What 100+ Cleveland Investors Taught Me

Over the past five years, I’ve been privileged to help more than 100 real estate investors successfully buy and sell rental properties throughout Cleveland. While I initially viewed myself as the guide helping others, what surprised me most was just how much helping my clients invest has ultimately made me a better investor.

Today, I want to share exactly how working with diverse investors has sharpened my own investing skills, deepened my market knowledge, and continually improved my strategies. Here’s what I’ve learned and how it can help you become a stronger Cleveland investor too.

1. Exposure to Diverse Investing Strategies

What I Learned:

Every client has a unique investment approach. Some clients focus exclusively on flips; others prefer long-term rentals, Section 8, or short-term rentals (Airbnb). Each has their own financing, renovation, and management strategies.

By observing and advising on these diverse methods, I've gained insight into strategies I hadn’t considered previously—helping me diversify and optimize my own investing approach.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Never assume your current strategy is the only or best approach. Stay open to learning and experimenting with new ideas shared by other successful investors.

2. Seeing Neighborhood Trends in Real-Time

What I Learned:

Helping numerous clients invest has provided me real-time insights into Cleveland’s neighborhood dynamics. Because I’m constantly analyzing properties, comparing rental rates, and tracking comps across areas like Lakewood, Old Brooklyn, Parma, Cleveland Heights, and Tremont, I spot trends and market shifts early—often before they become widely known.

This "boots-on-the-ground" perspective helps me anticipate neighborhood appreciation and shifts in tenant demand, improving my own investment timing.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Actively analyzing a variety of neighborhoods regularly enhances your ability to spot early trends and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

3. Sharpening My Analytical Skills

What I Learned:

When advising clients, I must be precise, thorough, and accurate in property analysis. Evaluating deals for others means clearly explaining financial metrics—Net Operating Income (NOI), Cap Rates, Cash-on-Cash Returns, Debt-Service Coverage Ratios (DSCR), renovation budgets, and more.

Teaching and explaining these concepts repeatedly has refined my own analytical precision, dramatically improving my personal deal evaluation process.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Regularly practicing detailed property analysis sharpens your ability to quickly, accurately assess opportunities and avoid costly mistakes.

4. Improved Due Diligence Practices

What I Learned:

Helping other investors navigate due diligence forces me to maintain consistently high standards in my own process. Because clients rely on my advice, I've become meticulous about inspections, verifying expenses, confirming tenant quality, analyzing leases, and assessing property conditions thoroughly.

This diligence has greatly reduced my risk and improved my profitability.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Develop clearly defined due diligence checklists for every deal. Treat your investments as seriously as if advising someone else.

5. Better Understanding of Investor Mindsets and Emotions

What I Learned:

Real estate investing involves emotions—fear, excitement, anxiety, and confidence. Guiding clients through their emotional rollercoasters has deepened my understanding of how investor psychology impacts decisions.

Recognizing these emotional factors helps me manage my own investing decisions more objectively and helps me remain calm and focused under pressure.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Be aware of your own emotional triggers and biases. Keep decisions data-driven rather than emotionally influenced.

6. Networking and Relationship-Building Benefits

What I Learned:

Assisting a large number of investors naturally expands my local Cleveland network. My relationships with property managers, lenders, contractors, inspectors, attorneys, and other agents have strengthened exponentially because of frequent interactions on behalf of clients.

This extensive network directly benefits my own deals through easier financing, reliable contractors, and early access to off-market opportunities.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Actively expand your network by offering value, building relationships, and engaging regularly with local professionals and investors.

7. Constant Learning and Growth

What I Learned:

Each client brings new questions, challenges, or creative approaches. Constantly answering these questions forces me to learn continually, deepening my knowledge of tax strategies, financing options, creative deal structures, local legislation, and Cleveland market trends.

Continuous learning keeps me sharp, adaptable, and ahead of the market curve.

Pro Tip for Investors:

Always stay curious. Actively seek new knowledge—read books, attend workshops, network with experienced investors, and never assume you know it all.

Real-Life Example: How Client Experiences Improved My Investing

One client’s creative approach significantly impacted my investing strategy:

• She specialized in finding distressed duplexes in Old Brooklyn.
• Her strategy was renovating them efficiently and refinancing quickly to reinvest funds immediately into more properties (classic BRRRR method).

Observing her disciplined, repeatable system directly improved my approach, helping me accelerate my own portfolio growth and maximize returns by implementing similar disciplined BRRRR strategies.

Common Mistakes Investors Make (Learned from Clients)

Seeing these common investor errors has sharpened my own practices:

Ignoring detailed due diligence (always verify financials thoroughly)

Overestimating rental income or underestimating expenses (always budget conservatively)

Not clearly understanding financing terms (always thoroughly understand loans before closing)

Choosing investments based on emotion rather than analysis (always stay numbers-driven)

Investor Action Checklist: Leveraging What I’ve Learned

Use this actionable checklist to apply my hard-earned lessons to your own investments:

✅ Diversify your investment strategies—be open to learning from others.

✅ Consistently analyze neighborhood trends to stay ahead of market shifts.

✅ Maintain meticulous analytical standards for property evaluation.

✅ Follow thorough due diligence processes on every deal.

✅ Be mindful of emotional influences and keep decisions data-driven.

✅ Continually build and nurture your local network.

✅ Stay committed to ongoing learning, always seeking new knowledge and strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How important is having a local agent or investor mentor in Cleveland?
A: Incredibly important—local expertise and relationships significantly enhance your investing success.

Q: What’s the best way to network with experienced investors in Cleveland?
A: Attend local REIAs, investor meetups, join Cleveland-specific Facebook groups, and actively engage online.

Q: What's your #1 advice to a new investor starting in Cleveland today?
A: Clearly master property analysis, build reliable relationships, and always budget conservatively.

Conclusion: How Helping Others Can Transform Your Own Investing

Helping over 100 clients invest successfully in Cleveland hasn’t just made me a better real estate agent—it’s made me a stronger, smarter investor myself. Constant exposure to diverse strategies, sharpened analytical skills, enhanced market knowledge, improved diligence processes, and deepened networks have profoundly elevated my investment success.

If you’re interested in investing in Cleveland—or looking to improve your own investing results—I’d love to share more insights learned from years of helping fellow investors succeed here.

Feel free to call or text me directly at 216-789-6736 anytime. Let’s leverage these insights together to help you achieve greater success, confidence, and profitability as a Cleveland real estate investor!

Warm regards,

Jack Krusinski
Cleveland Real Estate Agent & Investor

216-789-6736