All Forum Posts by: Erin Dorsey Robinson

@Ari Hadar I have to agree with @Patricia Steiner. Also, I can almost guarantee that the busiest listing agent in the area does not even work directly with buyers. They build listing based businesses intentionally and they have specialists on their teams to whom they refer buyer clients. Most likely, those specialists do not focus on selling property to investors. A realtor who is building a business around selling houses to owner occupants is going to take a very different approach than a realtor who is focused on working with investors. It is a very, very different experience.

My husband and I invest and live in Cleveland and I work exclusively with investors. That does not mean I’m snatching up the best deals for ourselves or some of the other concerns that have been suggested here. Our portfolio is built and stable. But I came from a professional services/consulting background and like working with other business people. Investors have a clear scope of work, a budget and a need to build a team who can execute on specific objectives- management, repairs, multi-faceted financing strategies. That is the service that investment focused buyers’ agents provide.

After you talk to a few agents, it will become clear that there is a big difference. Let me know if I can help in any way. Feel free to send me a message with any questions.

Good luck!

@Manik Zaman my husband and I live and invest in Cleveland. Glad to have a chat if there is anything I can do to help as you are getting started. Please feel free to send me a message.

@Adam Azam I also agree with @Marcus Auerbach. You can still communicate with people in a professional manner, thank them for their time and application and let them know that another applicant has been selected or that you had a strong response and that other applicants are being considered as finalists. There is nothing wrong with being kind/polite; no extra time or expense. In the long run people having bad experiences of any kind is not good for business.

Hi @Gabriel Williams! Congratulations on paying off your debt and getting started on your investing journey. My husband and I have been investors in Cleveland for a long time and I'd be glad to share our experience and contacts with you. Let me know if I can be helpful in any way at all. Wishing you all the best! 

@Gary Parilis Thank you so much for your very kind words. It was my pleasure to work with you during your exploration of our fair city.

@Andrew Brown I just sent you a message. Happy to help in any way I can. 

Hi @Victoria Brinoccoli I don’t know much about Birmingham, but my husband and I live and invest in Cleveland. If you do decide to investigate this area further I’d be happy to share our experience and contacts with you.

@Bret Maryon my husband and I are realtors and investors in Cleveland. So I am definitely biased but we have been very successful with our investments here, as have our clients. We have had a lot of people from the coasts looking to get started in Cleveland for the same reasons that have been mentioned by others here. Certainly there are a lot of factors to consider. Cash flow is important, but I’d also say that the best place to start also has to depend on where you find a team you can trust to be your eyes and ears. Happy to talk further if you ever want more insight on Cleveland. Good luck!

@Bob Galivan this is a great explanation of how short sales work...and why they sometimes don’t! Thanks for investing the time in writing it up.

Hi there! Congratulations on buying your first property! I think you are right to want to understand this clearly as landlord tenant law can be full of little surprises. As with anything, the devil's in the details. If I were you, I would ask either your realtor/broker, a real estate based attorney or some kind of legal aid non-profit for tenants if one exists in your area. My inclination would be that the 30 day notice means tenants have 30 days, regardless of where in the month that falls. But that is the law here in Cleveland (Ohio). Not sure what Virginia law stipulates, but I do know that you want to be sure you are working within the law when you are talking about asking people to move...especially right now. 

Good luck!

@Remee Martin congratulations on getting started here in Cleveland! I agree with the other posters who mentioned that property management is KEY. Those people are going to be your first line of defense, your eyes, your ears and generally the keepers of your kingdom. You have to find a good one who you feel comfortable working with. Talk with a lot of people, get references and I like what @P.J. Bremner suggested about posting the company on BP to see what people say. Keep in mind that people generally only review things for which they have very strong opinions, good or bad. Some of the most consistent companies may fly under the radar for that reason. Just be prepared to keep close tabs on what's going on no matter who you pick.

As for other referrals, my husband and I live here and own property here and we have worked with a lot of people over the years. Happy to share some referrals for whatever you may need. Please feel free to shoot me an inbox if you want to discuss further. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

Best to you!

E