The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show

How does a Menards manager with a W-2 job and two kids build a real estate business on 300 hours a year?
Chris Morgan of The Six Realty and loanDepot has house hacked four times in ten years, moving from Northside to Hamilton's east side to Reading. In this episode, he breaks down the CMHA vs. Butler Metro Housing Authority divide, why voucher vendor relationships matter more than the program itself, and the delegation playbook that turned his real estate side hustle into $70K a year on part-time hours.
We also cover:→ Why the east side of Hamilton means higher cash flow and higher headaches→ CMHA's inconsistent inspections vs. Butler Metro's relationship-driven process→ What to expect when renovating 100+ year old Cincinnati housing stock (knob-and-tube, cast iron, plaster and lath)→ Chris's advice for balancing a W-2, a growing family, and an active portfolio
Whether you're weighing your first house hack or trying to figure out how to scale investing around a full-time job, this episode is a real-world guide to building slowly, delegating early, and choosing the right submarket.
🎙 Guest: Chris Morgan, real estate agent with The Six Realty and loan officer with loanDepot
🏙 Topics: House hacking · Section 8 and voucher programs · Butler County investing · Older home renovation · Balancing W-2 and real estate

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction: Meet Chris Morgan
• The Six Realty · loanDepot
• 01:00 – From Purdue to Menards: Chris's path into Cincinnati real estate
• 03:30 – First house hack in Northside (2019): A lucky deal behind a shuttered bar
• 04:00 – Northside in 2026: Why pricing now exceeds cash flow
• 05:00 – How 10 years of Menards relationships led to off-market Hamilton deals
• 06:00 – Hamilton 101: East side vs. west side, cash flow vs. headaches
• 08:00 – Navigating the blurry lines between Hamilton, Fairfield, and West Chester Township
• 10:00 – Adding bedrooms to boost rent: The Pleasant Avenue case study
• 11:00 – CMHA vs. Butler Metro: Why voucher vendor relationships matter more than the program
• 14:00 – Inside CMHA's inconsistent inspection process
• 16:00 – How CMHA's new rent reasonableness and affordability calculation works
• 20:00 – House hacking advice: Choose a little discomfort to force your next move
• 22:30 – The #1 reason house hackers fail: No reserves
• 23:30 – Renovating 100+ year old homes: Narrow stairs, cast iron sewer stacks, and moving walls
• 27:00 – Plaster and lath: Why it's not drywall and what happens when you open a wall
• 29:30 – Knob-and-tube wiring and the insurance question
• 30:00 – The sewer rat story: A 145-year-old Northside basement
• 31:00 – Balancing a W-2, real estate, and a young family
• 33:00 – $70K on 300 hours: Chris's delegation math
• 34:00 – Why a good W-2 job (and insurance) is worth keeping early on
• 35:30 – Building a team: TC, property manager, lending and realtor partners
• 36:00 – Add and elevate: Delegating everything below your highest-value work
• 37:00 – Cincinnati hidden gems: Agave and Rye, Mount Airy, and Thai Lam in Reading
• 38:00 – Closing thoughts and episode wrap

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

Joe Fairless co-founded Ashcroft Capital, whose apartment portfolio has grown into the billions, and built Best Ever CRE into the longest-running daily real estate podcast, with roughly 50 million downloads. He started this Cincinnati meetup 11 years ago. Now he's back to talk about what halfway through 2026 looks like for multifamily operators.

In this episode, Joe breaks down why Ashcroft sold two deals for a loss last year, the first time that's happened after 26 profitable exits from 2015 to 2021. We cover the domino effect of buying at 2021's low cap rates with floating-rate debt, why maturing loans are forcing sales now, and how supply, not just rates, drove the downturn.

We also get into why the Midwest has weathered this cycle better than the Sun Belt. Cincinnati cap rates were already close to today's interest rates, and the metro held positive rent growth while Sun Belt markets went flat to negative on a supply glut. Joe covers where Class A, B, and C multifamily stand right now and why Class C has almost no active buyer pool right now, which he sees as an opportunity.

