Cleveland area business

[scott22]

I am moving to the Cleveland area within a year. My question would be what is the market like in Cleveland? What is the availability of work? Any information would be helpful.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

I am moving to the Cleveland area within a year. My question would be what is the market like in Cleveland? What is the availability of work? Any information would be helpful.

Thanks,

Scott

Well Scott, it's like this. YOU'RE SO SCREWED!

Cleveland just found its way to the top of the list of the twenty worst places to live. It has, on average some of the worst weather in the US. Its city and county governments are known for stifling mismanagement and corruption on a scale that would make the Big Easy or the Windy City look like Boy Scout Jambourees.

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have lost more than 5% of their population in just the last 10 years.

Perhaps the following links will be helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM&feature=related.

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

I couldn't have said that any nicer! Scott-check your pm.

 

[TEL2002]

There are about 1100 appraisers in NE Ohio. With the bulk of them in the counties of Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark & Medina. Some NE Ohio counties only have 1-10 appraisers, but Cuyahoga County has over 500 if I remember correctly.

I live between Akron, Canton and Massillon in sorta a semi rural area. You wanna buy my house? It is currently listed for sale because I am moving to Louisiana. 2200 sqft capecod, 17 years old, 3 virgin timber wooded acres, full basement, 864 sqft barn, all new carpet, new paint, new upstairs bath, and a great school district. I am located 54 miles south of downtown Cleveland and about 20 miles south of the 'lake effect snow belt' area.

GM just announced today that they were going to add a 3rd shift at their Lordstown plant (just west of Youngstown) and they are going to build a new car there. Will this be the start of the economic turn around for the area?????? Sure hope so.

Down here we don't get involved in the Cleveland politics and a crime wave here is someone speeding down the street. I read the worst cities report and I do think Cleveland got a bum rap from the report. Cleveland has some of the finest medical treatment facilities in the world. We have some great colleges in the local area (Akron U, Kent State, Tri C, Stark State, NEOUCOM (medical school), etc. From where I live, I can be in downtown Akron, Canton or Massillon in 15-20 minutes. Akron has its own AA baseball team the Aeros. Cleveland (50 minutes north) has Pro football, baseball & basketball. My house is 10-12 minutes from the Akron Canton Airport and the Cleveland airport is about 50 minutes. People actually live in this vicinity and commute to Chicago each day, via flights out of AC Airport because it is sooooo much cheaper to live here. There are two ski places 25 minutes north of us (Boston MIlls and Brandywine). There are 3 major state parks within 70 miles of here and all have lakes, lodges, etc. etc.. You can be in Cleveland, Pittsburg, Columbus, Toledo, Detroit, and bygod West Virginia in less than 3.5 hours. We have a HUGE bike/hike trail system that goes all the way from the south side of Cleveland to about 25 miles south of me. 2 or 3 days a week you can catch a local tourist train that runs near the trail and for $2-3 dollars ride the train one way for 2-20 miles then bike/hike back to your car. There are several lakes in the immediate area (called the Portage Lakes area). More NE in Ohio is some great wine country. If you like wine, you would love taking some tours of the area. The world's largest population of Amish is located about 35 minutes SW of here in the Wayne & Holmes county area...it is a great area to visit. Cleveland has professional theatre and a symphony orchestra. Akron U has major entertainment come in every year. In Medina county there is a small airport where you can take glider flying lessons. I've lived here since 1986 and have really enjoyed my time here.

Has the area taken some economic hits. You betcha. Just like most of the country.

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

I hope readers of this thread understand by now that I was kidding. Cleveland, Akron, and surrounding exurban areas are some of the greatest places in the country to raise a family and enjoy life. Despite higher that average taxes, and all the other problems generally associated with Cleveland, it is affordable and livable on so many levels.

I presume, Scott, that your spouse will soon have an opportunity to relocate here. For whom does she work or in what industry?

Appraisal opportunities are few, at the moment, due to the decline in business and especially on the residential end. However, things might change in a year. In any case, feel free to PM me or any of the forum members from this area and ask for advice.

 

[Tony in Ohio]

Hi Scott,

Welcome to the area. Like the others said there is a lot of Good and a lot of Bad. Cleveland has a bad reputation and much of it is earned. It is an old Rust belt city that has been hit hard by a declining industrial base and the government and city leaders have not helped a lot in shifting the focus to other areas, although in fairness, they have done some good things and it is a huge job.

I moved here about a decade ago and do enjoy it most of the time. There are lots of good suburban and even some good urban areas. I also would be glad to give you some help with any specifics.

On the negative side, there are way too many appraisers in the market and establishing yourself will probably be difficult or at least require a major hit financially. Especially if you are residential. It can be fun though, because there is such a wide varity of properties. I cover 3 counties and neighborhoods range from 100+ year old houses in crack alley to 10,000 SF mansions (old and new). There are whole suburban cities of mid century boxes, lakefront Homes, Horse properties, and even Amish villages.

 

[Mary Tiernan]

Don't get too worked up about adding a third shift to the auto plant - they are making cars, but they aren't selling cars. Sound familiar?

 

[scott22]

Thanks for all the input. I appreciate all the info about Cleveland. My wife is from there and I have been numerous times. We are planning to move within a year and I hope to start an appraisal business as I have one here in Oregon. What is the average fee for a 1004? How many appraisals does anyone complete in a month?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Tony in Ohio]

Traditional fee was around $300 but I have heard of several people lowering their base fee's to $250. I have no idea what the AMC's are paying except that it is not very close to that or I suspect I would be getting some orders from them. Volume varies by appraiser. I am staying busy but do a lot of REO work. I know others that are only doing a few per month. You can get work, but given the amount of competition and the current market, it will take some effort and may not be the highest paying.

BTW, are you planning to be an east sider or a west sider? A large river valley cuts the area in half, and limits transportation lines somewhat so there is a more pronounced "regional split" than you find in most other cities.

 

[scott22]

$300, wow that is alot less than here in Portland Oregon. So your typical fee is $300? As far as east and west side, I do not know. Here in Portland I am willing to travel up to about 60 miles from downtown. I will have to see where exactly we settle down.