All Forum Posts by: Jimmy Lieu
Jimmy Lieu has started 97 posts and replied 2110 times.
Post: ISO contractors for an STR near Columbus, Ohio
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Hunter Hanlon Taylor:
Hey, all, is anyone familiar with any good contractors near the Columbus, Ohio area who would be good for various updates I need done on my STR this winter? I just bought it in the fall and am trying to complete a bunch of modifications during off-season (e.g. metal roof, certain safety features, treating the deck, possibly updating the fire pit area, etc). TIA.
Hi Hunter! Happy to connect and share my contacts.
Post: How To Analyze A Flip Deal Like a Pro in Columbus OH (Even If It's Your First Time!)
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Learn how to properly analyze a house flip in Columbus, Ohio with real numbers and examples! In this video, I break down why the common "ARV - Renovation = Profit" formula is incomplete and show you the ACTUAL costs you need to consider for a successful flip.
Using a real case study of a $140K property with a $295K ARV, I show you why what looks like a $65K profit on paper actually nets around $25K when accounting for all expenses. We'll cover:
✅ After Repair Value (ARV) calculation
✅ Hard money loan considerations
✅ Holding costs breakdown
✅ Utility expenses during renovation
✅ Insurance requirements
✅ Agent commissions
✅ Closing costs
✅ How to calculate true profit margins
Perfect for: First-time flippers, real estate investors, and anyone looking to understand the true costs of flipping houses in Columbus, Ohio.
#realestateinvesting #passiveincome #realestatebeginners #cashflow #financialfreedom #investmentproperties #outofstateinvesting #rentalproperty #columbusohio #columbusrealestate #propertyinvestment #realestateinvestor #realestateinvestors
Related Tags -
- BRRRR
- Buy and hold
- Flip
- Short Term Rental
- Mid Term Rental
- STR / MTR
- Out of state investing
- OOS investing
- Real Estate Education
- Real Estate Consulting
- Property Analysis
- Buyer Agent & Brokerage Representation
- Seller Agent & Brokerage Representation
- FSBO Property Sales & Marketing
- Property Management
- General Contracting
- New Construction
- Investor Financing
- Lender Financing
- Seller Financing
- Title Work
- Property Insurance
- Section 8 Consulting
Hit me up to talk or network about investing in the following markets!
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Columbus, Ohio
- Akron, Ohio
- Canton, Ohio
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
Post: Investing Cleveland, OH area
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Michael Long:
Long time reader, first time poster! Recommendation on how to find a honest, agent in the Cleveland,Ohio area.
Small investor, looking to purchase one to two single family homes per year over the next 7-10 years?
Hi Michael! You can definitely start your search here on BiggerPockets and connect with agents here. Or you can also join Cleveland real estate investing Facebook groups and see who people recommend. If you're looking to expand your search, you may also want to check the Columbus OH market. My clients love it here because of the positive cash flowing deals and lots of appreciation potential. Columbus also has great macroeconomics - lots of job growth, population growth, and major employers developing here. Happy to send over some resources regarding the Columbus Ohio market and why it's a great market to invest into.
Post: Ohio or Vegas??
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Amos Lee:
Hello BP Community!
I plan to sell my Vegas condo and it looks like I'll be able to make about a 35-40K return. I plan to do a 1031 into a new investment property. I have been seeing a lot of talk about Ohio (Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland), so I wanted to reach out for some advice. Should I invest into Ohio, or stick with Vegas?
My goal is buy/hold. My priority is appreciation so I plan to hold the property for at least 3-5 years. Would love cash flow, of course, but if I could at least break even on a highly appreciating property, I'd be happy with that.
Would greatly appreciate advice from all of you BP experts!
Hi Amos! I'm an investor here in Columbus OH myself and have seen the city's solid and steady growth with strong economic fundamentals driving the market like major companies moving here (Meta, Intel, Google, Amazon, etc), job growth, and population growth. That's why there's a lot of appreciation potential here and cashflow. Happy to connect and answer any other questions you may have.
Post: Looking for good price/rental rate properties anywhere in U.S.
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Paul Whitney:
Hello,
Selling a rental in San Luis Obispo, CA and trying to redeploy equity in 1031 exchange to a better price/rental rate ratio location. Ideally, looking for something along the lines of a 200k purchase price with 2000/month rental income. Anyone know of locations within the states where this is possible?
Hi Paul! You may want to add Columbus OH to your list. We still see positive cashflowing deals here that hit the 1% rule. Additionally, the city has been on a serious growth trajectory lately with lots of companies choosing to move and develop here driving job growth and population growth. All this has created really strong rental demand across most neighborhoods. Happy to send over some resources regarding the Columbus Ohio market and why it's a great market to invest into!
Post: New Construction SFH for investing
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Sachin Amin:
Hello BP community,
Most of the builders do not offer investors opportunity to buy the lots and they claim they are only for primary residence (i;e they will sell only if you are going to live in it (example Ryan homes, Pulte homes etc..) are there any builders out there who can sell to investors for "buy to rent" in Columbus OH? was looking to add brand new SFH to my portfolio. But seems tricky as none of the builders are willing to sell to investors in and around Columbus region ?
any ideas if there are any builders who would sell it to investors like me who wish to add new construction SFH's to their portfolios ?
