The Headline: Central Ohio is a buyer’s opportunity wrapped in an operator’s headache. Purchase inventory is at a ten-year high and sellers are negotiating. But 7%+ money, flat apartment rents, new Columbus landlord rules and a phasing-out Ohio property tax credit for rentals all squeeze your margins. My honest take: this is a stock-picker’s market. […]
The Headlines: · Central Ohio has more homes for sale than at any point in a decade · Mortgage rates just crossed 7%. · Prices are still rising That is a rare combination. It means buyers finally have leverage, and sellers who price right still win. Here’s my honest read after 40 years in this business: this is […]
The headline: Ohio had the steepest drop in homeownership affordability in the nation from 2020 to 2025, according to the National Housing Conference’s new Priced Out report. The number that should stop you cold: In five years, we went from two out of three working people being able to buy to one in four. Firefighters, mail carriers, EMTs, and […]
I’ve had plenty of conversations with people who tell me they found a great rental property. “The rent is $2,000 and my mortgage will only be $1,400.” Sounds pretty good. Until we start adding up everything else. One of the biggest mistakes new landlords make is confusing rent collected with profit. They aren’t the same […]
Bayer is building a $2.2 billion pharmaceutical plant in New Albany. Governor DeWine called it the largest international healthcare project in Ohio history and the biggest German direct investment the state has ever landed. Both true. Neither is the headline for investors. The headline: Central Ohio is no longer betting on one company. It’s building […]
Two Policy Shocks, One Opportunity September handed investors two cost increases in the same month. The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in three years, and Ohio’s property tax reform quietly started phasing out the 10% tax credit landlords have collected for decades. Most investors will read that as “sit this one out.” […]
One of the first questions I hear from real estate investors is: Should I buy for cash flow or appreciation? My answer is usually: It depends. I know that’s not a very satisfying answer. But after 40 years in real estate, I’ve learned that investing rarely fits neatly into one formula. Cash Flow Is What […]
The Fed Just Raised Rates. Central Ohio Didn’t Flinch. On September 16, the Federal Reserve did what almost nobody forecast a year ago: it raised rates, a quarter point, to 3.75%–4.00%. The vote was 12–0. Mortgage rates had already front-run the move, climbing to 6.95% — their highest reading in more than a year. Here’s […]
Every October, thousands of people drive to Hocking Hills to see the leaves. Most of them get it wrong. They show up a week early and find green, or a week late and find bare branches. Or they hit the right weekend and spend it in a parking line at Old Man’s Cave. Peak color […]
I own both. And they’re very different businesses. A lot of investors look at a short-term rental and think: “I can charge $300 a night. That’s $9,000 a month!” Maybe. But that’s not how the math works. A short-term rental isn’t simply a long-term rental with a higher rent. It’s closer to running a small […]