Worth the listen alone: Joe walks through a deal where the cost to renew a rate cap on a floating-rate loan went from $30,000 to $1.3 million as interest rates rose.

What you will learn:-Why Ashcroft sold two deals for a loss after 26 straight profitable exits-How a rate cap renewal went from $30,000 to $1.3 million and wrecked a pro forma-Why Cincinnati and the Midwest are handling this downturn better than the Sun Belt-How Class A, B, and C multifamily are trading differently right now-Why there's effectively no buyer pool for Class C deals right now-How rising syndication stigma is changing capital-raise conversations-What the Best Ever Inner Circle growth system does for operators

If this episode gave you a clearer read on where multifamily stands in 2026, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

📲 Follow @thecincyreishow on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss a conversation like this one. Leave us a five-star review if we've added value.

Want to connect with Joe Fairless or learn more about Ashcroft Capital and the Best Ever Inner Circle? Tune in and reach out to the guests and hosts directly through the show.

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🎙 Guest: Joe Fairless: Co-Founder, Ashcroft Capital; Founder, Best Ever CRE
🏙 Topics: The Multifamily Market Halfway Through 2026, Why Ashcroft Sold at a Loss, The $30K-to-$1.3M Rate Cap Problem, Midwest vs. Sun Belt, Class A/B/C Multifamily Right Now, The Class-C Opportunity, The Syndication Stigma, The Best Ever Inner Circle

Timestamps:0:00 - Intro: Joe Fairless, Best Ever CRE, Ashcroft Capital1:00 - Joe's focus, mid-2025 to today4:00 - "First time we had sold for a loss"5:00-6:00 - The rate cap: $30,000 to $1.3 million8:00 - Why Midwest rates only rose to where cap rates were9:00 - Midwest rent growth vs. flat/negative Sun Belt
10:00 - Why maturing 2026 loans are forcing sales
12:00 - Where Joe's optimism about the cycle comes from
15:00-17:00 - Cincinnati's C-class opportunity and supply constraints
18:00-19:00 - No buyer's market for Class C; the Orlando deal
20:00-21:00 - $55K-to-$70K/month revenue example
21:00-23:00 - Why they sold at a loss; recapitalize vs. sell
24:00-25:00 - The syndication stigma question
26:00-28:00 - The Best Ever Inner Circle explained
29:00-30:00 - Blossom Doughnuts, Cincinnati hidden gem

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

In this solo episode, Slocomb breaks down what he calls the Infinite Real Estate Glitch: the two components that remove the ceiling on how much real estate you can acquire, fund, and execute on.

It's not a get-rich-quick pitch, it's a dozen years of reps, mistakes, and relationships distilled into a repeatable framework.

We also cover:

• The two components: forcing appreciation and leverage, and how they compound
• Real deal breakdowns: a cottage bought for $180K all-in, selling for $270K
• A sale-leaseback deal where Slocomb walked away with a check and the house
• A 50/50 flip with a capital partner: $110K all-in on a $185K ARV
• Scaling up: taking down six 12-unit buildings at once with a partner and outside capital
• Why "other people's money" only works once you've proven the playbook solo

Whether you're just starting to force appreciation on your first deal or looking to scale into partnerships and larger acquisitions, this episode lays out the exact mechanics of building wealth through real estate with very little of your own capital or time.

