DO YOUR DUE DILLIGENCE BEFORE YOU AGREE TO PURCHASE A PROPERTY!!!

Recently I was reminded of the importance of doing your due diligence when purchasing an investment property.  We were asked to manage a portfolio of 2 and 3 unit buildings for a new client.  As we always do when taking on new properties, we vetted the properties.  This means we check for correct zoning, appropriate lead certificates, appropriate registrations, etc.  When vetting the new properties we found that most of the multi unit buildings were not zoned for their current use, meaning that even though most of the buildings were set up for 2 and 3 unit buildings they were not zoned as such.  The real problem came in when our client was told by Baltimore City that there was no chance of getting the needed zoning reinstated.  In addition to the zoning there were other issues such as fraudulent lead certificates and properties not being registered with Baltimore City.  However, the big problem was the improper use of the properties.  Continuing with the improper use of the property could lead to fines from Baltimore City and if you have a tenant that doesn't pay and you move to evict them you could be setting yourself up for an illegal eviction action.  So, in order to save yourself months or years of agony tale a little time before you buy to do the proper due diligence.