Nathan is one of the hardest working guys I know. He throws himself into whatever he’s working on, whether it is his job as an account executive, his kids’ backyard treehouse, or his fitness coaching over at the Cleveland Heights Community Center. So, at first, I was surprised to hear him say that he was thinking about quitting his corporate job for a startup. It’s not that I doubted he would succeed at it, I’ve just never known the guy to quit anything. But, when he explained that he wanted to build a business out of flipping houses in Cleveland, Ohio like I’d done over the years, it made perfect sense.

Nathan has a knack for renovating, isn’t afraid to tackle tough projects, and has the kind of passion for real estate that I typically only see in investors like me. In fact, after thinking about it more, I asked him why he hadn’t already made the switch. He admitted that he was afraid to leave a steady paycheck behind—especially if he entered into the market at the wrong time. After all, he had kids to think about. Of course, I understood. Even so, I told him, his timing couldn’t be better.

A Bird’s Eye View on Flipping Houses in Cleveland, Ohio

Figuring out the best time to start a career flipping houses is a consideration that’s always worth taking your time—no matter where on the map you call home. But, because Cleveland doesn’t typically make headlines as a hot real estate market, you might wonder if the investment climate here is cooler than other places around the country. And, like Nathan, that might kindle doubt over whether turning flipping houses into a good business is even possible. If you’ve also got a family to support, like he does, diving into an uncertain market without a steady paycheck can look like a crash landing just waiting to happen.

But, if there is one thing I am certain of, it’s that the timing is right to start flipping houses in Cleveland. Let me tell you why.

First of all, unemployment in Cleveland is falling thanks to the steady rise of good-paying jobs. In fact, in the last three months alone, the region’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.2% to 4.4%. With the manufacturing, transportation, and hospitality industries adding new job opportunities all the time, that number is slated to decline even further in the months and years ahead. And, new venture partnerships such as those supported by the Flashstarts accelerator program and the Cleveland200 fund are pulling new startups—and new industries—into the city, too. You might not now think of Cleveland as a major hub for the software and IT sectors. But, these seed-stage business investors are out to change your mind.

The reason this information is good to keep in mind when considering Cleveland as your hub for buying houses to renovate and resell is pretty simple. Low unemployment typically leads to high consumer confidence. That has a positive effect on the local economy and its housing market. When people can afford to buy big-ticket items like a house, they usually do. And, if you’re ready to sell one of your recently rehabbed homes when they’re ready to sign mortgage papers, you’ll make some new homeowner—and, likely, your pocketbook—very happy.

Plus, the expansion of some industry sectors and the addition of others—particularly those that bring in jobs that pay well—will create a new pool of potential buyers who need housing. When the demand for housing increases, so do the prices of the homes being sold. And, in Cleveland, that’s exactly what we’re seeing. Listing prices have already increased by 8.6% year-over-year and sellers are getting close to 97% of the asking price. If you found off-market properties and bought them at below-market prices during this time, your bottom line probably got a nice boost.

But, even if you didn’t, you haven’t missed out. Though Cleveland’s economy is strong and fewer homeowners have entered the foreclosure pipeline in recent years, many families remain financially stressed. This can result from a divorce, illness, or other difficult life transition. So, the number of distressed homeowners currently looking for “solutions for ugly situations®” is still significant. Since they need to move fast so they don’t fall further behind on their finances, approaching these distressed homeowners often yields the best deals. And, because the number of new home buyers entering the market isn’t expected to taper off anytime soon, your chances of selling for decent returns after performing a good rehab could be pretty great.

So, if the timing is right to start investing in Cleveland real estate, what’s the best way to dive in to ensure you create the greatest potential for repeatedly realizing good returns? Getting the right training under your belt, a solid system of support in place, and reliable access to a steady stream of motivated home seller leads. And, all of that is available right here in Cleveland, too.

Dive Into House Flipping With the Best Training, Support, and Leads

When I started flipping houses in Cleveland, Ohio, my timing was only okay—if we just look at how the real estate market was doing. But, because I entered the market as an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee, I did more than okay. And, I attribute much of my success to the initial week-long comprehensive training I received. But, I also got ongoing support from my fellow franchisees and critical advice from a seasoned Development Agent that helped me put my training to practical use. It certainly didn’t hurt that I was also given access to a variety of proprietary marketing tools and resources to help me source some of the best qualified leads from day one.

Since I bring quite a bit of my own elbow grease to everything I work on, just like my pal Nathan, I didn’t exactly doubt that I would succeed at flipping houses here in Cleveland, Ohio. But, being able to dive in with the success of a HomeVestors® franchise behind me helped to take my professional real estate investment business-building skills to the next level. If you’ve got the kind of passion and work ethic that Nathan and I do, and you join the HomeVestors® team, you might just be able to succeed at a professional real estate investing career, too.

Dive into house flipping by taking your skills, support, and quality of leads up a notch. Contact HomeVestors® about opening your own Cleveland franchise today!

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.