🎙 Host: Slocomb Reed, Three Little Pigs & Keller Williams Seven Hills Realty

🏙 Topics: Forced appreciation · BRRRR strategy · Hard money lending · Leverage · Raising capital · Cincinnati real estate

Timestamp:

• 00:00 – Cold open: all-in for $180K, selling for $270K
• 00:02 – The two components intro: forcing appreciation
• 00:04 – Component two: leverage & debt
• 00:08 – Cuteness break with his daughters
• 00:10 – Queen City Pulse (Cincinnati development news)
• 00:12 – Bonus component: investing with other people's money
• 00:15 – Example 1: the Cottage on Winton Woods
• 00:16 – The $180K all-in / $270K sale breakdown
• 00:18 – Example 2: the Mount Airy Ranch sale-leaseback
• 00:20 – Example 3: the 50/50 flip ($110K all-in, $185K ARV)
• 00:23 – Example 4: the six-building, 12-unit apartment deal with Ian Cruz
• 00:24 – Three Little Pigs ad / platform overview
• 00:26 – Cincinnati as an evergreen market, Best Ever Meetup mention
• 00:29 – Disclaimer

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

Garth Kukla spent nearly a decade wholesaling in Northern Kentucky full-time, and by the end, he wasn't doing any outbound marketing.

A 19-year sales background, a reputation for never losing a deal he got under contract, and a network built on generous referral fees turned his operation into 100% inbound by 2021. He knows Covington, Newport, Bellevue, and Dayton the way most investors know their own street.

In this episode, Garth breaks down what Northern Kentucky real estate actually looks like on the ground:

• How to read Covington's pockety neighborhood dynamics, where Mainstrasse Village's value effect actually stops, and why Newport has completely transformed since Ovation broke ground.
• We also map the ripple effects into Bellevue and Dayton, including flood zone considerations buyers often miss, plus the wholesaling mindset that made Garth's operation work, from his one-question seller qualifier to why shrinking his team made him more profitable.

If you've ever wondered whether Northern Kentucky is worth adding to your Cincinnati investing strategy, Garth's street-level breakdown is the clearest picture you'll find anywhere.

What you will learn:

• How to read Covington's neighborhood pockets and avoid overpaying based on a seller's inflated zip code logic
• Where Mainstrasse Village's value effect actually ends and what's happening just south of it
• Why Newport real estate has surged since 2016 and how far the Ovation effect has spread
• What's driving Bellevue and Dayton appreciation, and what flood zone exposure looks like in those markets
• The one qualifying question Garth used to cut unqualified sellers in under a minute
• Why telling a seller they'd make more with a realtor is one of the most effective closing tools in wholesaling
• How Garth transitioned from full outbound marketing to 100% referral-based deal flow by 2021

📲 Follow @thecincyreishow on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss a conversation like this one. Leave us a five-star review if we've added value, it helps us bring more expert operators like Garth to the show.

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🎙 Guest: Garth Kukla | Full-Time Wholesaler, Northern Kentucky (2016-2024)

🏙 Topics: NKY Wholesaling, Referral-Based Deal Flow, Covington's Neighborhood Pockets, Mainstrasse Village, Newport's Ovation Development, Bellevue & Dayton Appreciation, Flood Zone Risks, Seller Motivation, NKY Hidden Gems

Timeline:

00:00 Cold open: West Newport's transformation

00:01 Introductions and background

00:02 Defining wholesaling and Garth's referral model

00:04 Transition to 100% referral by 2021

00:06 Superpowers: closing, networking, shrinking the team

00:07 The magic qualifying question

00:08 Closing technique: "you'd make more with a realtor"

00:10 Pivot to NKY: Covington's pockety geography

00:11 Covington deep dive: Latonia, 10th & Greenup, Licking Riverside

00:13 Mainstrasse Village: real boundaries

00:14 Below 9th to MLK: gentrification and the Pendleton analogy

00:15 Queen City Pulse: $200M+ in Cincinnati development

00:18 Mainstrasse appeal: bars, restaurants, Airbnb demand

00:20 Newport intro: the Ovation development

00:21 Bill Butler's long play: land assembly to development

00:22 Urban Kroger thesis: walkable demand, food hall model

00:23 The Ovation effect: how Newport blew up

00:25 13th Street: pennies on the dollar to Home-A-Rama builds

00:27 Ripple effect: Bellevue and Dayton absorb priced-out buyers
00:28 Bellevue specifics: Fairfield Ave chokepoint, flood zones

00:29 Dayton: the stalled Manhattan Project

00:30 Garth's first deal: 411 Taylor in Bellevue

00:33 Northern Kentucky hidden gems

00:34 George Rogers Clark Park: an underrated gem

00:36 Disclaimer and close

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

Izzy Ong has processed evictions every single month as Director of Operations for TLP Property Management. She built the system that handles delinquency from day one of the month through setout day, and TLP has a 100% success rate in front of Hamilton County magistrates.