Thx
Sachin
Hi Sachin, if you're looking for the best investment opportunities in terms of positive cash flow, they're not going to come from new builds. You're going to be looking at older houses that may need a bit of work especially if you want to find buy and hold, BRRRR, flips, STR/MTR, etc. opportunities. There's always trade offs when it comes to investing and one of those tradeoffs (if you want to find positive cash flow) is having to be okay with an older house. But if you are okay with negative cash flow and want more the appreciation, new builds are definitely the way to go. Happy to connect and answer any questions you may have!
Post: Growth Markets in 2025 - Where are you investing?
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Breeya Johnson:
Hi BP Fam!
2025 is approaching fast, and I know many of us have already started our business planning for the year ahead. I’m curious—what markets are you looking to enter or expand into this coming year?
I’m focused on growing my portfolio and have my eye on a few markets. I’d love to hear where you’re investing and why you chose those areas. If you have any insights or stories to share about the markets I’m considering, I’d greatly appreciate it!
Here are the markets I’m exploring:
- St. Louis, MO
- Killeen, TX
- Waco, TX
- Topeka, KS
- Tulsa, OK
Looking forward to hearing about your plans and experiences!
Breeya Johnson
Hi Breeya! I moved here in Columbus OH from Portland OR and I've build up a solid 7-figure rental portfolio. I love it here because there are still positive cashflowing deals and lots of appreciation potential due to the strong job market, growing population, and major companies setting up shop here like Intel, Meta, Amazon, etc. The price points are still affordable - around $120k-$180k, plus the laws are super landlord-friendly. Happy to send over some resources regarding the Columbus Ohio market and why it's a great market to invest into!
Post: Ohio Legal Considerations for Rentals
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Kyle Carter:
Hello BiggerPockets Community!
I am about to buy my first property in Ohio and I would like to gain as much information as I can in regards to the different legal issues of which I can face in Ohio. In regards to tenants, to putting the house on Section 8, to the selling of the property. I would love to hear different perspectives.
Hi Kyle! I have Section 8 rentals in my portfolio but I do recommend connecting with a property manager who specializes in Section 8 rentals - they'll know all the specific requirements, inspections, and paperwork needed. The Housing Choice Voucher program here is run by CMHA (Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority). They're pretty organized, but expect annual inspections and some extra paperwork. If you're planning to sell later, Ohio requires quite a bit of disclosure about property conditions. And you need to keep detailed records of all repairs and improvements. Happy to connect and answer any questions you may have.
Post: Best city to begin investing
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Jenna Schulze:
Hi! I am starting to become involved in real estate investing and I am looking between two cities in Ohio to purchase my first property (hopefully a duplex). Through my research, it says that Cleveland and Toledo are both good options for real estate investing. Which one is better? Is there a city that's better than both of these in Ohio? I do need a property that is not very expensive, which is why I have been looking into Clevland due to their low selling prices and high appreciation rates.
Post: Too good to be true to have connected with a real estate agent who has a whole team?
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus, OH
- Posts 2,190
- Votes 1,658
Quote from @Richard Bautista:
Good evening and happy new year,
I need input on something that seems too good to be true.
I just got off the phone today with an investor-friendly real estate agent in another state (not NYS) who has a whole team behind her and has made it seem as if real estate investing is a much simpler process. I am a beginner investor and I have discussed my investing goals with this agent. I wanted your typical 3 bedroom house (not necessarily 2 bath) which cash flows. She goes on to say that for her beginner investors, she doesn't let them buy over $100k total (including purchase and rehab), she already has a tenant pending for a particular property she currently wants to sell, already has a good relationships with a lender, and doesn't let rehab go over 2.5 weeks.
In terms of property management, she mentioned that she has her own property management company. She is planning on renting out to section 8 and has pacified my worries about section 8 tenants. She just seems to be well versed with dealing with section 8 tenants, which is huge in this area of the United States.
She has already sent me the address of the potential investment property. It is not on your typical zillow/redfin/trulia site as she said it is directly from the seller.
I met this real estate agent on facebook, seems very active within the real estate community in that particular area based on the posts she's engaged with.
The only red flag that stood out is that she strongly discourages flying out to the location and scoping out the property as she said it could get expensive and we could instead use that for a downpayment.
I really would like to invest and just buy my first property already. I just keep hearing over and over again to just take action and course correct from there.
I would like to ask the advice of the community - can I get some viewpoints on how I could double check this lady's work? Maybe I'm already answering my own questions - would it be rude to ask for references from other investors she's worked with? how can I do this without sounding like I don't trust her? Is it imperative that I actually go see the property before I close on it? What else am I missing?
How do you deal with doubt? I also don't want to show any type of distrust towards her as I feel that she is a valuable asset (if she is what she says she is).
I'm really glad that I am taking my first steps, that I spoke with a real estate agent, and that I have the BiggerPockets community to lean on for support.
Thank you,
Richard
Hi Richard! The biggest red flag is discouraging you from viewing the property in person. No legitimate agent would ever do this. Period. That's a massive warning sign. I understand your desire to take action, but rushing into the wrong deal is much worse than waiting for the right one. A good agent should welcome due diligence, not discourage it.
Ask for references, any legitimate professional should be happy to provide them. Don't worry about appearing distrustful. If she pushes back against basic verification, that's another red flag. You can also request recent inspection reports and detailed photos. Research the area's actual market values. And also get independent property management quotes.
As a realtor/investor myself here in Columbus OH (which has some great cashflow opportunities, by the way), I ALWAYS encourage my clients to visit properties. If you're looking to expand your search, I'm happy to send over some resources regarding the Columbus Ohio market and why it's a great market to invest into!