We’re James, Malachi, and Jacob, and we’re family. We buy houses that need work and fix them properly. We’re new at this, and we’re not in a hurry. The first two houses we buy, in 2027, are the two we’ll live in ourselves.
We live in what we fix
We’re buying them to move into, fix properly, and stay. If we wouldn’t live in it, we won’t ask anyone else to. Everything we do after that starts there.
Why Youngstown
The cost of living is low, and there’s a lot of opportunity.
It’s a great spot, right between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
There’s a Jewish community, too. James and Malachi walk to shul on Shabbat, and being able to do that from Wick Park was a big part of why they chose it.
What we’re doing, and when
Two houses, both ours to live in. We’ll fix them with local trades and take our time.
More houses on the same streets, bought from people who want a straightforward sale. We’ll fix them the same way, keep them, and rent them out. How many? However many it turns into.
We’d like to hear from people thinking of selling a house in Youngstown, from neighbors with questions, and from local contractors and trades.
How we buy a house
One conversation about the house and what you want from selling it. It doesn’t commit you to anything.
One of us comes to see the house. You can have anyone you like there with you.
If the house isn’t right for us, we’ll say so plainly and leave you alone.
If it’s right for us, you get a written offer. Take as long as you need, and talk it over with anyone you trust.
What fixing properly means
That’s what makes a house good, and it’s what we’re going for, however long it takes. The first two are our own homes, so we’ll be living with every choice we make in them. The ones after that get the same work.
Why we keep them
A house you keep has to hold up for years, and when something goes wrong, you’re the one who answers for it. That’s the kind of owner we want to be. After our own two, the houses we fix get rented out, and we’ll be a landlord you can reach. We’re a family business, and we plan to be around for a long time.
אחים בתים
Achim is Hebrew for brothers and batim for houses — which is the whole company. We argued about it for a while. The mark is the letter bet, whose name means house. It’s built from three bricks, one for each of us.
The three of us
All three of us are handy, and we’ll do a lot of the work ourselves, alongside local trades.
James is married to Malachi, and he runs the business side. He keeps the three of us organized, which is harder than it sounds.
Malachi is James’s husband and Jacob’s brother. He’s the detail person, the one who notices what the rest of us miss.
Jacob is Malachi’s brother, so there really are brothers in Achim Batim. House two is going to be his place.
Thinking about selling?
No obligation. If your house isn’t for us, we’ll say so plainly.
One of us reads it and writes back.