In this episode, Izzy and Slocomb walk through the exact TLP eviction process from first contact before rent is late through the moment a bailiff's deputy is standing at the door. We cover how automated outreach and human-to-human tenant relations work together, why posting a three-day notice should never be a surprise to the tenant, and how rental assistance organizations fit into the timeline after a filing.

We also get into what landlords and third-party clients never have to deal with when TLP is managing the process, why the vast majority of three-day notices never result in a filing, and what documentation and language choices protect you in court.

What you will learn:

• How TLP structures communication from day five through setout day
• Why treating tenants with dignity produces better financial outcomes
• Which rental assistance organizations serve Greater Cincinnati and when they release funds
• Why an eviction filing hits a tenant's background check the moment it is submitted
• What documentation and lease language protect the landlord in court
• How to maximize collections after a setout using SSN, DOB, and employer information
• 
  

📲 Follow @thecincyreishow so you never miss a conversation like this one. Leave us a five-star review if we've added value. Visit yourhouseofbricks.com to connect with TLP Property Management.

🎙 Guest: Izzy Ong, Director of Operations, TLP Property Management

Timestamps:00:00 – Introduction: Meet Izzy Ong02:00 – Inherited Tenants and Monthly Eviction Volume02:45 – Izzy's Origin Story: Leasing Agent to Director of Operations04:30 – The Core Principle: Dignity and Respect as the Highest-Return Strategy06:15 – The Rent Cycle: Due the 1st, Late the 2nd, Fees on the 6th06:45 – Day 5 Automation: AppFolio Outreach Before Late Fees Apply07:30 – Days 6+: TROs Calling Every Delinquent Tenant09:00 – Izzy: The Human Connection Is the Real Secret13:00 – No Exceptions on Late Fees15:30 – How Notices Are Posted: Folded, Photographed, and Immediately Texted17:45 – Day 4 Endorsement: Filing Happens the Moment It Hits the Attorney18:00 – Why the Filing Date Matters: It Hits Background Checks Immediately21:00 – TLP's 100% Court Success Rate (and Why Court Is Still a Loss)22:30 – The Assistance Timing Problem: Most Programs Require a Filed Eviction23:30 – The Big Three: JFS, St. Vincent de Paul, and United Way25:00 – Women Helping Women and Hispanic Tenant Resources
28:00 – Court Day Protocol: TLP Texts Tenants Directions the Day Before
31:30 – Setout Day: Bailiff, Trash-Out Crew, Lock Change
33:00 – Dismissal vs. Judgment on a Background Check35:00 – The Real Result: Most Three-Day Notices Never Get Filed37:30 – Maximizing Post-Eviction Collections: SSN, DOB, Employer, Lease Renewals39:00 – Izzy: Documentation and Language Protect You in Court41:30 – The Closing Argument: Treating People Well Is the Highest-Return Strategy

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

Ethan Bishop has sold over 200 properties in Greater Cincinnati in six years as an agent with the Chabris Group at Keller Williams Seven Hills Realty. He knows which neighborhoods are flying off the shelf, which are quietly stalling, and where the next wave of development is headed before most investors have heard the street names.

In this episode, Ethan walks through his 2026 submarket breakdown for Greater Cincinnati. We cover why Loveland just had a $570K cash close on a home worth $500K, why the Milford and Loveland corridor is the most compelling land-play for the next decade, and what is actually happening in Norwood beyond the Factory 52 headlines. We also get into Green Township, Liberty Township, Lebanon, and the east side band from Goshen all the way up to Morrow, where DR Horton and Fisher Homes are buying up agricultural parcels as fast as they can.

