All Forum Posts by: Michael Craven

Hey Andy! I recommend either True Ohio Home or Nick Baltimore with ERA. They are both great options!

Ellsworth and Associates in Cincinnati is who I use and would definitely recommend- they are very knowledgeable and specialized in real estate related taxes/accounting. 

Hey Ruby- it really depends on your personal goals and how you envision your portfolio to look. Do you see any opportunity in the medium/long term to raise rents/pass on utilities to tenants/other ways to increase NOI on the Fairfield property? Is one significantly older than the other and does that matter to you? (Hamilton has a lot of older homes and this can mean more repairs and headaches). Do you prefer something more passive or active? Hamilton in a rougher neighborhood could mean a little more hands on than Fairfield. Do you need the cash flow now or are there things like appreciation/principal paydown that are most important to you?

Main thing is that it really depends on what your goals are!

 Thanks for sharing your experience!

Definitely local Facebook groups are a great place to start or finding an agent to help out with some of that would be a good place so start!

Hey Michele, I've only had a brief conversation with True Home Ohio. I believe they recently expanded to the Dayton area. I had a good conversation with them but haven't had management experience with them. You may also reach out to Nick Baltimore with ERA. I've been impressed with his interactions with some clients of mine (but I have not personally used him). Hope this helps!

@Jon R. of course, happy to chat more if you'd like!

Hey Jon,

Congrats on even getting to the edge of the diving board! I own two cabins (one in Blue Ridge and one in Morganton) and I'd be happy to share my experience. 

My BR cabin is a 4 bed, which I would recommend if possible. 4 bedrooms seem to do quite well as they tend to be more spacious and can accommodate more people (so nightly rates go up quite a bit). To your point about experience with renters, it has been pretty low key (children's birthday parties, women's retreats, families getting away for a weekend, etc). We haven't had big parties or anything like that or destructive guests (knock on wood). This cabin has mountain views which I would recommend pursuing if you can. A lot of people come to this area for the mountains. Lake views can do even better but the price points for these cabins is very high. Forest/Wood/Creek views still do okay. I would just recommend having something else standout and attract guests to your cabin if that's the case (e.g., theatre room, great game room, murals etc)

My Morganton property went live in December as a 3 bed so that we could get some holiday bookings and we had no issues getting it booked. We then de-listed it to convert it to a 5 bedroom (still under renovation).

I haven't noticed much of a difference between BR/Mineral Bluff/Morganton. They are all so close together, close to downtown BR, and close to hiking and the lake. Plus, most of the time if someone searches Blue Ridge on AirBnB, Mineral Bluff and Morganton are included in that search. I haven't looked deeply in Elijay or Cherry log, but I know these are strong rental markets as well. I believe (on average) they gross a little less than BR but typically purchase prices are also a little lower. 

Finding cleaners has been so-so. Unlike the Smoky's, there isn't an abundance of cleaners. We have had some complaints from our guests about our cleaners so that is an ongoing struggle. One thing we are doing now is we hired someone to do monthly walk throughs of our properties to make sure everything is in order (not just with the cleaners, but also the TV remotes having batteries, the pool table having chalk etc). I'd highly recommend this! 

Finding handymen is somewhat of a struggle. And from the other cabin owners we've talked to, it is a common problem down there to find a good contractor/handyman. That said, I'm happy to share some people I've used!

I do recommend jumping into the Short-Term Rental market! It can be a great way to generate cash flow and Blue Ridge is a strong market to do this!

Hey there @Account Closed! Here are a few that I would recommend giving a call: Best Choice Home Inspectors (John has investing experience, too, which I like), First Inspections (Bryan Duff; actually out of Dayton, but will travel to Cincy), and Gerard Home Inspections. 

Hey Joshua- congrats on deciding to get started in investing! I’m local to Cincy and work primarily with investors. I’d be happy to connect and see if we can find you your first property!