Investing in a Condo as a Rental

[Nicole B.]

I'm trying to work my way through the numbers so I can start to get a handle on what may be a good investment. I'm looking at buy and holds and I haven't seen the place yet, so I took a stab at what update costs might be if we did most of the work ourselves. I also have no idea what the HOA fees would be, so I took a guess.

Looking at this example, it's a 2/2 1235 sqft condo in Baltimore in a B neighborhood.  I live not too far from this neighborhood and I know rental rates are roughly $1000 for a 2-bed.

[Russell Brazil]

Originally posted by @Nicole B.:

@Ned Carey & @Russell Brazil - Thank you, both! I see a lot of townhomes in Baltimore County that have condo fees. I'm assuming those would not be such great investments, either? I think the potential adjustments in HOA fees is a deterrence for me, as well.

 I cant really speak to Townhouses in the Baltimore area....but in general I dont have any issue with them...and it sort of depends on what you are looking for.  I own 1 townhouse. It is not exciting. It gets a little more appreciation than my condos, but less than my single families. It gets less cash flow than my condos.  It has less maintenance issues than my single families.  My townhouse is in Burtonsville.  I generally think they are an ok for a first time investment for someone who wants to be more hands off, but they dont give you the pluses of single families on the appreciation side of things.