Slocomb adds street-level context on school district boundaries, rental comp traps in Norwood, and why Evanston remains one of the hardest neighborhoods in the city to comp accurately. Ian brings the 12-unit Loveland perspective.

If you are trying to figure out where Cincinnati is heading over the next 10 to 15 years and where the entry price still makes sense, this episode is the map.

What you will learn:

- Why Loveland attracted a $570K cash offer on a home worth $500K, and what it signals about the east side

- Which submarket Ethan believes will look like Mason in 15 years

- The Milford, Loveland, and Lebanon pattern: why walkable small-town downtowns plus developable land is the most repeatable growth formula in Greater Cincinnati

- Why Norwood's 1960s brick inventory does not comp against Factory 52 and what that means for buyers

- The two-bedroom problem: why three beds minimum is the line for both flips and rentals across most Cincinnati submarkets

- Where the most affordable new construction is right now (Goshen, Batavia, Amelia, New Richmond)

- Why Green Township has three school districts and what to verify before buying

- What Kenwood Mall's continued dominance means for rental demand in the surrounding corridor

- Why Evanston is one of the most difficult neighborhoods in the city to underwrite and what happened to a buyer mid-inspection

If this episode gave you a clearer read on where Cincinnati is heading in 2026, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Follow @thecincyreishow on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss a conversation like this one. Leave us a five-star review if we added value.

Want to connect with Ethan Bishop or get eyes on a deal in Greater Cincinnati? Links in the show notes.

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Guest: Ethan Bishop, Agent, Chabris Group at Keller Williams Seven Hills Realty

Timestamps:

00:01:00 — Guest Intro: Ethan Bishop

00:04:00 — Loveland Deep Dive

00:09:00 — Milford Opportunity

00:12:00 — Queen City Pulse

00:14:00 — Norwood Intro

00:16:00 — Norwood Rental Market Warning

00:21:00 — Pleasant Ridge

00:23:00 — Kenwood Mall Deep Dive

00:27:00 — Green Township

00:29:00 — Lebanon

00:35:00 — MSA-Wide Market Check

00:36:00 — Evanston Warning

00:38:00 — Affordable New Construction

00:41:00 — Ethan's Hidden Gems

00:43:00 — Disclaimer

Slocomb Reed is the host of the Cincy REI Show, a partner at Three Little Pigs Investment Services, and has 12+ years investing block-by-block across Cincinnati's most nuanced neighborhoods. He hosted 400+ episodes of the Best Ever CRE Show before launching the Cincy REI Show with co-host Ian Cruz, a CPA and co-GP across 200+ units in Cincinnati. In this episode, they put that combined experience to work building a Cincinnati-specific list of the 17 biggest mistakes investors make in this market. No generic top 10 content. These are the things that actually cost people money here.

They cover older mechanicals unique to Cincinnati's pre-WWII housing stock, location traps that spreadsheets miss, the property tax reassessment cycle, why the cheapest service providers cost the most in the long run, and the single most profitable operating principle in this market.

If you are an out-of-state investor underwriting Cincinnati deals, the location section starting at mistake #9 is worth the listen alone.

What you will learn:

- Why no onsite laundry and missing parking kill leasing before it starts

- How to identify foundation, galvanized steel, aluminum wiring, and knob and tube issues before you close

- Why a sewer scope is non-negotiable on every deal regardless of property age

- How Cincinnati's three-year property tax reassessment cycle can quietly destroy your underwriting

- Why outsized spreadsheet returns are a red flag, not a win

- How to engage a property manager early enough that they can actually protect you

- Why disrespecting tenants is the most expensive mistake on this list

If this episode sharpened your Cincinnati due diligence process, share it with an investor who needs to hear it.

