All Forum Posts by: Andrew Weiner

I have one person I can recommend, he generally does larger projects but if timing works out he might be able to do something on this scale.  Shoot me a PM for info.

I don't have consistent hard metrics that I go by, I usually hunt for deals that are below market and provide a 12% or greater projected COC (I always plan for the first year to be lowwer and then subsequent years to grow as rents increase) but I'm relatively flexible. I am very aggressive in putting in bids quickly because the best deals go very fast, I have seen a few go into contract as quickly as a few hours.

For what it's worth I lean towards the BRRRR. Any time I can get my money out and move on to add additional properties I think that's the way to do it since it sounds like you are still growing. I wouldn't want to be on the high end of a neighborhood today or any day really. If you are looking for appreciation then I would try to get one block ahead of the wave, close enough that it's not a huge risk but far enough that you aren't the one who might have bought the peak.

I think that your idea to go with a reputable turn key investment is a good plan.  If you buy well (which they should walk you through) then your real risk is a few months of missed rent due to an eviction.  I would recommend visiting the market and providers you are interested in and walking through potential neighborhoods to see what the real feel of the area is.  Pictures and descriptions just aren't the same and while home inspections can be valuable they are so conservative in how they word their observations it is hard to really know what is going on.  I am in Cleveland so I can only speak for this area but more often then not I visit properties that look great on paper and then disappoint in person.  If you want any Cleveland market specific information I would be happy to discuss it with you.  

There are private loan options that have higher interest rates but they look more at the property's income and value than your personal qualification.  

@Lauren C.  I'm sorry to hear about your loss.  I do think that the move into RE is a good choice.  If I understood that you are looking to do this full time and will be moving out of the city you could do some local networking and possibly join some local investors who can help guide/mentor you.  

I have a friend that was in a very similar situation to you but he found that acquiring properties at good valuations quickly was difficult and buying properties at market prices did not provide a good enough return on investment. In order to make RE investing a full time job he needed to mix flips in with his buy and hold properties. The BRRRR approach is great for building wealth long term but doesn't provide as much immediate income.

I caution a lot of out of state investors (I am in Cleveland) to be very careful when flipping houses out of state.  Building relationships with tradesmen takes time so you are either going to overpay for a general contractor with a strong reputation or risk getting burned subbing out the individual trades to people you don't have a history with.

The other big question is what are your income requirements? If you could get 12-15% COC return on turn keys would that be enough for you? Would you travel to out of state markets to supervise and check up on rehab projects? I think that you should take some of the people here on the forums up on their offers to speak with you personally where you can have a better exchange of ideas. I can personally offer insight and suggestions on Cleveland specifically and share what our other out of state investors are doing.

You can find a property in Cleveland that will meet your 2% goal but there will be greater costs to manage it and the property will not be in great shape.  As a local investor I stay away from this type of properties.

@Stephon Richardson make sure that you don't accidentally violate fair housing laws with your screening and search for the "best ones".  Your criteria should be as objective as possible and cannot discriminate against any protected class.  

I have seen a significant increase in the rents on my duplexes in the suburbs.  I would avoid properties that you are basing your estimates on getting a CMHA renter, I am currently waiting for an application to get approved with CMHA and it takes forever, each vacancy becomes an ordeal.  

I would take into account the net present value of money.  I don't hear many people talking about this but it shouldn't be underrated.  I would rather cashflow out my full principal in 5-8 years and put that money to use elsewhere now as opposed to having the money in 30 years.  I do know that you can refi but that #1 costs money and #2 isn't consistent.  This is obviously a personal preference, there is no one "right answer".