Advice - New investor in Baltimore.. How would you invest?

[Seth Alexander]

Hello all,

First and foremost I need to give a big thank you to everyone involved in this community. A random google search for "investing in Baltimore" led me to biggerpockets.com, and my eyes have been glued to this site ever since. Thank you all for your contribution be it by commenting or asking questions similar to mine.

It needs to be known that I am an amateur in RE investing so this post/question is designed to help me broaden my horizon, and "see" this beast (RE INVESTING) from multiple angles and perspectives.

Long story short - I have upwards of $20-$35k on hand, and I want to invest in my first property in Baltimore city or county. 

From your personal standpoint, if you were in my shoes, a new investor living in Baltimore, how would you invest those funds?

I have already loosely mapped out a strategy, and am doing my due diligence, so please don't think I'm asking for someone to tell me what to do bc I'm too lazy to do my homework.. I'm just looking for personal recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

[Ned Carey]

@Seth Alexander I see this is your first post so welcome to BP.

How to invest depends on a lot of factors. How active do you want to be in investing? What are your financial resources other than the money you have saved? What are you goals?  What is your risk tolerance?

I would network regularly and learn the market as well as I could. I would go to some of the local meetups and REIAs.  Search here or google the landlord Friday Lunches. That is one of the best local groups to network and learn. There are a ton on people here on BP from the area willing to help. 

Most importantly be careful. Baltimore is one of the best places to invest if you know what you are doing. It is also one of the easiest to lose your shirt if you don't.