🎙 Hosts: Slocomb Reed, Host, Cincy REI Show & Partner, Three Little Pigs Investment Services | Ian Cruz, Co-Host, Cincy REI Show & Partner, Three Little Pigs Investment Services

🏙 Topics: Cincinnati Real Estate Due Diligence, Foundation Types in Cincinnati, Galvanized Steel and Aluminum Wiring, Knob and Tube Wiring, Sewer Scope Best Practices, Property Tax Reassessments in Ohio, Flood Zones in Cincinnati, Parking and Laundry as Leasing Factors, Neighborhood Micro-Location Analysis, School Districts and Property Values, Choosing Quality Service Providers, When to Engage a Property Manager, Over-Improving for the Location, Tenant Relations and Profitability

Timestamps:

-00:00 - Introduction: Slocomb and Ian count down the 17 biggest Cincinnati REI mistakes

-02:00 - #17: Not providing onsite laundry in multifamily

-04:30 - #16: Not checking for parking

-08:00 - #15: Not checking for flood zones

-10:30 - #14: Missing foundation cracks

-15:00 - #13: Missing galvanized steel plumbing

-17:00 - #12: Missing aluminum wiring

-20:00 - #11: Missing knob and tube wiring

-24:30 - #10: Not getting a sewer scope

-30:00 - #9: Assuming you are or aren't in Cincinnati

-33:00 - #8: Assuming neighborhoods and zip codes are homogenous

-36:00 - #7: Not checking for school districts

-39:00 - #6: Letting your spreadsheet determine what you buy

-43:00 - #5: Property tax reassessments

-48:00 - #4: Choosing the cheapest service providers

-52:00 - #3: Waiting too long to engage a PM

-57:00 - #2: Over-improving for the location

-60:00 - #1: Disrespecting your tenants

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

JD Schmerge has brokered multifamily deals across Greater Cincinnati for over eight and a half years, first at Marcus & Millichap and now as co-founder of Sabre Group. He has seen the full cycle. He also just bought his first property, a 7-unit in South Covington, and spent year one learning what eight years of brokerage didn't teach him.

In this episode, JD breaks down what the Cincinnati multifamily market actually looks like heading into the second half of 2026. We cover why Cincinnati didn't break when other markets did, how cap rate math in a seven to eight cap market behaves completely differently than a four to five cap market, and what low transaction volume actually signals for buyers who are still active.

We also get into the renovation threshold conversation that every operator holding value-add multifamily needs to hear. JD explains why there's a specific range of unit renovation completion, roughly 10% to 70%, that maximizes your buyer pool and your exit cap rate. Renovate too little and you have no proof of concept. Renovate too much and you've eliminated the upside buyers are willing to pay a premium for.

Ian and Slocomb bring their 70+ unit deal into the conversation directly. The takeaway: in this moment of the market cycle, C-class tenants are not paying more for upgraded kitchens and bathrooms. Affordability is the product. And the operators who understand that are positioning for a better exit, not a worse one.

We also get into insurance underwriting for 1930s construction, Ohio's drop and swap property tax strategy and how long it may last, the 2023 triennial's 65% average assessment increase, and what to watch heading into 2026 reassessments.

What you will learn:

- Why Cincinnati's seven to eight cap market protected operators when rates hit six and a half percent

- How two to three percent new construction keeps Cincinnati stable while other markets oversupply

- The 10% to 70% renovation threshold and why going above 70% shrinks your buyer pool

- Why C-class tenants are not paying rent premiums for updated units right now

- How to underwrite insurance on 1930s construction and what JD's policy taught him

- What drop and swap is and what the 2023 triennial actually looked like

- What buyers and lenders need to see in the first 12 to 24 months to justify a cash-out refi

Timestamps:

