All Forum Posts by: Michael Swan

I would get away from any 1-4 unit properties where you pay water/sewer and any kind of yard work.  Feel free to reach out to me.  Buy in East Euclid and Lake County, Side by side duplexes ONLY!! The tenants pay water/sewer and they also pay their own water sewer and lawn care.  Hopefully, you did not get swindled by any brokers on BP that convinced you to buy in Old Brooklyn etc...  Be careful people!!  Flashy presentations on YouTube etc... I am just an investor.  Be careful out there people!!!

Swanny

Do you pay the water/sewer or do the tenants?  I prefer the side by side duplexes, because the tenants pay the water/sewer in those and are on different meters.  Who pays for snow removal and landscaping?  You or the tenants?

Swanny

Hi Ike,

What area of Cleveland is this property?  I have over 230 units, primarily in Lake County.  I do have a 12 unit in Euclid and a 24 unit in Akron too.  Do you have anybody renting in the duplex at this moment?  How much rent for each unit presently and how much rent after that $25,000-$30,000 rehab?

Swanny

Thank you @James Hamling,

Feel free to reach out to me after you watch Podcast 238.  I love this stuff James.

Swanny

Be careful @Andrew B.

The areas I invest in Lake County are extremely landlord friendly, hard working Blue Color, and not a sexy trendy area.  Although, when I compare rents I can get per unit and per unit cost, Lake County wins hands down!! Especially in my realm of investing.  The last 2 apartment complexes I have purchased pre Covid last summer of 2019 were about $33,000-$35,000 a unit and rental rates are a little better than the area you mentioned.  Three rules!! It must cash flow about 12% minimum, 1.6 or higher DSR, and the cap rate needs to be over 8%.  Also, I notice some of those buildings in the areas you speak of are really old and have old property issues.

You need to talk to me soon!!

Swanny

Hey @Jacob Repreza,

That goes for you too.  Reach out to me too!!

I love this stuff!!

Swanny

Hi Andrew,  

I have about 230 units in primarily Lake County, Mentor and Painesville.  Feel free to reach out to me.  I was on  podcast 238.  Love to chat and discuss your situation. Also Josh and Brandon included me in their book, Ch 1, pages 25-26.  The book is called How to invest in Real Estate the Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started.

Reach out to me soon after you listen to Podcast 238 and understand how I got started in the Cleveland area etc...

I am a PE teacher by day!!  My W2 income for my teaching gig is only $52,000 a year.  If I can do this, anyone can!!!

Swanny

Thank you @Tom Ott,

Now to get another at least 800 units in the next few years.  At the moment, I feel there should be some really great deals in the 4th quarter of 2020 and beyond.  This past summer we purchased a 57 unit in Mentor for $2,000,000.00 and looking for more deals like that, where rents are at least $800-$850.00 for 850 sf 2br and $700-$750 for 650-750 sf 1br.  At purchase they were renting about $550 for the 1br and about $650 for the 2Br.

In the areas I invest $150.00-$200.00 bumps in rents, averaging about $3,000-$4,000 in fix up per unit is the business model that has been working for me. In a In Akron the price per unit was closer to $25,000 a unit on the 24 unit we own and those bumps in rent were only about $75.00 a month.  However, that was more stabalized to start on that 24 unit and gets me about $5,000 a month cash flow average on my $144,000 1031 exchange I did in September of 2017. There is not much more upside in rents on that one and is fully repositioned.

Now, to get through this Covid 19 and stay lean and mean and then come out on top, hoard a lot of cash in the meantime and be ready for to purchase from people that were not running their operations so well.

Feel free to reach out to me with more thoughts and ideas Tom and @Remington Lyman.

Swanny

Hi @Eli Gilbert,

We are looking for apartment complexes 12 units or more now and at the moment are focused East of the Amazon in Euclid, through to Painesville and North to Warren and we also own a 24 unit in Akron.

Swanny 

Hi @Brian Garlington,

Nice to hear from you again.  I’m glad I could help you Brian.  It seems like you help a lot of people too here on BP.  Great job paying it forward.  Feel free to contact me if you need to bounce any ideas off of me.

Swanny