All Forum Posts by: Robert Ellis

Hey BP,

My partner and I are interested in buying Multi-family property in Columbus, preferably with owner financing options . My partner will be attending an RE seminar on Thursday in Columbus, and I will be flying out to meet him in the afternoon.

It'll be a quick visit, but we'd like to get to know the area. Are there any neighborhoods you would recommend?

Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Oscar

So I’m new to bigger pockets (my first post so far!) I’ve been diving into real estate books and listening to podcasts since last October. I have two houses that have about $200k equity in each of them. One is a vacation rental and the other is my personal. I’ve put a ton of sweat equity into both, and am wanting to cash out and use that money to invest as a down payment for a multi family apartment complex.  

While we finish fixing up my house, and work on selling both I want to use that time learning as much as possible and looking into the best markets even if that means out of state. Is there any websites or forums or books....anything that has information on how to find the best places to invest in? I’ve heard the grant cardone interviews on a couple different podcasts and love his philosophy and want to dive into a larger unit complex...but definitely want to learn more and do more due diligence before I do. Any tips or suggestions would be ammmmazing!

Shout out to any fellow Oregonians :-) Im over on the coast in lil ol Seaside!

After months of reading and researching throughout BP, I've re-evaluated what I'm looking to do with my RE investment goals and am aiming to purchase my first property this year.

Basically, I am looking at out of state markets with cash flowing properties to eventually replace my W-2 income. I have around 80k to work with and looking at multi-family/unit properties however if the numbers work SFH as well. Ideally, want to 'rinse and repeat' to build my portfolio using that 80k whether it be cash out refi or through creative financing.

Some of the markets I'm interested in are Columbus, OH, Indy, Pittsburgh, and KC.  Open to hearing any other suggestions on good cash flowing markets as well as what everyone looks for in evaluating and finding these type of markets.  I've tried looking in my area and around northern NJ but the numbers are very tight especially with property taxes over 10k and I think going out of state makes the most sense for me in regards to my RE goals.

I understand the risks in out of state investing but also the importance in establishing a good team in regards to brokers, agents, contractors, PM's so would love to connect with anyone in these markets who would have good recommendations in getting started working with out of state investors.

Hello all, I'm excited to get started. My name is Edward Itayim and I live in Columbus, Ohio. I'm 35 years old, married with two children. I have been a practicing litigation attorney for 10 years after being honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps. I've always been interested in the world of real estate, but just now to the point where I want to start investing. In addition to my own home, I did acquire two homes through foreclosure in Youngstown, Ohio, but that is the extent of my real estate experience. I am most interested in commercial office rentals and multi-unit apartments. Over the last two months I have just been reading and learning as much as possible. That's what led me to BiggerPockets. Listened to Anson Young's audio book as well as Brandon Turner's rental investing book. I'm ready to get moving. Still need some knowledge regarding financing, so any help on that end would be great. Just trying to achieve what most are...financial freedom! 

Hey BP!

My name is Jon and I have been lurking around the site for about half a year now. I got interested in investing in general after basically googling "how do people get rich" I think haha. That led me to real estate investing and then listening to the BiggerPockets podcast while working all last summer. I have attended two meetups hosted by Deren Huang here in Tulsa and really enjoy meeting and listening to locals stories! My main goal right now is to achieve early financial freedom. I will start this by doing househacking in either a single family with friends or a small multi.

Here is where I have a question, right now I am in my final semester to receive my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. I will graduate without any student debt or any other debt for that matter. I would also like to mention that I am a frugal person; enjoying Set For Life by Scott Trench so far. What I want to know is if I should be looking to move somewhere like Texas where my income will not be taxed; plus engineers seem to make more in Texas generally. I am not sure if Texas is a good idea because of the high property tax. I do not know the Tulsa Oklahoma all to well anyhow so there seems to be little reason for me to spend time learning this market if I can begin learning others now.

I am new to posting here, but not new to BP. I have been listening to the podcasts and lurking on this website for about a year now. This is the most comprehensive website and network of people that I have ever found for any area of investing. I have visited Cleveland twice in the last few months and will be investing heavily there this year. I am looking to build a team of lenders, agents, contractors, and property managers as I intend on investing in Cleveland and Columbus, OH, to start. Please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you.

Hello everyone.  My name is Andy Milby and I'm new to real estate investing.  I've been listening to the BP Podcast for almost a year now and have been working on getting myself setup to invest.  I am now starting to look for investments in Columbus and looking at multi-family and value add buy and hold investing.

I currently work as an IT Analyst and have a long term goal to build enough cash flow from real estate to get out of corporate life and focus on real estate.  I currently have a few contacts locally in real estate however they focus mostly on residential purchases/loans and not on the investment side.  I'm looking to expand my network with local real estate investing connections and continue to learn about real estate investing.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to being involved in the conversation on BP!

My friend and I are looking to purchase a duplex to "house hack" (live on one side, rent out the other) in Columbus, Ohio, and would like to utilize FHA's 3.5% down first time homebuyers loan.

My friend has a job as an accountant and has a stable income history and good credit. Myself on the other hand does not have a W2 income history, but I just graduated from college and started work as a real estate professional flipping and renting out single family and multi family properties. My credit is well above what FHA requires as well.

What is the best way to structure the loan in this case? Is there a way for the both of us to equally contribute to the down payment and get a loan on good terms? I am new to FHA and mortgages in general so any advice would be appreciated.

We are about to finish up on a rehab here in Buckeye Lake, Ohio and are excited to turn it into an Air B&B home. My current insurance company cant write on them yet. She referred me to a company in Westerville (Berkshire Hathaway ) who can but they want almost 3 times what my normal insurance would be for a rental. I understand its more traffic but does this seem normal?   

Hi Everyone!  

We have been investing for 7 -8 years now and the banks r now saying we are at a 43% debt ratio. I've always used the smaller banks but I NOW NEED a great bank not a hard money lender. We have great liquid in the bank and over 700 credit scores, never ever late on anything but it doesn't seem to matter. We paid cash for 2 properties now and when it comes time to refi out the banks are saying our debt ration is not good. We have 16 rentals with 12 mortgages between 2 banks all bringing in great cash flow. Between 170-500 each!  Both banks apologetically r now out? I cant help I have a goddess for a tax accountant. What do I do!   We have just got to a financial position we worked so hard for in the flips to be able to pay cash for these homes and we are now stuck.  We need to rent them for retirement. I don't want to sell, although we could make 30k each NO! I WANT TO BRRRR Brandon! 

Please & Thank you for your advise