00:01:00 - Guest intro: JD Schmerge

00:03:00 - Cincinnati market overview

00:04:00 - Buyer behavior

00:06:00 - Why Cincinnati avoided distress

00:07:30 - Cincinnati's supply discipline

00:09:00 - A vs. C class bifurcation

00:11:00 - JD's own 7-unit in South Covington

00:12:30 - Leasing reality

00:13:30 - Rising operating costs

00:14:30 - Covington insurance deep dive

00:16:00 - Property tax comparison

00:18:30 - Ohio property tax legislation

00:19:30 - Drop-and-swap risk

00:21:30 - What makes JD buy a deal himself

00:23:30 - Parker Woods Flats (73 units) case study

00:25:00 - Exit strategy: "sell the dream"

00:26:30 - Affordability priority

00:28:00 - Ops philosophy

00:30:00 - Broker trend: partial renovation as proof of concept

00:32:00 - Slocomb's thesis on diminishing returns

00:34:00 - JD's rule of thumb

00:36:00 - Buyer profile shift 2021 vs. now

00:37:30 - Cincinnati hidden gems

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

Bret Halsey came to Cincinnati to play soccer for FC Cincinnati. He left with 70 units, 14 four-family acquisitions, and a direct-to-seller cold calling operation built from scratch, after nine months of calls before landing his first deal.

In this episode, Bret walks through how he identified Pleasant Ridge as his entry market, why he niched down on the 1960s brick bunker fourplex, and how he went from a single owner-occupant FHA purchase to flipping four-families as capital-raising vehicles for larger deals. He also tells the story of buying three Price Hill four-families at auction with no West Side experience, a six-month hard money loan, and a tenant who blew up one of the buildings.

Slocomb adds the operator's perspective on why Cincinnati's fourplex stock is one of the most replicable investment vehicles in any Midwest market: galvanized steel plumbing, aluminum wiring, boiler conversions, cast iron tubs, ceramic tile set in concrete, and why the same architecture that caps your rent upside also makes these properties nearly bombproof to own and operate.

We also cover why the 12-unit building in Cincinnati is the four-family's overlooked sibling, and why the owner-occupant buyer pool on the back end is what makes fourplex flipping work at a spread you can't find in commercial product.

If you are trying to break into Cincinnati off-market investing, the cold calling framework Bret describes: niching by neighborhood, building a 500-contact database, adjusting his pitch based on the owner's profile, is as practical a blueprint as this show has produced.

What you will learn:

• How Bret built a 500-contact, 120-lead database from the Hamilton County auditor's list
• Why nine months of cold calling with no deal is normal, not a failure signal
• How niching down to one neighborhood transformed Bret's underwriting confidence
• Why the 1960s brick bunker fourplex is the most replicable investment vehicle in Cincinnati
• What makes four-families viable for owner-occupants, house hackers, and investors, and why that dual buyer pool matters on the back end
• How Bret used four-family flips to accumulate capital and scale into a 20-unit
• The full mechanical breakdown on Cincinnati fourplexes: boilers, galvanized plumbing, aluminum wiring, baseboard heat conversions, and cast iron tubs
• Why the 12-unit building shares nearly every operational characteristic as the fourplex,and why most investors overlook it
• What happens when a tenant turns on the gas in a vacant unit, and what RCV insurance actually means when you need it
• How to adjust your cold calling pitch based on the seller's profile and portfolio size

🎙 Guest: Bret Halsey, Real Estate Investor and Former FC Cincinnati Professional Soccer PlayerTimestamps:

00:01:00 — Bret's backstory

00:02:00 — Cold calling origins

00:05:00 — Cold calling routine

00:07:00 — Importance of niching down

00:09:00 — Why four-families

00:11:00 — Pivot: BRRRR to flip-and-scale

00:13:30 — Four-family flip thesis

00:19:00 — Financing advantage

00:19:30 — 100% financing model

00:25:00 — Negatives of four-families

00:31:00 — Four-family valuation

00:31:30 — Renovation playbook

00:36:00 — 12-unit parallel

00:39:00 — Missed deal lessons

00:40:00 — Price Hill explosion

00:43:00 — Why Pleasant Ridge

00:46:00 — Cincinnati hidden gems

The Cincinnati Real Estate Investing Show is hosted by Slocomb Reed and Ian Cruz. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and share with a fellow investor.

