New to real estate, looking to flip in Baltimore, Patterson park area

[Stephanie Lella]

Dear Bigger Pockets community,

Hello! My name is Stephanie Lella and I am new to real estate and looking for advice and networking partners. My partner and I are interested in flipping a house in the Canton area of Baltimore this spring. We have been in the area for the past couple of years and have seen areas west, east and north of Patterson park gentrify quickly. What are peoples' opinions about houses north of Patterson park? Do you foresee this area being developed the way Canton and Brewer's Hill has?

I know there is the "2 block issue" to be wary of, but many of these abandoned houses are only a few blocks north of recently flipped homes selling in the mid to upper 100k range.

An example would be, 2428 E Fayette street. In foreclosure for $40k, put in at least $60k of rehab work and hopefully sell for some profit. It is a foreclosure, so I know there may be a lot of loops to jump through and the final price may be more. 

We are both currently serving overseas, I am a diplomat and my partner is in the army, so we would not be able to get started until the spring. I have been trying to educate and research as much as possible so when we both return, we can be ready to go. So far BP has been tremendously helpful!

[Andy Gross]

@Stephanie Lella , margins can be tough in those areas, so you are going to have to work hard on purchase price. Also, 2428 E Fayette seems to be right on the border of the rehabbed areas, but looking around, it seems like there is good movement in that area. IMHO, south of Fayette is where the action seems to be, and if possible, I would try to get on a North-South street because Fayette is a major road that may be a turn-off to buyers. Orleans Street is a dump and I don't see it getting any better anytime soon. I haven't been to the neighborhood in about 3 years, but last I recalled, redevelopment was heading north of the park and then kinda stalled after the 100 N blocks immediately north of the park. Things may have changed, but in business, there is the adage that goes something like "the first person in usually loses everything, but the person that comes in afterwards can really clean up." 

With that said, there is some real opportunity there, especially if you find the right deal. Patterson Park is awesome. I spent 2005-2009 living a stone's throw from the park, playing football on weekends, and kickball and softball on weekdays. It's a vibrant neighborhood, and houses immediately facing the park tend to command a premium, especially if there is off-street parking. A roof-deck, or engineering for a future roof-deck is a must in Baltimore City. Houses closer to the park, or immediately west of the park are going to command a higher price.