Tips for House-Hacking - Maryland

[Guy Harriss]

Hello Everyone!

My wife and I are hoping to start our REI journey and are targeting house-hacking as our first strategy. Our plan is to finance with an FHA, live there for a year, then move out and rent our unit. We are looking for multifamily properties in Maryland that produce positive cash flow after all expenses. Any tips to help us get started?

[Chin P.]

Guy Harriss

I'm haven't been on the lookout for multi-family lately. I've seen a few two unit townhouses in Dundalk near you, but if I'm remembering correctly the area is a bit rougher than most of Dundalk. There'll be similar inside Baltimore city in both good and bad neighborhoods. Outside of that, I think it's a bit hard to find in the Maryland area.

There are some, just not a lot. In Hagerstown I've seen a fair number of smaller multi-unit buildings for sale there if that's of interest. Good luck.

[Guy Harriss]

@Chin P.

Gotcha, looks like we'll have to keep looking. Any tools you recommend for finding 3-plex and 4-plex properties? We've just been using zillow/trulia/craigslist so far, but hoping to gain access to the MLS soon as my wife is close to getting her real-estate license. We've been thinking it might be a good idea to target a multifamily property near a major campus, like Towson University, but just need to look hard for one.

Appreciate the tip for Hagerstown! We'll certainly be looking at that location now. Do you recommend any other strategies for Maryland if multifamily house-hacking is difficult to get going?

[Bart Modzelewski]

@Guy Harriss

Nice to see another person from Middle River on here. Good luck on the search for your first property. Keep us posted on your progress.

[Kafui Athiogbey]

Go to loopnet.com and search for multifamily properties. You will find a few 3-plex and 4-plex in hagerstown, cummberland, and baltimore.

[Russell Brazil]

There is not much multifamily housing in the Maryland/Virginia/DC corridor. The few places they can be found have been mentioned, and none of them are places I would live as they tend to be in areas of high poverty. (Though everyone is different). DC has a couple neighborhoods with them like Trinidad, but it's very hard to compete for the few available.

The way to go if you are intent on it is maybe focusing on a property in Montgomery County Md where you can put a basement apartment in. Germantown has a number of houses that have partially above ground basements that have enough room for a basement unit. The county has eased the regulations on these. I think they have to have egress from the bedroom and be 500 feet away from another property with a basement unit.

[Guy Harriss]

@Bart Modzelewski Thanks Bart! Will keep you posted on my progress into the REI world :)

@Kafui Athiogbey Appreciate the tip! I'll check out loopnet.com and look for some great deals. 

@Russell Brazil Yeah, I'm beginning to notice the areas these properties are located in aren't the greatest neighborhoods. If this strategy continues to be difficult to find deals(or continues to force me to create deals where there aren't any) I'll need to consider a different strategy. Any other strategies you'd recommend to get started with in Maryland?

[Russell Brazil]

Originally posted by @Guy Harriss:

@Bart Modzelewski Thanks Bart! Will keep you posted on my progress into the REI world :)

@Kafui Athiogbey Appreciate the tip! I'll check out loopnet.com and look for some great deals. 

@Russell Brazil Yeah, I'm beginning to notice the areas these properties are located in aren't the greatest neighborhoods. If this strategy continues to be difficult to find deals(or continues to force me to create deals where there aren't any) I'll need to consider a different strategy. Any other strategies you'd recommend to get started with in Maryland?

 Pretty much every strategy works in this area except multi 2 to 4 unit properties.

[Guy Harriss]

@Russell Brazil Great to know the Maryland market is flush with opportunities to get into REI. I'll continue to learn more about this market and the strategies that are possible here.

[Chin P.]

Russell Brazil
Guy Harriss

My second suggestion which I was going to make earlier but didn't was to BP-Stalk Russell as he's the resident splash of cold water on multi-family in MD. I swear half of his thousands of posts are just that. He's a good guy to know and probably has a better sense of the market for MF in Maryland than I do

[Russell Brazil]

Originally posted by @Chin P.:

Russell Brazil
Guy Harriss

My second suggestion which I was going to make earlier but didn't was to BP-Stalk Russell as he's the resident splash of cold water on multi-family in MD. I swear half of his thousands of posts are just that. He's a good guy to know and probably has a better sense of the market for MF in Maryland than I do

 Lol. I bet you are right, I bet I have at least 500 posts on killing everyone's multifamily hopes for our market. I get at least 1 call a week too from people who want to buy multis. I tell then I can show them everyone on the market in like 2 or 3 hours.

[Guy Harriss]

@Russell Brazil

@Chin P.

Haha well I'm glad you gave me the heads up on multi-unit properties. Now that I know what doesn't work here in Maryland, I can focus my efforts on strategies that DO work. 

I'll try not to BP-Stalk you too much Russel, no promises though lol.

[Ned Carey]

@Guy Harriss In the Baltimore area particularly baltimore city there are small multi families available. However in areas you would likely want to live they will be expensive as demand is high for small mutlt-family properties. 

Expecting a property to have positive cash flow when you are living in one of the units may not be a realistic expectation. It may be more of reducing your housing cost to allow you to save for your next move.

Another type of house hacking would to be simply to rent a room within a SFH. Not as private but it is an option.

@Russell Brazil wrote

The only reason I don't have more is Russel usually beats me to the punch.

[Guy Harriss]

@Ned Carey Reducing our monthly expenses and allowing us to save for our next investment move is certainly something we're considering. We don't mind sacrificing some privacy for financial freedom, so I'll look into possibly renting out a SFH room or possibly a basement with separate entrance. Looks like some pretty good information on your blog, I'll be sure to check that out as well. Appreciate your help Ned

[Terrall Brooks]

I’m now looking to do the same 5 years later according to this post. Any updates on house hacking in MD? Thanks