EP 013 | FC Cincinnati player to 70 Units: Bret Halsey's Cold Calling Playbook

EP 015 | 200+ Deals, One Agent: The Cincinnati Submarkets Heating Up Now

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. Subscribe. Share. Invest smarter. 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

EP 015 | Cincinnati Real Estate Due Diligence: 17 Mistakes That Cost Investors

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.

EP 014 | Inside Cincinnati's Apartment Market With a Multifamily Broker | JD Schmerge

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.

EP 013 | FC Cincinnati player to 70 Units: Bret Halsey's Cold Calling Playbook

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.

Ep 012 | I Bought Apartments From Brandon Turner. Here's The Story.

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 brandon@biggerpockets.com [brandon@biggerpockets.com] * 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