All Forum Posts by: Patrick Drury

@Tricia O'Brien
For me, the most important part would be checking a tenant's court records to see if they have a criminal record. Talking to prior landlords helps, but I wouldn't rely heavily on it because if the tenant is a headache, wouldn't you want to make them look good to get out of your hair? 

@Nicole Harrington
I personally own a rental property that I rent out via section 8 in Columbus OH. I would definitely recommend it. The hardest part about section 8 is getting the process down, like what to do and when. Sometimes they also just change the process and don't tell anyone. A big part of renting to section 8 tenants is screening them. Just because they have a voucher doesn't mean they are the right tenant. The same goes for average joes. Just because they make enough income doesn't mean their application is perfect. Did you do a background check? A big part of tenants treating properties badly is because people didn't screen the tenants adequately, so don't make that mistake.

@Steven Brown
If you are interested in becoming a wholesaler, I would recommend you get your real estate license. If you don't want to get your license, you can find plenty of info on YouTube and BP. Don't need to pay for courses to learn from someone. If you want a mentor in terms of investing, you should cold call owners to find deals, and also ask them if they could teach you a thing or two. 

@Larry Wilkes
I would say if you live locally you should self-manage your first property to understand what managing entails. After that, I would just hire a PM and outsource. I personally don't think it's scalable to be doing all those things yourself. Also, I strongly encourage you to go to local real estate meetups and meet other investors and ask questions or just post more on BP with other questions you have along the way. 

@Kristina Boothe
I would recommend sticking to a smaller market like Dayton or Akron.

@Jacob Cuellar
You should reach out to your agent and ask for sales comps.

@Rod Lambe
I would recommend you reach out to your agent and ask them to pull you some sold sales comps for you. If you want rent comps check Zillow for apartments up for rent cross-referenced with rentometer and that should give you a good idea of what market rent is. 

@Dan J.
If you are looking for passive income and cash flow, I would recommend looking at Columbus and Cincinnati OH. It has a great balance of cash flow and appreciation. I am currently investing in Columbus and would recommend it!

@Andrew Alvarez  
That's a loaded question. It depends on location, condition, and what you are measuring. If you are basing your investment on certain cash on cash return, then use that to decide paired with comps and condition. There isn't a sheet to plug in those numbers and get a value for them. You need to evaluate all three of those items. Small multi-family relies heavily on sold comps. That's how they appraise typically, so that's pretty important. Also, the condition is important as well because maybe there are comps to support the value of this 8-unit, but they are all fully renovated and yours is not. Lastly, I think the location is important. That should be a no-brainer I don't think I need to explain that one.  

@Thomas O'Donnell
Columbus doesn't have any war zones as opposed to other cities. Even the roughest and worst parts of Columbus are increasing overwhelmingly in value and still cash flow.