Meetup in AA County: New Baltimore City Rental Inspection Regime

[Matt Schelberg]

Join us on Wednesday night (Aug 22nd) for a free meetup attended by many local BPers. We'll be discussing the new Baltimore City rental inspection requirement.  We'll also present a local market update.  As always, the event is pitch-free with no selling or guru courses offered. Just good discussion and opportunities to learn and meet local investors.

The meetup begins at 7:30pm. Location details are on our meetup.com page here. Bring your notepad and questions! Hope to see you there.

P.S. There is free beer.

[Matt Schelberg]

@Mike Williams and @Vina Real the top takeaways were:

• Some items on the inspection checklist that are beyond the landlord's control may result in a fail. Pest infestation and rat burrows are the big ones. When I inspect rentals in Baltimore City I talk with landlords upfront about possible issues to navigate those trickier items. So talk with your inspector about that beforehand if it applies to you.
• Several items on the inspection checklist are being reconsidered/refined by the City because they are overly broad and have unintended consequences.  (e.g. All outlets are required to be properly grounded...this basically mandates that all 2-prong outlets be upgraded to 3-prong.  And technically, that means a new circuit should be run because grounding to the box is not a proper ground.)  City is reconsidering items like that so stay tuned for updates.
• Peeling, flaking, chipping paint will result in a fail...even if the property is lead free.  Baltimore City is reconsidering that item so stay tuned.  Hopefully they will waive properties certified lead free.
• Red tape creates winners and losers.  This new requirement stinks but it will provide opportunities to the enterprising buyer.  The new law will create sellers. Be ready to capitalize on that.
• Inspections are required for registration.  And registration is required for evictions.  You can bet your last dollar that smart tenants will learn the new inspection rules and use it as a way to delay/prevent eviction.  

And finally, Baltimore City has some helpful FAQs and brochures at their website to answer other questions.