limited time.   I then sell once the county reappraised the taxable values to market.  

    1Reply
  • Diana Costta
    Investor · Member since 2020 · 49 posts · 35 votes
    5y

    @Michelle Fenn very valuable information. Thank you. I was wondering if there is a way to find out what the "violations" are before closing the deal and also if it is practice of the seller fixing these. What does your experience say?

    0Reply
  • Kenny Hardcastle
    Rental Property Investor · Thornton, CO · Member since 2021 · 20 posts · 14 votes
    5y

    @Diana Costta some sellers have a POS inspection already done, however most don't. They normally wait for a buyer to do it, because the city puts a time clock on the work getting completed. More than likely you are going to get sellers who don't want to do the POS fixes so it'll be up to you. That is what kept me out of a lot of the A class areas for a price range I was comfortable with. But good luck hunting

    0Reply
  • Kenny Hardcastle
    Rental Property Investor · Thornton, CO · Member since 2021 · 20 posts · 14 votes
    5y

    Also can someone tell me how to @ someone.

    0Reply
  • Michelle Fenn
    Real Estate Agent · Cleveland OH · Member since 2015 · 216 posts · 275 votes
    5y

    If the POS has been ordered and paid for by the seller, you should be able to call the building department and ask that they email it to you.   If there is no POS then be prepared to assume the violations and pay a fee for the privilage.  

    1Reply
  • Michelle Fenn
    Real Estate Agent · Cleveland OH · Member since 2015 · 216 posts · 275 votes
    5y

    Cleveland Magazine published their annual rating the neighborhoods in NE Ohio this month. I looked at the new data with an investor’s priorities in mind. I first looked at tax rates per 100,000 of value followed by school and safety ratings. This provided me with a list of communities that require extra due diligence as the cost to hold and attract quality tenants with families will be high.  PM me for an overview of the data

    The biggest take away of this data is that many communities with the high taxes have poor school and safety systems. This is the reason for lower purchase prices in these communities.

    Summit and Medina counties have the comunities with the lowest tax rates.   Best in Medina County are #1 Brunswick, Hinkley Twp,and Medina.  Summit county #2 Richfield Village, Twinsburg, Macedonia, Hudson and Stow.   Only one city in Cuyahoga County made the top 15 Independence. N orthern  Summit County has long been a personal investment favorite, Sagamore Hills, Twinsburg, Macedonia, Northfield.   Located on 271 and Rt 8 midway from Cleveland and Akron low taxes, good school systems and reasonable purchase opportunites make it a good investor choice.

    3Reply
  • Matt Huber
    Rental Property Investor · Rancho Cordova, CA · Member since 2020 · 111 posts · 27 votes
    5y

    @Michelle Fenn Thank you for the neighborhood info! I found the ratings on the Cleveland Magazine website and was looking them over. I couldn't find any info on how they came up with the "Safety" rank. Do you have any insight to that? How can one use that info? ie Sagamore Hills is #2 on the list while Macedonia is #33.  So how much worse of a neighborhood (in terms of "safety") is Macedonia? I think it would have been more useful if they had provided a score rather than the ranking.

    Thoughts and questions from a wannabe long distance investor. Thank you again - your analysis was very helpful.

    1Reply
  • Bonnie LowPro Member
    Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    @Bob Collett - I'm curious if you meant these are great places to live or solid areas in which to own rentals? I'm looking for the latter. Additionally, are you a PM in these areas? If so, I'd like to connect.

    [email protected]
    0Reply
  • Bob CollettPro Member
    Property Manager · Brecksville, OH · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 464 votes
    5y

    @Bonnie Low these are good areas to own rental properties. Yes, I am PM


    Bob

    1Reply
  • Michelle Fenn
    Real Estate Agent · Cleveland OH · Member since 2015 · 216 posts · 275 votes
    5y

    Cleveland Magazine published their annual rating the neighborhoods in NE Ohio this month. I looked at the new data with an investor’s priorities in mind. I first looked at tax rates per 100,000 of value followed by school and safety ratings. This provided me with a list of communities that require extra due diligence as the cost to hold and attract quality tenants with families will be high.

    As a realtor I am providing a summary of data, I am making no purchase recommendations.  

    The highest tax rate cities this year at $4,050 per 100,000 value go to University and Cleveland Hts, which share a school system that ranks in the bottom third of the Cleveland Magazine rating. Both Cleveland Hts and University Hts inner ring suburbs also rank at the bottom third of the safety ratings. Cleveland Hts offers trash pickup but does not provide resident’s trash cans, so the garbage is placed in plastic bags on the curb, is creating a pest issue in many neighborhoods.

    Shaker Hts ranks third in taxes at $4,010 per 100,000 value. Shaker Hst has long been known for being a welcoming diverse community, school system ranks in the top third of the education ranking. Also an inner ring suburb, it’s safety ratings are in the middle third.

    Garfield Hts ranks fouth at $3,960 per 100,00 value. Its school system is ranked on peg lower than East Cleveland this year near the bottom of the bottom third. It also ranks lower than East Cleveland in safety stats.

    Maple Hts ranks fifth at $3,710 per 100,000 value. Its joins Garfield, Euclid, Richmond Hts, Warrensville Hts , East Cleveland, Lorain and Elyria at the bottom of all three ratings.

    South Euclid ranks sixth at $3,500 per 100,000 value. It shares a school system with Lyndhurst ranked ninth at $3,270 per 100,000 values. Their school rankings and safety stats are also in the bottom third.

    Euclid ranks seventh at $3,410 per 100,000 value. It’s school system ranked dead last in the report and it’s safety stats were in the lower end of the bottom third.

    Olmsted Twp ranked eighth at $3,300 per 100,000 value. It’s school system and safety ratings are in the middle third. High property taxes are offset by lower city income taxes that come with living in a township.

    Richmond Hts ranks tenth at $3,250 per 100,000 value. It’s school system ranks in the lower half of the bottom third and it’s safety stats are in the lower third.

    East Cleveland comes in at eleven with $3,100 per 100,000 value. Long known as a community with problems, that even Cleveland refused to annex, it’s school and safety rankings are no longer the bottom.

    To be fair Lakewood, Fairview Park and Olmsted Falls round out the top 15 property tax rate list.

    The biggest take away of this data is that many communities with the high taxes have poor school and safety systems. This is the reason for lower purchase prices in these communities.

    1Reply
  • Michael Swan
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Hi all,

    This is Swanny.  I did not hear any mention where most of my 200 units are situated.  I have 57 units in Mentor and 120 units in Painesville.  Those areas have been very good to me and landlord friendly too!!

    Not on the list?

    Swanny

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free