All Forum Posts by: Brittany Woosley

@Osvaldo Benavides When I refinanced a brrr property, my lender gave me some rough numbers on the new loan based on what I thought it would appraise at. You'll need to get an appraisal before they can give you hard numbers, but depending on your location you should be able to ballpark what the new value might be.

@Doron Mizrahi That post is still a good jumping off point to understand the different areas around Cleveland. I manage rentals in Lyndhurst (b class), Euclid (b&c class), Cleveland Heights (b class) and Garfield Heights (c class). All are providing solid returns.

@Will Fraser it is addicting! Really excited to see what we can do this next year, too!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $307,500
Cash invested: $14,500

This purchase set my husband and I mortgage-free. We live in one of the units and the rents from our other 2 investment properties cover our portion of the mortgage payment. I go into detail of this purchase in a blog post here: https://mortgagefreeincle.com/2020/11/06/triplex-house-hack/

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Lyndhurst.

Purchase price: $117,000
Cash invested: $21,500

Rental Property #2! I go into more detail of this purchase in a blog post here: https://mortgagefreeincle.com/2020/11/04/becoming-an-investor/

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The second property we purchased here in Cleveland was an adorable 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath home in the city of Lyndhurst. It was this purchase that propelled us from homeowners to investors! The charming neighborhood and pride of ownership was evident immediately as we drove around. Since the homes in this area are majority owner-occupied, we knew it would be a great rental area down the line, as well as a great place for us to live.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We had an amazing agent (who is now my broker) negotiate this deal for us.

How did you finance this deal?

Like our first purchase, we financed this property with a 30-year fixed mortgage, paying 15% down and received 2% back in seller credit.

How did you add value to the deal?

This house was in great shape when we bought it, all we needed to do was add some cabinetry missing from the kitchen and paint the walls (personal preference).

What was the outcome?

My husband and I enjoyed living at this house. The neighborhood was quiet and charming, our dog loved chasing squirrels and barking at the deer. After 5 short months in the peaceful Lyndhurst suburbs, I listed the house for rent on Zillow. Within the first week, I had a qualified tenant lined up to move in, renting at $1250/month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We learned that paying a little more for a rental property located in a higher owner-occupied area can warrant a higher monthly rental price, better tenant pool, and more cash flow.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I highly recommend Brian Hartwig from First Equity Mortgage Group as a mortgage lender - he helped us finance this property as well as our next one. He has also helped out-of-state family members of mine finance several investment properties out here.

@sandygabin this property is a 3bd/1.5 bath and it took us maybe a little longer than a month to get everything completed!

@danielvolk haha thank you! It wasn't easy, but it once we took the plunge and moved we realized there wasn't anything really holding us back except ourselves. Did you write a post on your first BRRR here in Cleveland?

@Anthony Chao Thank you for the feedback! I am originally from around the Bay Area as well (Sonoma County) and moving out of state was by far the best decision we made for growing our portfolio. I hope you make it happen, too!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Garfield Heights.

Purchase price: $64,500
Cash invested: $12,500

I go into detail of the BRRR strategy we used on this purchase in a blog post here: https://mortgagefreeincle.com/2020/10/29/rental-property-1/

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We moved to Cleveland specifically because of the investment opportunities it presented. With such a strong rental market and a low cost of entry, we knew this would be a great place for us to get started investing in real estate.

How did you finance this deal?

We didn't have the funds to purchase this property outright with cash, so we financed it with a 30-year fixed mortgage.

How did you add value to the deal?

We renovated the entire house, completing most of the labor ourselves.

What was the outcome?

We refinanced after the renovations were complete and the property appraised at $85,000. We then rented it out for $955/month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The major lesson we learned on this purchase was to not go overboard on the renovations. We chose material and finishes that we would enjoy, but ended up spending more money than probably necessary on the rehab. In the end though, it turned out to be a great rental with minimal problems and a solid return.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

We switched agents after I met my amazing mentor, Kathleen Bassett, and now I am an agent myself at her brokerage, Shoreway Realty Group!