Looking to buy in Maryland near Baltimore

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Looking to buy in Maryland near Baltimore

Nick Halula
Member since 2023 · 9 posts · 2 votes

Greetings everyone,

I am Nicholas, a 28-year-old travel nurse embarking on a new chapter in San Diego for the foreseeable future. Despite being a first-time homebuyer, I am highly motivated individual looking to dive into the world of real estate. My brother, a safety science manager in Severna Park, MD, possesses a wealth of connections in the construction industry, aligning our interests in venturing into real estate investments. Given San Diego's challenging market, we are exploring opportunities for long-distance investing in the more affordable Maryland region.

I am bringing approximately $150k to the table, while my brother has $20k. I seek advice on establishing a fair system that will eventually lead us to a 50/50 split as equal partners. Considering my brother's hands-on expertise and willingness to contribute through repairs and sweat equity, similar to a property manager to an extent. But are there any other recommendations on how to achieve this equal partnership? 

Our target lies in the $300k-$400k range, ideally a property with potential for improvement, whether as a fixer-upper or through strategic additions like square footage, extra baths, rooms, or an ADU. I am prepared to make the upfront investment for renovations, with the goal of increasing the property's value, getting it reappraised, and refinanced when interest rates are favorable.

In preparation for this journey, I have educated myself through various resources, including books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Book on Rental Property Investing, BRRRR, Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, Short-Term Rental/Long-Term Wealth, and The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor. I've also begun engaging with the Bigger Pockets forum and podcasts. I welcome any additional book recommendations or connections with experienced agents, lenders, or investors in this market. Hopefully we could create a mutually beneficial relationship!

Thank you in advance for your contributions to this vibrant community.

Best regards,

Nick

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  • Kyle DeutschmannPro Member
    Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2017 · 428 posts · 205 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Nick Halula:

    Greetings everyone,

    I am Nicholas, a 28-year-old travel nurse embarking on a new chapter in San Diego for the foreseeable future. Despite being a first-time homebuyer, I am highly motivated individual looking to dive into the world of real estate. My brother, a safety science manager in Severna Park, MD, possesses a wealth of connections in the construction industry, aligning our interests in venturing into real estate investments. Given San Diego's challenging market, we are exploring opportunities for long-distance investing in the more affordable Maryland region.

    I am bringing approximately $150k to the table, while my brother has $20k. I seek advice on establishing a fair system that will eventually lead us to a 50/50 split as equal partners. Considering my brother's hands-on expertise and willingness to contribute through repairs and sweat equity, similar to a property manager to an extent. But are there any other recommendations on how to achieve this equal partnership? 

    Our target lies in the $300k-$400k range, ideally a property with potential for improvement, whether as a fixer-upper or through strategic additions like square footage, extra baths, rooms, or an ADU. I am prepared to make the upfront investment for renovations, with the goal of increasing the property's value, getting it reappraised, and refinanced when interest rates are favorable.

    In preparation for this journey, I have educated myself through various resources, including books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Book on Rental Property Investing, BRRRR, Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, Short-Term Rental/Long-Term Wealth, and The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor. I've also begun engaging with the Bigger Pockets forum and podcasts. I welcome any additional book recommendations or connections with experienced agents, lenders, or investors in this market. Hopefully we could create a mutually beneficial relationship!

    Thank you in advance for your contributions to this vibrant community.

    Best regards,

    Nick


     Man, I'm jealous - I'd love to trade places and be out in San Diego! That being said, Maryland is a great state to invest in and sounds like you have a good starting position with the education, access to capital, and access to a family member in the area with a lot of great connections. 

    It's hard to say what is 'fair' - how much time will he invest into the deal vs. you? How much is that time worth? How much money vs. you? 

    I have a 50/50 partnership, and we went in 50/50 on the down payment and split the management responsibilities - I handle leasing and bookkeeping, he handles maintenance requests and occasionally DIYing some of the labor if he feels like saving us some money. 

