Newbie looking to House Hack in Baltimore

[Account Closed]

Hello everyone, I wanted to introduce myself to the BiggerPockets community in the Baltimore area. My name is Anthony, I am 24 years old and very new to the world of real estate investing. I have been trying to absorb as much information as possible this past year through podcasts, books, webinars, etc., but realize I still have a lot to learn.

I am currently renting in the city (Mount Vernon), but am looking to purchase my first house hack for 150k or less, next year when my lease ends. I was planning on purchasing a single family home and using the “Rent by Room” strategy. I was curious to know others thoughts/experiences on the feasibility of doing a house hack in Baltimore at this price range. I realize I will probably have to scale back my lifestyle/comfort a bit, but am willing to do so for the financial benefit.

Also, I would love to hear others thoughts on particular neighborhoods to look into and/or general tips for someone just starting out. Am I crazy for wanting to do this with everything going on right now? Is there any local RE meetups in Baltimore? Any advice, comments, or questions would be greatly appreciated!

[Joe Norman]

Awesome! House Hacking is the way to go if you're starting out. There are plenty of great neighborhoods you can get into for under $150k in Baltimore, it really depends on how much of a project you want to take on (which, in turn, will be dependent on your financing).

The neighborhoods around the Inner Harbor (think Canton, Patterson Park, Fed Hill, Riverside) are going to be priciest, but also probably the easiest to find young professionals looking to rent rooms. You can pick up cosmetic renos for under $150 in some of the neighborhoods further out, Riverside, Parkville, or Remington come to mind as possibilities.

Bottom line is you'll have a lot of options. Good luck!