All Forum Posts by: Ritch Bonisa

@John Warren What market do you need to do this in?

@Alexander N. PM me, I will share what I have with you. 

@Sharon Tseung I  see alot of properties in Indianapolis every week.  If you have questions regarding areas, price points, or anything else - feel free to reach out.  I'll help if I can. 

I have new build experience.  This is an example of what is reasonably possible.  $83-92 sf, 110-140 days.

@Eric Bloom Feel free to PM me.  I'd be happy to share what I know. 

@David Martin Jr Just make sure you have your rehab costs drilled down and you get a realistic look at comps. 

Hi Michael!  Welcome!  Indianapolis has been good to me.  Feel free to shoot me a message.

It hasn't changed anything in Indianapolis and we have Two Chicks and a Hammer.  From my perspective - most of those shows make people (mainly newbies) think large rehabs happen super fast and skew the understanding of actual rehab costs.  The labor usually gets paid on those shows, but many times the input players are acting for free (publicity and excitement of TV) and many materials are donated. It probably helps sell that individual home, because "My new house was on HGTV." That would be a 1 comp impact in a 1/4 to 1/2 mile radius.  

If someone disagrees, I'd love to hear someone else's take on it. 

@Ali Hashemi Population of Indianapolis Public School system is shrinking, and there are many young professionals moving into Indianapolis.

I'm not rationalizing anything, nor do I have an axe to grind.  I think Indianapolis is more progressive today than I have ever seen it.  I think it's a good place to invest.  I think its a good place for business and I think it's attracting new talent.  Overall, I like it.  I think it will likely always keep a somewhat conservative midwestern sensibility, but there is room for improvement. 

There have been alot of positive changes in Indianapolis in the last 30 years.  I've been impressed and surprised with the progress.  15 years ago a company like Amazon would not have even mentioned Indianapolis. Now, they do.  I've just taken those types of things as a sign of progress and achievement for Indianapolis. We're not seeing the "same old thing".

As for dumb kids and dumb adults - I'm not sure about all of that.  I just know there are more kids attending private schools and there are more parents who can afford to send their kids to private schools.  These are homeowners not renters. A higher mix of home ownership usually translates to higher rents. Course, it depends on which neighborhoods one invests in. 

Overall, I'm very impressed with what has happened in Indianapolis. It's the best I've seen it in 47 years.  I think we can all continue to be successful in Central Indiana.  I certainly wish you continued success. 

@Adrian Chu I'm involved with some new builds in Indianapolis right now.  I don't see it alot in terms of rentals.  It's more of an alternative to flipping.  It can work very well.  

New builds are interesting.  They can be lower risk than a large flip.  There are fewer surprises in the construction arena with new builds.  There aren't pre-existing structural issues.  They can take less time than an extensive flip.  Flip side is that returns are a little lower, but overall, I don't think too bad.  It's a risk vs reward thing. 

You'll sometimes hear people talk against new builds vs flips.  I think many times they are uninformed.  It's in our nature as investors to look at the higher returns.

 Now, you do need to do your homework when it comes to new build.  It won't work well in every neighborhood.  I'm not seeing any new builds in big rental areas, only in the popular flip areas of Indianapolis.  These areas are in the city.  I think the term inner city can have a different meaning to different people.  

Other thing is the neighborhoods.  Normally, it's either a flip neighborhood or a rental.  There are some that blend those two together.  Flippers don't want to be in rental neighborhoods. 

I'm not seeing many rental type properties go for quite as low as 5k this year, but there are bad one's going for 10-15k (I mean wholesalers picking them up at those prices.)  They are either in war zones or they need so much work that they'll never be profitable as a rental. 

We see some good things in that C range and higher.  There are areas that were D areas 3-4 years ago, that are totally different types of neighborhoods now.  The homes have been rehabbed.  The neighborhoods have a much improved quality to them.  The homes are just older homes that have been rehabbed.  It will be interesting to see these neighborhoods in 5-10 years. 

Some of the township areas have good outlooks.  Schools are better and a quality that is of course less urban.  In the 90's and early 2000's there were alot of "vinyl village" type neighborhoods built in many of the township areas.  It was all about home ownership at the time.  These neighborhoods now have a few more renters.  Many of the neighborhoods still have the visual appeal and are nice communities to live in.  The price points for these are obviously a little higher. The properties are newer, crime numbers look lower, schools perform well. 

I'm in and out of C & B areas all the time.  I see some D, but overall, I'm just not in D neighborhoods much.