    I recently used Zen Business to form an LLC - it took about 30 minutes. Super easy.

    I'd recommend you or your brother come out to some local meetups. I'm co-hosting one in Laurel coming up on Dec 14th, and some of the other preferred vendors for the Maryland Investors Network have additional upcoming meetups in Baltimore, Towson, etc. Our last event we had investors, realtors (who invest themselves), title agents, hard money and conventional lenders, flippers, contractors, handymen, etc. Great place to meet people and build your local 'team'. I have some great agents in the Baltimore and DC metro areas along with great local lenders if you need any recommendations still. 

    [email protected]
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  • Nick Halula
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Kyle Deutschmann:
    Quote from @Nick Halula:

    Greetings everyone,

    I am Nicholas, a 28-year-old travel nurse embarking on a new chapter in San Diego for the foreseeable future. Despite being a first-time homebuyer, I am highly motivated individual looking to dive into the world of real estate. My brother, a safety science manager in Severna Park, MD, possesses a wealth of connections in the construction industry, aligning our interests in venturing into real estate investments. Given San Diego's challenging market, we are exploring opportunities for long-distance investing in the more affordable Maryland region.

    I am bringing approximately $150k to the table, while my brother has $20k. I seek advice on establishing a fair system that will eventually lead us to a 50/50 split as equal partners. Considering my brother's hands-on expertise and willingness to contribute through repairs and sweat equity, similar to a property manager to an extent. But are there any other recommendations on how to achieve this equal partnership? 

    Our target lies in the $300k-$400k range, ideally a property with potential for improvement, whether as a fixer-upper or through strategic additions like square footage, extra baths, rooms, or an ADU. I am prepared to make the upfront investment for renovations, with the goal of increasing the property's value, getting it reappraised, and refinanced when interest rates are favorable.

    In preparation for this journey, I have educated myself through various resources, including books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Book on Rental Property Investing, BRRRR, Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, Short-Term Rental/Long-Term Wealth, and The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor. I've also begun engaging with the Bigger Pockets forum and podcasts. I welcome any additional book recommendations or connections with experienced agents, lenders, or investors in this market. Hopefully we could create a mutually beneficial relationship!

    Thank you in advance for your contributions to this vibrant community.

    Best regards,

    Nick


     Man, I'm jealous - I'd love to trade places and be out in San Diego! That being said, Maryland is a great state to invest in and sounds like you have a good starting position with the education, access to capital, and access to a family member in the area with a lot of great connections. 

    It's hard to say what is 'fair' - how much time will he invest into the deal vs. you? How much is that time worth? How much money vs. you? 

    I have a 50/50 partnership, and we went in 50/50 on the down payment and split the management responsibilities - I handle leasing and bookkeeping, he handles maintenance requests and occasionally DIYing some of the labor if he feels like saving us some money. 

    I recently used Zen Business to form an LLC - it took about 30 minutes. Super easy.

    I'd recommend you or your brother come out to some local meetups. I'm co-hosting one in Laurel coming up on Dec 14th, and some of the other preferred vendors for the Maryland Investors Network have additional upcoming meetups in Baltimore, Towson, etc. Our last event we had investors, realtors (who invest themselves), title agents, hard money and conventional lenders, flippers, contractors, handymen, etc. Great place to meet people and build your local 'team'. I have some great agents in the Baltimore and DC metro areas along with great local lenders if you need any recommendations still. 


     Awesome, I just reached out and he said he will try to make it if he can! Can you send me some more information about the meet up in laurel? Or feel free to DM me and ill give you my number!

    Also, my brother has a 4 year old kid who he has split custody with, so he has his child about 50% of the time. If we can get a property within an hour driving distance, he said he is more than willing to put a lot of his free time and effort into the property. Partially to get a more equal split ownership and also so we can cut the cost of a property manager. I don’t know a fair wage to his time and effort, I was hoping to get the communities thoughts on it! Maybe “pay” him close to what it would cost to hire someone to do the work, and instead of payments that’s how we could work towards getting even?

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