First time real estate investor, venturing into long dis. rentals

[Michael Silverman]

looking for some advice on things to watch out for, or to avoid as a first time long distance real estate investor. Any/all advice, both specified for baltimore, md. or just in general, is welcome.

Thank you!

Mike

[Mark Cruse]

@Michael Silverman it's a very long list. There are just so many dynamics to real estate investing that the newbies don't seem to get. So many watch HGTV or Youtube and believe this stuff is simple and basic. Investing in Baltimore has a very high failure rate. For one, it goes block by block. Yes, it's great to have a trusted realtor but still that motivation is to get the commission. I'ts very easy to look on paper, see a $10,000 property then believe you can put in $15,000 and clear $600 in cash flow. For one, that investment you picked may cost $100,000 to fix up and you don't know. It may not even be fixable where you lose everything. If you do fix it and it's drastically underwater you can end up with negative cash flow (very common). It could be an asset that is un-rentable in the first place. There are places that are so hostile that you cant get a quality renter. When you do, they last 3 months and you are putting $10,000 into repairs every few months. You can buy in a neighborhood where every time you put in a furnace, cabinets, appliances or anything they are stolen the next day and you are out thousands. You can buy a place for $60,000 and feel you are ready to roll and some crack head breaks in and steals cooper that can net them $20 but costs 3 thousand dollars in damage. Then you have all the govt bureaucracy that is anti landlord with the multiple and unnecessarily  changing legislation. That is the tip of the iceberg. If you do decide to go this route I suggest you visit the area as much as you can. Read all these forums and study the horror stories. Talk to the experienced guys here and if you are ready to make that move and have the financing in place, make sure everyone you work with has tons of experience specifically in Baltimore. There are several places in the city where quality property managers wont even manage. One thing you have is this forum. There are tons of people who invest there with hundreds of years of collective experience. Study up and ask questions consistently. You may want to start off in Baltimore county as opposed to the city and may consider a turnkey investment.