EP 010 | From 4 to 6 Units: The $10K Zoning Gamble That Added 30–40% in Value

Jeremy Komer is a Cincinnati-based real estate investor who specializes in value-add multifamily acquisitions in the city's older urban neighborhoods. Since pivoting from a career in aerospace after COVID, he has built a portfolio using nearly every financing tool available, from FHA house hacks to hard money, flips, and commercial construction loans, with a focus on forcing appreciation through creative deal structuring and density conversion.In this episode, Jeremy walks through one of his most complex deals: a direct-to-seller acquisition in Northside where he negotiated a creative parcel split, converted a neglected four-family into a six-unit, and navigated three rounds of Cincinnati's zoning variance process, all over a two-year period and just under $150,000 in total project costs.What you will learn in this episode:- How to find and negotiate directly with sellers, including a year of consistent follow-up before getting a yes- How to structure a parcel split to resolve a seller valuation gap without walking away from the deal- The three-stage Cincinnati zoning variance process and why you should expect to be rejected twice before getting approved- How a community petition helped win over the city's Plans Examiner- What changes when you cross from residential into commercial building code, and what will catch you off guard- How to use a commercial construction loan to avoid double closing costs on a value-add deal- What converting from four units to six units did to the property's appraised valueTimestamps:- 00:00 – Welcome & Live Mastermind Intro- 02:00 – Jeremy's Background: From Aerospace to Real Estate Investing- 04:30 – Finding the Seller: Cold Approach and a Year of Follow-Up- 07:00 – Negotiating the Parcel Split and the Valuation Standoff- 11:00 – How Cincinnati's Parcel Split Process Works (Costs, Steps & Risk)- 15:30 – The Shared Sewer Line Problem and How It Was Resolved- 20:00 – Why the Deal Was Worth the Due Diligence Risk- 23:30 – Deciding to Convert 4 Units to 6 — and the Value It Added- 27:00 – The Three-Stage Zoning Variance Process: Two Rejections Before Approval- 33:00 – How a Community Petition Won Over the Plans Examiner- 37:00 – Financing the Deal with a Commercial Construction Loan- 41:00 – Navigating Commercial Building Code for the First Time- 46:00 – Exterior Work, DOT Permits, and Blocking the Sidewalk- 50:00 – What Was Harder Than Expected- 54:00 – Final Numbers, BRRRR Recap, and Lessons for the Next DealThe 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.