Anyone on here had experience flipping or owning Condos in Baltimore?

[Kenneth Cheston]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to flip my next property to get some more cash. I've been snooping around MLS and direct mailing for a bit. I usually stay away from condos and HOAs but recently I took a look and it seems like there could be something there. Seems like you have to call the association head of time to make sure renovations are OK, make sure there's no assessments on the horizon, and that the condo fee isn't too high for buyers. Any other things I should know? Love to hear any experience. Thanks!

[Sara Frank]

Quote from @Kenneth Cheston:

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to flip my next property to get some more cash. I've been snooping around MLS and direct mailing for a bit. I usually stay away from condos and HOAs but recently I took a look and it seems like there could be something there. Seems like you have to call the association head of time to make sure renovations are OK, make sure there's no assessments on the horizon, and that the condo fee isn't too high for buyers. Any other things I should know? Love to hear any experience. Thanks!

 I recently sold a condo flip for an investor in fells point (https://www.redfin.com/MD/Baltimore/960-Fell-St-21231/unit-5...) He had bought it at short sale for 225 the previous year, renovated and sold for 345k. He made some money but not a killing. Lessons learned: he was able to do any renos he wanted except for things that impact common area, for example he couldn't replace the sliding glass door because that has to be done all at once with other units (special assessment). There was also a half bath that could have been a full bath, but the permitting process would have been a mess. I think it would have sold for 15-30k more with the second full bath. The other pain point was getting crews in and out since it's controlled access. Luckily condo fee was only the lower end, it was still around $500 but included two parking spaces which is crucial in that area, so we didnt get any negative feedback on the fee. He chose very high end finishes which looked great but some materials could have been swapped out for lower cost alternatives to pad the margins a little bit. We got a lot of traffic on the property in general, lots of doctors, nurses etc. at Hopkins who want the location but with the safety of controlled access. 

Overall it was a positive experience but as you said you want to get involved early with the condo board to make sure you wont run into any issues.