Gemini Properties II offers real estate investment and selling options for local residents

When he visits a house for the first time, David Falter, owner of Gemini Properties II in Tiffin, has a lot going through his mind. How much work will the home need, beyond what the owner even knows? Will it be possible to come out in the green on the other end of the process? Would this be a good investment, and will it help the owners? Falter, who started the real estate investment company Gemini Properties II in 2013, buying and rehabilitating houses in Tiffin at a pace of 1-2 homes per year, tries to thoroughly understand what a house and its owners need at the outset. "It's not just about making money for me, it's also about doing the right thing," Falter said. "I'm trying to help people. There are some rehabbers and investors who, as they say, 'put lipstick on a pig' — they go in and buy a house and make it look pretty, but they haven't done as much necessary work as they should, and it gives rehabbers a bad name," he said. "If there's an issue with a property, I'll fix it no matter the cost, and I'd never sell anyone a bad property — I work by the golden rule, in that sense." Falter also keeps up a real estate blog on the Gemini Properties II website, offering advice to current and potential homeowners and real estate investors alike. "I can help guide people sometimes," he said. Falter's perspective on real estate comes partly from his past work in construction and being a certified home inspector. He began inspecting homes in 2008 and, with the market crash in 2008 and subsequent government programs that were rolled out to offer help, Falter realized he could start Gemini Properties. "I started by doing 1-2 house rehabs per year, in Tiffin, and now I'm able to do 2-3 per year because I began contracting people to help me rehabilitate the homes," he said. Falter said he began working full-time as a real estate investor in 2016 and, though he still operates mostly in Tiffin, he purchased his first house outside of Tiffin (in Bellevue) in 2019. Along with private lending and real estate investment, Falter also recently partnered with a friend of his to start Dukeshire Construction. "Now I don't have to go out and find good people to work on rehabbing houses, which is almost impossible to do in this business," he said. "And putting our heads together on Dukeshire Construction just made sense, because my partner and I can cover most of the possible issues and surprises that inevitably come up during the rehabilitation process." Falter said he buys houses in all types of conditions and likes to help people in all variety of situations with a home they need to "get out from under." "Often people have limited time or resources to take care of their property, and things occur that make it so that people need to get out of a house quickly. "I've bought houses in many different states of disrepair, that doesn't bother me," he said. "Some people may want to just tear down a house in really bad shape, but I often see value in it." When asked about the current housing market situation in Tiffin, Falter was optimistic about the near future. "I think the market looks good right now," he said. "With the current local climate and the winter, people are still buying and selling, and there's of course the high demand." "There are rumors of a market correction, and if the inventory of available houses goes up then prices might drop, though for selling it should still be pretty good — fairly stable for another year or so at least," he said. He also said he hoped to continue to see more investment made in rehabilitating existing houses in Tiffin, and not only the development of brand-new housing options. "More power to developers and contractors, but the price of land is so high and the cost of building houses is so expensive that only some people can afford those new houses," he said. "There's a big market for people who can only afford a $100,000 house, and there are houses in town that have been a little neglected that can rehabilitated and the neighborhood can be brought back," he said. "What Tiffin needs is residential development, in town and not only outside the city." "My plan is to provide nice, safe affordable housing, and bring older houses to modern standards," he said. For more information about Gemini Properties II, Ltd. and to inquire about investing in or selling a house with the company, Falter can be reached by phone at (419) 618-2772, by email at David@geminiproperties.biz or visit Gemini Properties' Facebook page or website at www.geminiproperties.biz.