All Forum Posts by: Christina Carey

The property in the realtor.com link is in Kettering, not Beavercreek. Still a nice area though. We're managing several about a mile away, in a better part of Kettering - similar size 3/1s, but brick with attached garages; cosmetics are semi-updated. Only getting about $850 for those leased just last fall. If they were fully-updated, might get $1,000.

Problem with Kettering is that rents are not significantly higher than in the City of Dayton, but the taxes most certainly are. Taxes will be more like $180-185; new levies begin for the 2018 tax year, payable 2019 so they aren't reflected in the numbers yet.

You should budget 10% for management to be safe unless you already have a local manager committed to a lesser rate.

Condition-wise, it's unlikely you'll need to do much, if anything. The listing agent is also the owner, who does a few flips a year - he tends to over-do things sometimes from what I've observed.

Bottom line: cash flow will be razor-thin if you're financing at 80% LTV.

@Christopher Toth 1950s brick ranches, mostly 3BR. Depending on SF, and # of baths, rents are around $850-900, give or take, and ARV could range anywhere from $55 - 80K. Not much activity in the way of sales - at least not in the MLS anyway. I consider that to be a positive sign, unless the area is blighted (this one isn't.) I'd call this a C+ area, and like a large part of Dayton proper, I wouldn't plan on any appreciation. Hopefully that helps clear things up for you.

Hi Carmen. You get 10 points for honesty. I'll be equally honest - broke with bad credit won't get you very far in the flipping business. But there are still things you can do to further your cause:

Read these two books published by J. Scott: The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. I know you said you had no money, but you need to get educated on the basics before you do anything else. Be careful surfing the internet for information - there is a lot of bad information out there.

Network. This is a people-oriented business. That old saying about "who you know" is 100% true. We also have a monthly networking meeting in Fairborn: Dayton REI Networking Meetup November 12, 2018

Attend a REIA meeting. The first one is free. The best two groups are within a reasonable distance are Greater Cincinnati REIA and Central Ohio Real Estate Entrepreneurs (COREE). Join one of them - you can attend either one with one membership.

Become a bird dog. Learn how to find deals for the people in your network. It's a cheap, no-risk way to get your feet wet and learn a few things. Bring a deal to the right person, you might be able to shadow them or even partner up - and of course, make a few bucks in the process.

With determination and effort, you'll get there.

Yeah - I almost added "good luck getting anyone before 10/15". You guys don't really get much of a break, do you?

Geez, there's a lot of misguided advice on this thread. For starters, you can't 1031 a short-term flip. @Rich Hupper the accountants who have responded here have given you a good starting point. Ditto for the comments about contributions to retirement plans.

I'll echo what @Eamonn McElroy said, albeit more bluntly: No one can give you a solid answer without looking at your entire financial picture and future goals. Anyone who claims they can do so otherwise is full of it. The old adage about getting what you pay for extends to free advice - and often free advice turns out to be the most expensive kind.

Pay a CPA who also invests in real estate (and by "invest", I mean they've done more than buy a couple rental houses) for an hour or so of their time, and then set up the appropriate structures. Also, do it now, because if you wait until tax time, some of your options for the 2018 tax year will be gone.

Give @Max Wechter a shout. He's been doing quite a bit with out-of-state buyers looking for small multifamily property in the Dayton area.

Hi @Adam Jutte - welcome to BP and Dayton.

We host a monthly networking meetup in Fairborn. Details are on here under Events, as well as meetup.com. Next one is October 9th. Lots of active investors there, as well as those getting started and everything in between. We also have a very active Facebook group for people to ask questions and post deals in between meetings.

Due to market inventory being in short supply right now, competition for deals is high. Having a partner in the renovation business can help to keep some of your costs down, possibly giving you an edge on the buying side.

Areas to target will largely depend on your income goals, your plans for property management, and your tolerance for drama.

Regarding the refi part of your plans, @Darrin Carey can also offer some input - especially about target values, timelines, and the various pitfalls.

As with most anything else in this business, the strategy is definitely achievable so long as you do your homework beforehand.

Performance Title in Kettering, and National Title in Centerville are both investor friendly, and also have a clue. I believe one of the owners of Performance is also an attorney.

I've dealt with M&M a lot, as have a couple of my agents (acting as agent or principal), and also my husband on the lending side - literally every transaction has resulted in frustration due to varying levels  of incompetence demonstrated by their staff.

As far as real estate attorneys go, it really depends on what you need. I have a short list, but each one of them excels at their own respective niche(s).

If it's the quads I'm thinking of, I have a good idea why, however it would be speculation on my part. I can comment further privately.

Well said, Chris. I think the only thing I can add to that is, you get out of this site what you put into it. I chime in on posts in which I feel I can contribute something to the conversation, because I like to help people. Plenty of people contact me as a result of my activity on this site. It's also done wonders for SEO on my website (unintended consequences). The majority of people who contact me are serious about investing. If they aren't already investing, they're certainly ready to pull the trigger. Very few tire-kickers.  Now, I have keywords set up, so the number of posts I read on here is really pretty limited, and I don't think I've ever started a thread myself - so my perspective is probably narrow by comparison to others on here. That's my .01 addition to your .02   ; )

Originally posted by @Chris Clothier:

I started posting here on BP almost 10 years ago.  The site has changed in so many ways and yet, as far as substance goes, it has stayed primarily right on mission.  Thousands of posters have come and gone in that time.  The people who post the most have turned over multiple times.  Some posters are prolific in how many times they post and others are prolific in the depth of what they post.  Not necessarily as frequent, but deeper.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by where are the "real investors"?  Perhaps that is a bit off-putting for some, but the answer is everywhere.  There are thousands of posters here on the site who have done a handful of deals to hundreds of deals.  So many people give their time answering questions and making connections and a lot use the site differently.   Some are in the forums and some are in the messaging systems and others are all over the market place.  Still, some are primarily in the BP blog and are posting on articles there daily.

But, I still see some great investors on here and really good responses.

Patience, persistence and authenticity are the magic ingredients to building great relationships, and even a great reputation if that is what you are after, here on BP.  I still see some great responses on here from experienced investors and plenty of posters who are willing to give advice and share their experiences.  Those investors are spending their time building their reputations, being thoughtful with their responses and basically just being authentically who they are.  I think they absolutely standout here on the site.  Over time, those investors will be replaced by a new group of posters who will surpass them.  

It may feel like there are more new investors today because the site has grown so much in popularity, but my view from being here for so long is the that site is the same as it's always been from a user standpoint.  There is a mix of new and experienced and plenty of users willing to share.  The names have just changed.  My .02...