Slocomb Reed Bought Brandon Turner's Distressed 24-Unit Apartment Using A Master Lease.. A Year after being the agent who sold it to him. Here's the full story 👇🏽

In 2019, Slocomb cold-emailed Brandon Turner a BiggerPockets buy-and-hold report on an off-market deal in Cleves. Brandon replied in under an hour. Within days, Slocomb was representing him as a buyer's agent. A year later, Brandon was done with it, three property managers in 14 months, and he wanted out.

The deal structure Brandon proposed: a master lease starting the day due diligence cleared. Slocomb and his partner took over operations, collected rent, handled maintenance, and started turning units, while Brandon continued paying the mortgage, taxes, and insurance.

What you will learn:

• How Slocomb sourced a deal directly from Brandon Turner via a cold BiggerPockets email
• What a master lease agreement looks like in practice and why both sides agreed in a heartbeat
• How to reposition a distressed property before you own it
• Why Cleves operates more like a tertiary market than a Cincinnati submarket, and why that works in your favor
• How utility structure (water provider, electric vs. gas heat) directly impacts NOI and cap rate
• Why $775 is a strong rent in Cleves and a warning sign in Westwood
• The Amazon wage effect and what workforce employment shifts mean for affordable housing demand
• Why Three Rivers Schools drives rental demand from tenants who do not even live in the district
• What transitions between property managers cost you, and how to protect yourself on day one

📲 Follow @thecincyreishow so you never miss a conversation like this one. A five-star review helps us keep bringing neighborhood-level expertise to every episode.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Cold open: The master lease teaser
• 00:45 – Welcome to the Cincy REI Show: The Brandon Turner episode
• 02:00 – BiggerPockets era investing: What BP meant to investors who started 2012-2015
• 03:30 – The cold email: Slocomb hears Brandon on a Thursday morning podcast, builds a BP report, sends it to [email protected]
• 05:00 – Brandon replies in under an hour: "Can I call you in 15 minutes?"
• 06:00 – Acting as Brandon's buyer's agent: Off-market, 24 units in Cleves, built in 1978
• 08:00 – Why Cleves acts like a tertiary market inside I-275
• 10:00 – Why quality property managers wouldn't touch 24 small one-bedrooms 20+ minutes from everything else they manage
• 12:00 – Brandon's three property managers in just over a year: What went wrong
• 13:30 – Slocomb texts Brandon the moment he hears the outro mention
• 15:00 – Being surrounded by single-family: Why isolation from other multifamily gives you pricing control
• 17:00 – Cleves Water Works: Less than half the cost per volume of Greater Cincinnati Water Works
• 18:30 – All-electric, no gas: Tenant-paid heat, landlord-paid water only
• 20:00 – The master lease structure: Brandon proposed it, not Slocomb
• 22:00 – Queen City Pulse: Banks development, Newport Steel site, Conrad in Miami Township, Walnut Hills LIHTC, Cincinnati Park Score
• 24:00 – How the deal worked: Brandon pays PITI, Slocomb collects rent, pays utilities and maintenance, starts turning units
• 26:00 – Purchase price increased by 3 months of mortgage payments: Why the math worked for both sides
• 27:30 – 15 occupied, 9 rent-paying: What the first 30 days of operations actually looked like
• 29:00 – "We were told no one would ever pay more than $575 in Cleves." Slocomb got $650 before he even owned it.
• 30:30 – Amazon's distribution center and the wage floor shift in western Cincinnati
• 33:00 – Why $775 works in Cleves but destroys NOI in parts of Westwood
• 35:00 – Property manager transitions: Why the first 30 days cost the most and how to protect yourself
• 37:00 – Three Rivers School District: Parents and grandparents renting one-bedrooms for the school address
• 38:00 – Cleves hidden gems: Marilee's Hardware and Make A Mia Pizza
• 39:00 – Closing thoughts and episode wrap