Newbie Amateur Landlord in Washington DC

Newbie Amateur Landlord in Washington DC

Real Estate Agent · Crested Butte, CO · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 1 vote

Hello BP,

My name is Jarrod and I am currently in the military, living in Guam, but will be retiring in about two years. I count my location as DC, since that is where my property is, though I most likely won’t move back to that area. I hope to use Real Estate Investing to supplement my military retirement. I’ve been lurking on the site for a couple of months, and already have learned a lot, but I know that I’ve just scratched the surface on Real Estate Investing and am eager to learn more.

I own a rental property in Washington D.C. that used to be my residence. I have made a lot of mistakes over the past five years of being a landlord, and will probably make many more, but I have enjoyed the highs and lows of owning a rental property. Just the short amount of time that I have been on BP has opened my eyes on what I have been doing wrong and what I need to change in order to be a better landlord and maximize my cash flow. I was extremely fortunate in stumbling into the purchase of a DC rowhouse in a neighborhood that has exploded in popularity and have benefited from the increased property values that come with that popularity, as well as having mostly fantastic tenants.

My family and I will be moving to Colorado next, so that will be my next investment location. I will most likely try to replicate what I know so far, which is to buy an older home as a residence, renovate it, and eventually rent it out, realizing that not many markets are like DC, which has been very good to me the last few years. Once I can build up more equity in my home(s), then I will look at purchasing more buy and hold properties. One step at a time.

I apologize for not posting a picture on my profile yet. As soon as I’m near a working camera, a picture will be provided.

Thank you for taking the time to read my intro and I look forward to some great interactions on this site.

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  • Real Estate Investor · Washington , Washington D.C. · Member since 2013 · 117 posts · 51 votes
    11y

    Welcome to BP, Jarrod!

    In which DC neighborhood is your property is located? 

  • Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    @Jarrod Deines

    Welcome to the Bigger Pockets community. It is a great place to learn about real estate.

  • Real Estate Agent · Crested Butte, CO · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    @Ezinwanne Hawkins

    My house is in Bloomingdale.

    @Mark Nolan

    Thanks for the welcome. I couldn't agree more about the site.

  • Real Estate Investor · Washington , Washington D.C. · Member since 2013 · 117 posts · 51 votes
    11y

    @Jarrod Deines - great neighborhood!  It also happens to be the one I grew up in :)  My parents actually still live in the neighborhood. You definitely made a great investment. 

    Good luck on BP, and with your future investments!

  • Real Estate Agent · Crested Butte, CO · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    @Ezinwanne Hawkins

    Small world.  I really enjoyed living there. Literally the day I left the first restaurant opened in the neighborhood. My next door neighbor had lived in her house since she was three months old.  Her family moved in there in 1948.  She passed away a few years ago, but it was always interesting talking with her about the neighborhood. I would love to get another house in Bloomingdale, but I'm pretty much priced out of it now.  I was incredibly lucky to get the house when I did.

    Thanks for the welcome.

  • Bill S.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    11y

    @Jarrod Deines welcome and when you land in Colorado make it a point to attend one of the meetups and get to know the local folks. Set up your keyword alerts so you get notices of when we meet.

  • Real Estate Agent · New Castle, CO · Member since 2014 · 84 posts · 36 votes
    11y

    Hi Jarrod,

    While I do not know much about the D.C area, I do know quite a bit about the Colorado market. In particular, the northern front range. Where do you plan on moving when you get out here? That will be a large factor in finding an investment-priced property. Being both a realtor and an investor, I can tell you that right now, buying an investment property is very difficult. We are experiencing a very strong sellers market, and finding anything at a reasonable price for an investment property has been tough. It is possible, but patience and the ability to act fast is crucial. Luckily, time is on your side. If you have a questions or concerns with CO real estate, please feel free to message me! Good luck and thank you for your service!

  • Real Estate Agent · Crested Butte, CO · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    @Bill S. Thank you and I do look forward to being able to attend some meetings when I move back to the States.

    @Bob Vollmer Where we are going is a bit of a moving target right now, but we are pretty settled on Ft. Collins because I may use some of my GI Bill to attend CSU. There is a very slim chance that I could get to Colorado Springs for my last 12 months, which would be great, but we probably won't stay there much past those 12 months if it does happen. I appreciate your honesty about the Front Range market. That's become painfully apparent over the last year or so that we've really started talking about where to live. Hopefully my plan to purchase a home to live in to get into the market will work. My ability to act fast isn't much of an ability right now, but if I can get the basement of my DC house finished up as a separate apartment, that should really help my property value and I can look at a HELOC to take advantage of the increased equity. My purchasing experience so far has been limited to a VA loan, so I'm trying to get smarter on using the equity in my current home to give me more maneuverability when I'm ready to buy.

    I still have some time left to go in the military, but I can't tell you how the prospect of moving to Colorado and starting the next adventure of our lives is.

    Thank you for your reply and I'll definitely be in touch.

  • Investor · MD · Member since 2015 · 208 posts · 32 votes
    11y

    @Jarrod Deines Welcome To BP!

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