All Forum Posts by: David Leggett

This is an excellent question!  I love to see what's going on in other markets from agents on the ground.  I will echo what Nicholas is saying in the Cleveland market inventory is still very low, especially for solid investment properties, so they're going fast and usually above asking price.  And rental demand is unlike anytime I've seen it doing leasing in the last 5 years.  But I am wondering if things are starting to slow down and if we've reached the peak of the historic high prices.  What do you guys think?  Macroecomics is way above my pay grade!!

Hey Nicholas, sounds like either way you did a great job with this investment property!  I have a lot of clients asking me the same thing, whether they should sell or not.  I'm interested to see from people smarter than me if they think the historic high prices are at a peak or we're still on an upward trend, but I have a lot of clients who are selling and wanting to get a piece of this historic seller's market before it goes back to some normalcy.  But I can say that inventory is still really low in the Cleveland market so I'm seeing a lot of high offers and properties selling quickly.  

Cleveland is a great market to invest in.  There's still really good cash flow and I've seen some good appreciation over the last few years.  It's just important to find an experienced realtor who specializes in investment real estate and knows the nuances of the neighborhoods and a solid property manager and you'll be in business!

I've dealt with a lot of difficult tenants in properties that my clients were buying and selling and honestly, and it can become an issue if the tenant really wants to make it one.  But not being cooperative in the early stages doesn't always mean they're going to be a bad tenant, the situation might not have been explained to them properly.  This happens a lot, especially with bad listing agents, or sellers who don't give the tenants a heads up the property is for sale or explained the process to them.  A lot of times, they feel like they're going to have to leave, or you're going to drastically raise the rent, but this is not usually the case, especially if they have a long term lease.

I would try and get on the phone with the tenant and explain to them what you're trying to do and they have no reason to worry about anything and you have good intentions and you can gauge how they react.  Normally, they will really appreciate it and will want to work with you in the future, but if you not you can still evict them if they're not paying rent or violating their lease.  But this is how most tenants are when selling a property, its just a matter of communicating with them and making them feel better about the situation and not like they're part of a transaction and numbers on a spreadsheet.

Yes I would definitely do it!  Especially now since you can take the classes online.  The 10 hour classes on Saturdays were the worst part!  Plus you can put your license under a property management company and work with some investors who will definitely need your contracting services.  Finding quality contractors and giving quick and accurate estimates are some of the biggest problems investors face in this market, so you'll have a great advantage and will only get more business from it.

This is great work!  I'm surprised that more investors don't look into student housing like this where they can charge by the room and increase their profitability like you're talking about.  Plus, it's not like the rental demand in this area is going to go down anytime soon, so the cashflow will keep rolling in as long as it's managed properly!  I love this story and think you're really on to something.

Hey Jacob, I know a great guy that does tons of work for my investors in Maple Hts and has good relationships with the city for POS stuff if you want to send me a message I can send you his info!  

This is a great question! You're definitely on the right track and looking in the right markets. Cleveland has some great BRRRR deals. It might be hard to get a lot of value back from only exterior repairs, but I know investors getting brand new roofs on their properties with just a deductible, if they have home owners insurance, and have some previous damage to the roof. That will add some value to your property pretty fast! Also, some of my clients have found properties with some decent Point of Sale violations and get those cleared and do some minor improvements and put the property on the market a year or two later and have been able to make a profit with the way the market has been going. But you're definitely on the right track because it's all about efficiency and squeezing the most out of the lemon as possible so I love the idea!

Awesome!!  Congratulations!  Cleveland is a great market to invest in, especially if you're local.  There are also several investing techniques like the BRRRR method to help leverage your capital so you can purchase those 10 properties before you're 30 with minimal investment!

The Cleveland / Akron market is still great for cash flow.  Prices have gone up, but so have rents.  And I've never seen this much demand for rentals since I've been doing this.  But a lot of people already made some good points above.  You just really need to have a good property manager who can make sure your properties are fully functioning during the winter months.  The last PM I worked with were so incompetent that their were multiple properties I was leasing that had the power off during most, if not all, of the winter months.  I know there was damage to these houses too, so you have to be careful but other than doing your due diligence, it's just as good of a place to invest than anywhere else.