All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Styer

@Daniel Judge is correct. Milo-Grogan is seeing huge appreciation right now. If you can get in there now is the time. 

Hi Simon, you’ve got a great plan investing in Columbus. Great city for cash flow and appreciation. Depending on your goals there are different areas that would work for you. There are great areas for cash flow, appreciation, and both. Feel free to message me and we can chat. 

@Dana Blair No one is buying multifamilies in Grandview and Upper Arlington right now for crazy cash flow. You buy there for steady and safe appreciation. There are other areas in Columbus which can give you cash flow and appreciation if you can find they deal. Southern Orchards, Old Oaks, Milo-Grogan, Franklinton, King Lincoln or if you want SFH, Whitehall or even Grove City can easily beat the 1% rule. It's the combination of appreciation and cash flow that make Columbus great in my opinion.

@Pedro Cardoso why choose one or the other? Analyze deals until you find one that works for you. Don’t pigeon hole yourself into one type of deal or the other but keep your eye out for both and when you find a great one jump on it. Your first deal is always an important one as recovering from a first deal gone wrong is much more difficult than if your 20th one goes wrong. Good luck!

@Jason C. What would be the difference if the tenant came and picked up the keys and then handed them to their friend the second they leave?

It comes down to do you truly believe that the tenant who signed the lease is actually going to be the one living there or not. If not then you have a bigger problem, if yes I would say just go for it. Moving to a new city is hard and maybe they need some help?

@Daniel Walton to truly replace the knob and tube you will need to get into all walls and basically get down to studs. You will be rewriting the entire house. A solution I have used in the past is to make sure all knob and tube wiring is on a 15 Amp breaker. The knob and tube becomes dangerous when high amperage items are used so if those items kick a breaker then there is some built in failsafe there.

I am not an electrician so take my advice with a grain of salt but I would listen to the experts. I also like to make sure I have a great HVAC system in all my units, window ACs and space heaters are your enemy.

@Justin Schaefer Yes Robert is right, inventory in Columbus is low right now so most listings have multiple offers. It takes a savvy Realtor who knows the areas to get a good deal in this market but they are out there. 

@Aoun Rizvi Your first deal is always scary, it helps to have someone that is not emotionally invested to bounce ideas and numbers off of. The more deals you do the more it will just come down to the numbers. Maybe try to find someone local with experience investing to convince you to bite the bullet on something that you think works.

@Luke Harrison how urgent is the roof? Any active leaks? If you can I would get tenants in and start the refi as long as you aren’t experiencing water intrusion. If you hit a snag from the lender because of the roof you’re only out the cost of appraisal ad you can be looking into other options during that time frame as well. The longer you delay the worse off you are. Put a new roof on after refi. (Also $15k for a roof? Seems very high. Or is that other costs as well?) Good luck!

I tend to agree with @Remington Lyman on this one. With the price point you will be looking for and the chance for appreciation, Franklinton will be hard to

beat. Find an agent who is familiar with the areas and pockets in the neighborhood. Also some find it can be easier to hire management on their first investment. Good luck, Columbus is great.