All Forum Posts by: Andy Gross

What you are basically looking for are easy tenants in the best parts of town in properties at significant discounts to market value.

Generally, properties in B+ neighborhoods that attract the kind of tenant you are looking for don't cash flow. They are good for stability and asset preservation, orbut not for income.

Your margins in Butchers Hill are going to be really, really tight. I don't think you'll find a lot that passes the 1% test in that neighborhood, and that test doesn't leave you with great margins when taking into account the City's tax rate.

It's also a hot neighborhood. Finding deals in 21231 and 21224 is tough. It's been hot for almost 15 years now, and finding the properties that are being sold at a discount is tough. Auctions may be your best bet, but caveat emptor.

Your strategy might work in the lower parts of Charles Village, where you can find 3-4 unit brownstones in your price range.

Other options might be Baltimore County, Harford County, or in some of the more transitional areas in the city.

 Agree 100%. In Baltimore, street is more important than neighborhood, which is more important than zip. To illustrate, I suggest driving up Charles street, from the Inner Harbor up to JHU. Two zip codes, but worlds apart. Less so now than it was 10 years ago, but Charles and 21st is a lot different than Charles and 29th. For an even better illustration, take Guilford north up through Barclay.

 We would take you more seriously if your grammar was better. I think you mean "You're at the head of it."

That being said, most Section 8 tenant are either elderly, disabled, or the working poor. Moving them out of the concentrated poverty and spreading them out does not decrease property values and helps, in the long run, alleviate poverty. When you concentrate poverty into ghettos, additional barriers to escaping poverty are created.

@Eliza Lunawelcome to BP. Where in Baltimore County are you? We're moving back this year, and after we get our primary residence sorted out, we're probably going to start looking in the Dundalk/Middle River areas for opportunities. 

Welcome to BP, James. There is an incredibly active REIA that meets near BWI. You should attend. Lots of great networking opportunities. Several BP members attend. Look for Baltimore-centric threads on BP, and set up your keyword alerts to hit on Baltimore. Lots of good information on the neighborhoods, dealing with the city, and so on.

Great job @Nicole (Dunlap) Pendergrass ! Lots of great lessons learned and shared. 

My biggest questions is whether or not a pre-closing inspection would have discovered the issues with the water meters and the funky wiring? I would have never thought to check personally, but it's going to be on my checklist for looking at 3-4 unit properties.

We have all heard the term "investor friendly" realtor/agent, and I know there is tons of good information on BP about what makes an agent investor friendly. But what makes a broker investor friendly? 

If you're an investor, what do you look for in a brokerage?

If you're an investor/agent, or an agent who works primarily for investors, what do you look for in a brokerage?

What @Upen Patelsaid. The 203k is a great product, but closing does take a while. You may also want to look at non-hard money portfolio loans with smaller local and regional banks. 

Also, FHA loans are for individuals only, unless the rule changed fairly recently.

BAH just dropped about 10% in Honolulu, Hawaii for 2016. Although service members who are already here will not see a decrease in their BAH, those moving to Hawaii or experiencing a chance in status (Marriage/Divorce) will see their rates drop. I suspect that on Oahu, which has a good number of service members, will see rental rates stagnate in the coming years.

As far as the SCRA goes, be careful. It's very friendly to service members, especially with lease terminations. Service members also get free legal assistance that advise them on these kinds of matters, so they should know their rights. With that said, if you offer incentives (eg, a month free with a 12 month contract), you should familiarize yourself with how that works when the Soldier gets a deployment order 6 months after signing the lease. Unless you were smart on the front end, you might be stuck with the service member breaking their lease AND receiving the free month of rent.

 If you are in the city, and you need to fight your way out, you're likely already dead and just don't know it. 

I've lived in rough parts of the city, and the key is to know where you are, not be on your phone, and to know what's behind you. For vacants, a 3 C-cell mag lite turns into a club when necessary.