All Forum Posts by: John Koster

Meet Up for Los Angeles investors who invest in, or are interested in the Cleveland market.  Come join us for casual cocktails at the EP/LP Rooftop Bar.  7PM.   

Conversations will not be limited to Cleveland, so if you just want to come by and talk investing, feel free.

I'm in the east valley.

Any day works.

Once a month.

Holton Wise and the deals are quite real. 

The 10K house is on a hill in between a C-/D area and a B area  and it has a septic issue.  It is not surprising that a hood adjacent home with septic issues is going that low.  A quick perusal online will show homes without septic issues nearby going for 30-50K.   

The apartment complex is on a busy street in an okay C neighborhood.   25K per unit on an advertised "value add" isn't crazy in that area.

I agree aggressive marketing can be annoying, but hitting "delete" and "unsubscribe" usually works for me when I receive something I'm not interested in.

Cheers

I have used MB Financial and Wells Fargo in the last two years.  4.75-5.0%.  Both will go sub 50K for loans.

That is a C/C- area.  Check out @James Wise 's  "The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods.  

Hi Ethan,

I live in LA.  Grew up in, and invest in Cleveland.  Feel free to DM me if you want to talk about the market.

John

Hi Jenelle, 

@James Wise @Federico Gutierrez & Nick Varner at Holton Wise know the west side of Cleveland and the investor game quite well.

I grew up in Lakewood and have a few properties in the area, so I studied up on the tax rates after realizing the stark differences between some of the suburbs.  Garfield & Shaker are above 4% while most of Cleveland is 2.86%.  Cleveland.com had a a breakdown of the different rates at the beginning of the year which I am having problems linking.    It is http://s.cleveland.com/4Ug4hcl   If that doesn't work the post was from 1/25/17....Googling it might work.  

A few notes: 

- Lakewood taxes will be more like 3.33%, but the vacancy rate will probably be lower. Lakewood is a competitive rental market.  I would factor 5-7% rather than 11%.  

- Investor loans will probably be higher than 4%, unless you plan on living in one of the units.  I have paid 4.5-5% in the last 2 years.  If 4% is an actual quote, please forward me your lender details!

- Insurance will probably be a tad higher.  $60-70.  Again, if $50 is an actual quote, please let me know.

- Property Management is generally 10%

Good luck!  77K with little rehab is a decent deal for Lakewood these days.

Andy,

Yes, @Federico Gutierrez is a knowledgable realtor at Holton Wise.  Proceed with confidence.