Investment Property

Investment Property in Indiana, Run Before You Buy

Rentals, flips and split parcels in Shelby County and the towns along I-65, evaluated on three numbers rather than on how the house photographs.

Why this page exists

She owns and renovates in the same market she sells in

Jennifer buys property in Shelby County and the towns along I-65, renovates it, and holds or resells it. That is not a sideline bolted onto a sales practice, it is the reason the numbers conversation starts earlier with her than with an agent who has only ever represented a primary residence.

It means she can price a rehab with local trades from memory, knows which contractors finish on time, and has held a rental through a bad tenant rather than only read about it. It also means clients bring her split parcels and problem properties that other agents pass on.

Her wider practice is set out on the about page, and the seller’s guide covers the exit side when you are ready to sell one. The disclosure, stated plainly: she is an active investor in this market. If a property she is representing you on is one she would otherwise want herself, you are told in writing before anything proceeds. That is the arrangement, and it is made up front rather than discovered later.

The evaluation

Three numbers decide whether it works

Everything else is detail. Any investment property Indiana deal lives or dies on these three, and no amount of enthusiasm about the kitchen saves one where the numbers do not clear.

Acquisition

What you pay, plus what you pay to borrow it. Purchase price, closing costs, and the real cost of the money including points and the rate premium an investment loan carries over an owner-occupied one.

Rehab

The real scope, priced by the people who will actually do the work, not a number from a spreadsheet. Then add the contingency, because something behind a wall will surprise you. On a house of this age, something always does.

Exit

Rent it or resell it, and what the comparable sales actually support either way. This is where thin comps bite hardest, because one unusual sale can make a whole street look like something it is not.

Run the numbers

ROI calculator

Change any figure and everything recalculates. Nothing is sent anywhere, it runs entirely in your browser.

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Frequently asked

Investing in these towns

You buy investment property yourself. Is that a conflict?

It is a disclosure, and it is made in writing before anything else happens. If a property I am representing you on is one I would otherwise want, you hear that up front and you can decide what to do with it. What you get in exchange is someone who has actually priced a rehab with local trades and held a rental through a bad tenant, rather than someone reciting it from a course.

What actually makes a deal work in Shelby County?

Entry price. The towns along I-65 and east of it still have houses where the purchase plus a realistic rehab lands under what the finished comps support, which is the whole basis of a flip, and where rent covers the carry with room left, which is the basis of a hold. That gap has closed in most of the Indianapolis metro. It has not closed here yet.

How do you finance a first investment property?

Conventional investment loans generally want 15% to 25% down and price the rate higher than an owner-occupied loan. Some buyers start by house-hacking a duplex with an owner-occupied loan, living in one side for a year. Hard money exists for flips and is expensive, which is fine on a short hold and ruinous on a long one. The calculator above has a loan field so you can see the difference.

What is a realistic vacancy and management assumption?

In these towns I would not model below 5% vacancy, and 8% is more honest for a single unit. Property management typically runs 8% to 10% of collected rent if you are not self-managing. Both are in the calculator because leaving them out is how a deal looks good on paper and loses money in practice.

What is a split parcel and why do they keep coming up?

A property where the land can be, or already has been, divided into more than one legal parcel. They are common in older Indiana towns and they trip up agents who have not dealt with one. Sometimes the value is in splitting, sometimes the split is what is blocking financing. One of my reviews is a client thanking me for closing one that was, in his words, not normal and not easy.

Do you work with out-of-state investors?

Yes, and it is a growing share. What matters is that someone walks the property honestly on your behalf and tells you what the photographs are hiding. If you want a yes-man you will be disappointed; if you want to know before you wire funds, that is the job.

Bring her a deal to look at

Send the address and the asking price. She will tell you what she thinks it needs and whether the numbers clear. If they do not, she will say that too. See the buyer’s guide for the purchase sequence, or search current listings.

Send Her A Deal