All Forum Posts by: Ross Denman

I agree with @Scott McGhee about Beech Grove. While we have managed some decent homes in Beech Grove, the tenant demographic can be a little rough and many of the homes on the northern end are 80+ years old. The southern end is considerably better.

Another great/stable town in Indy is Speedway. I don't hear much about it here on bigger pockets, but they units we manager there rent quickly to fairly good tenants.

We have a lot of clients that do well in these area's. The young professionals love to be in the revitalized historic districts near downtown. They rent almost overnight. Unfortunately, the Fountain Square area has appreciated considerably and it's harder to find well priced deals right now. I know several investors and rehabbers that have moved to the Bates-Hendricks area. There is also talk about revitalizing the Garfield Park and Christian Park areas a little south of there.

Here's a good article by the Guardian from last summer that talks about the revitalization in Fountain Square.

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/21/indianapolis-gentrification-arts-big-car-jim-walker-fountain-square-garfield-park

I can't vouch for other markets, but I know that I have clients from all over the world investing in Indianapolis. It's stable, inexpensive, and growing.

I work for a Property Management company in Indianapolis. I have several clients in both markets. I even have investors who live in Memphis and own investment properties here. I agree with @Haim Mamane Palmanregarding finding a good Property Management company for your team. I am not a fan of the one-stop-shop turn-key rehabbers/property managers. I'm certain that there are some good ones, but they make considerably more money on the rehab side so their property management business seems to take second place. I do have clients who buy from turn-key companies but bring them over to us to manage the homes. If you need some numbers regarding any deals that you may be interested in Indianapolis, I can provide you with a rental and demographics analysis. Never take numbers from the seller as gospel. A good property manager only makes money by renting your property... taking on a bad property or pricing a property too high does not produce income, so you will usually get honest numbers from a good property management company.

As far as Memphis is concerned, I have never heard bad things about Memphis Invest but I don't have any direct dealings with them.

Welcome @Jennifer Blakley

Welcome @Chadwick Lawhorn. Please feel free to reach out as I can give you some good insight to the Indianapolis marketplace and connect you with some good people here as well.

I currently have an out of the country (South Korean) investor who started an LLC in the state of Indiana. She purchased and rehabbed 3 properties for cash. She was able to get a cash-out refinance portfoilio loan on all 3 properties through a local credit union, before we even had a 3rd tenant signed for her properties. She actually cashed out almost $10k more than she initially invested (refinanced at 75% LTV) and is in position to rehab 3 more rental properties. She used Crane Federal Credit Union. I have several clients who have used them successfully. They are the best local credit union that I know of for portfolio loans... you might consider checking them out.

Welcome @Mandy Hildebrand. Like @Shawn Holsapple, I could certainly add some credit repair experts to my network.

Welcome @Darren Finney. I always enjoy networking with other Indianapolis investors. Fee free to reach out and ask questions anytime.

Welcome @LaTasha Williams

There are a great number of Indianapolis investors here who can give you considerable guidance. Don't be afraid to ask questions and connect.

I have to agree with @Jeff B.in this matter. If you have to paint both units @ 1400 sq ft each... you are looking at $2,500-3000. This is not including other repairs, carpets, cleaning etc. I would imagine that the cost to turn these sizable units will cost $5000+. When you figure in holding costs and lost rents during vacancy period you are probably looking at another $2000 ($750/month/unit+ utilities.) 

You will see that $4200/year in increase will not be enough to put you in the black for as much as 2 years if the reconditioning and vacancy costs are anywhere near my expectation.

Yes, eventually you are going to have to face this $7000+ hurdle, but if you are cash flowing now, I would recommend a $50 rent increase this year ($1,200 / year) and another $50 rent increase next year as well. This will put you closer to market value, give your tenants time to acclimate to the new pricing, and push back the reconditioning / vacancy costs. One tenant may also leave before the other cutting that cost in half and making it easier to continue forward without breaking in to the piggy bank.

There is no clear cut answer to this issue, only understanding what the risks are in either decision. The best investors that I deal with evaluate their deals by risk more so than reward. It is easy to cause a home to lose a years worth (or more) of cash flow... it's not just about income, it's also about expenses as well.