Rental Property Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2014 · 119 posts · 28 votes
Hey Folks,
Glad to see the sun is out and spring is underway! I have been seeing some discussion on the forums lately about the Bloomington market and a lot of new investors are interested in getting engaged. This is a perfect discussion point for our monthly meeting of new investors and investors looking to grow their business.
We meet the 3rd Saturday of every month (that's this Saturday, 3/19) at 10 am at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse by Target.
This month our discussion will focus on better understanding the Bloomington market by 1) identifying key metrics that investors should be focusing on (appreciation, debt pay down, cash flow, a diverse portfolio, etc.) and 2. understanding how we begin to compete with this town's "old money" and large out of state investors -- notice all of the high end apartment complexes being built around campus, I bet those aren't financed by "Mom and Pop Investors."
As always, this is a free gathering of folks having breakfast and coffee who are interested in improving their lives through real estate. Join us if you can!
All, relatively new to BP in the past 2 months, so far have listen to a handful of podcasts and read material as time permits. Looking forward to the conversation and networking on Saturday. The Bloomington market has so much to offer!
@Marc Kelwaski welcome to the forums and to investing! I actually won't be able to attend this month's meeting because of an unexpected funeral, but I do believe a few others are planning on being there; we usually sit in the back area by the fire place. Indeed, Bloomington has a lot to offer and a lot to talk about!
Hey all - Just wanted to let you know that I will not be able to attend this month due to an unexpected funeral. I hope you all still get a chance to meet and chat, I believe there are a few new folks who have found us as well that are planning on showing up as well.
We are almost half way through the year already! This month, let's focus our discussion on YOUR goals - what are they and how close are you? Then let's spend some time talking about the future of the group. How can we build this into an increasingly useful tool for us?
Hello, all! I am a newer investor looking for a single family or duplex for my college son near campus. I invest in Cincinnati, but want to find a place while he is in school. Please reach out to me with any wholesale deals you encounter.
I'll begin with introducing myself, my name is Don Capouch, and my wife and I moved to Bloomington approximately a year and three months ago. We're both native Hoosiers, and finally have the capability to begin saving toward our first REI.
Do you all still meet at the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse on the third Saturday of the month at 10 am? It looks like it was missed by a hair this month. If so, both of us (or myself, depending on how things work out), would love to attend, network, learn, and begin our REI journey. From looking at the posts around BP, it seems there are many knowledgeable folks from the Bloomington, IN area. I look forward to meeting each of you! Have a great rest of the weekend.
Hi everybody, glad to see that there's folks from Bloomington that meet up.
I was just curious on everybody's thoughts on the new apartments that are constantly being built. It seems like they keep adding apartments without any significant increase in population. I've been able to keep my rents in line with inflation but I've had to make upgrades just to keep up with inflation. Some rents I see on Craigslist look like they've actually gone down over the years. Is this what everybody else is seeing from their properties?
Bloomington is in its own world, so you can't relate what is happening here to any other market. Not only are apartments being built downtown, new developments are still being planned, such as Regency Apartments building another huge development off of tap road (just in time for when I-69 in completed). The key for getting approval to build anything (multi-family or single family) is density...And City/County want higher density in town.
Bloomington has always been expensive, so first time home buyers don't usually have a chance at anything in town. To add to that problem, both the City and County planners are very Liberal and DO NOT want cookie cutter neighborhood developments built. So there are very few developments in Monroe County where a young couple can buy a sub-$175k house like you can in an Indianapolis suburb. So.... If you can't afford a house, you might as well get an apartment, and if you are getting an apartment, you might as well get the perks of in-town/downtown living.
I do believe this is leading to a Glut of apartments, which may not drive rents down, but will at least level off. Its important to note that many of these new developments where planned 3-4 years go, so they will continue to be built long after the housing need has been met.
Also*** Taxes in Bloomington are nuts if you want to rent a single family house. This causes apartments to have the upper hand financially (again think about the City/County encouraging more density) . I have a $130K condo, if I lived in it, taxes would be $900/year, but as a rental they are about $2100 and that doesn't even include trash and recycling service AND i have to pay $100/year to HAND to rent the place.
As far as population increase, I do think the Bloomington population is increasing more than published data, which I think includes a lot of dirty data. There are a lot of 5th year seniors, students in masters programs, husbands/Wives of students and employees still sticking around Bloomington, and recent graduates who have decided to stay around town. Many of which have not made their permanent mailing address "Bloomington" from a public records standpoint.