Help! I've fallen in love with a long-distance MFH! What's my next step?

[Julie Hassett]

Hi BP colleagues!

I'm relocating to Baltimore from Los Angeles in June/July and I found a triplex online that I've fallen for. 

It is:

• in the exact neighborhood I want
• in the sweet spot of my price range
• the first-floor remodeled unit I had my eye on is going to be vacant in July, so I can move in without evicting anyone
• a rare find multi in a neighborhood of SFHs (there is nothing else like it on the market right now)

Plus, it has a huge fenced backyard for my dogs (also rare to find)

The numbers are all laid out right here:

http://www.benfrederick.com/assets/properties/Elm3...

So, being the impulsive sort that I am, I want to put in an offer from a distance. But I'm not scheduled to go back to Baltimore until mid-July. I'm nervous that this is the "one" and it might be gone by then. 

It's already been under contract twice in two months (fell out once for financing and once for timing of the leases not lining up with an investor's rehab plans).

What's my next actionable step? Would I be crazy to put in an offer sight unseen? Or should I listen to my gut and go for it, knowing that if something crazy comes up during escrow I can always bounce?

Any hard-won advice is much appreciated! Thank you!

--Julie

[Nancy Roth]

@Julie Hasset 

I smell a rat in the comps. All of his comparables are in Charles Village, in zip code 21218, across Wyman Park to the east of Hopkins University Homewood campus. Elm Street is in Hampden, in zip code 21210. Strange that he does not state the zip code on his analysis sheet--that is kinda basic information, especially for a buyer from out of state.

Because he is comparing two very different neighborhoods, what you have here is a misrepresentation of the value of the property of interest. 

Hampden historically was a working-class neighborhood of small, often labyrinthine attached wood and brick houses. In the last couple of decades people have expanded and updated many of the homes and sort of schlepped the neighborhood into the middle class. But it retains its eclectic, piecemeal, down-at-the-heels charm, which is part of the fun. I'm fond of it. But Charles Village it's not. 

Here is your 3631 Elm Ave: https://www.google.com/maps/place/3632+Elm+Ave,+Ba...

Charles Village is full of large sturdy 3-4 story brick townhouses, many of which have been converted to small multiunits that house Hopkins students. Along Charles Street overlooking the park and Baltimore Museum of Art the housing stock is lofty and patrician, not unlike uptown 5th Avenue across from Central Park in NYC.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.326861,-76.617764,...

Here is 3202 Guilford Ave., one of the comparables in the analysis.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/3202+Guilford+Av... 

You see the difference? The two neighborhoods are not alike at all. It's not unusual at all to pay in the $300s for Charles Village multis, but in Hampden? For that price you get a high-quality rehab (i.e. no oil-fired boiler), central air, lead-free certification, new roof, modern kitchens and baths and nice gardens and views. Also do you know anything about the other tenants--and whether you want to live downstairs from them? Read through the comments of @Seth Sherman and commit them to memory. 

BTW, I don't think it's illegal for a listing agent to represent a buyer in Maryland, as long as all parties are informed and sign a dual agency agreement. But it's almost never a good idea, for all the reasons named above, particularly by @K. Marie Poe. And frankly, I believe it would not be in your best interest to work with the agent that produced this analysis.

Yay for you that you looked before leaping, and consulted with the BP community. I wish I had done that the first time I bought a rental.

Regards,

Nancy Roth