Real estate Baltimore

[Jason Mayers]

Hey my name is Jason!

I have done a few wholesale deals. Now I’m ready to move on to my first rental using brrrr.

NOW I LIVE IN PHILADELPHIA IS BALTIMORE A GOOD MARKET FOR ME TO INVEST FOR FIRST RENTAL, ALSO HOW DO I FIND A PROPERTY MANAGER/CONTRACTOR?

[Alan C.]

As has been said, your best bet is to find rentals that are relatively close to where you live. If you are going to manage these yourself or even if you have a property manager, it's helpful if you can visit the property from time to time. I know of many investors who only buy rentals in the same general area or zip code. That way, they can really understand their market rather than trying to keep tabs on properties located all over the country. 

Being in Philly, you are about 2 hours from Baltimore and that seems too far to go to own rental properties for my taste. As a native of the city and veteran investor, I do think Baltimore offers some of the best returns on the East Coast. However, there's always a trade off. Baltimore's ROI comes at the cost of having to know the city on a block-by-block basis. There are some very rough areas situated right next to some very good ones and it's easy to make a costly mistake when you don't know where the boundary is.

Before owning rentals or doing any real estate investing for that matter, I recommend that you attend local investor associations in the area where you plan to invest. In Philly, that would be DIG (Diversified Investor Group). They are one of the oldest and largest groups in the country. There, you can meet and talk to investors who are actually "on the ground" and they can give you the scoop on which areas are good and those that you need to avoid. In addition, you may find some potential money partners, agents, contractors, etc.

Whatever you decide, the important thing is to educate yourself as much as possible and then take action based on what you know.