Baltimore newbie

[Diwas B.]

Hello all,

I have been trying to invest in my first rental Baltimore city/ county area but having a hard time identifying a property. I am currently renting myself in a 2BR apt and thought of buying my first rental investment property and staying there for a year or two at the most before putting it up for rent. My budget is around 350K and my wife's current work is at Medstar Union Memorial Hospital in charles village. So initially started my search from Perry Hall area then to Towson/ Timonium area , also dabbled at the idea of buying 2 bedroom condo's near Hopkins undergrad campus. I had initially restricted myself to SFR ( ruled out townhomes solely on the basis of few forum posts because of HOA fees etc but I am open to it now ) but the cash flow was minimal and ROI didn't look good for SFR. The idea of buying a townhouse for around 120-150K and getting 1500 rent seems appealing but as of now I am all over the place and highly confused.

Please feel free to suggest me any neighborhood or any realtors who know the rental  market well that I can contact to get more info. My current realtor is not from the area (and was recommended to me by a family friend but we are having a hard time getting something done mainly because I don't know the rental market well.

All suggestions welcome.

[Joseph England]

Hi @Diwas B. are you looking for a turn key property or something you would put some rehab into? There are so many diverse areas in Baltimore with different price points and different strategies. I currently invested in four of them with four different strategies. In 21239, I have multiple rental rehabs I purchased and rehabbed for about $100K total, which I rent for $1500-$1600 a month. This a great area where you don't have to worry about the block to block analysis as much. I am currently flipping a house in the 21239 area as well. In 21213, I have a few rental rehabs that I purchased and rehabbed for about $30-$35K total, which I rent for $1000-$1200 a month (these are strict cash flow properties with no expectation in appreciation). The 21213 properties are much more susceptible to the block by block analysis, which you's need to pay particular attention to. 21224 is a very diverse area and I break it down into the two different areas I invested. It includes Canton $300K-$550K properties, where I have a property that I am doing a live in flip, as well as house hacking by renting out two of my three bedrooms (there is a lot of competition for properties to be rehabbed in this area). The other area is Greek town ($80K-$125K properties) where there have been a number of rehabs that didn't sell, so I like to utilize lease option sandwiches in this area. I have one rental property in this area, which I purchased for $100k, and it rents for $1500 a month.