All Forum Posts by: Brian C.

@Mamadou Diallo Welcome to the club!

@Chad Gallagher I'd be interested in the meetup

Hi all, 

Can you please private message me any referrals for lawyers in the Baltimore area that has experience and can handle bad faith insurance claim handling? 

Thanks in advance. 

Hi @Alex Babayev your statistics are very interesting, would you be able to cite the articles from NAR on using them? 12 months later, have you decided to use drones in your business?

Hi All,

I know it's been awhile since I've made a post, but it's getting that time of year to start reflecting on how well you did compared to what you set out to do at the beginning of the year. 

I wouldn't call this a success story just yet, but I'm hopeful I'll get there.

I've been a member of this forum for several years now, mainly reading all the posts and gathering information. Last year, I wanted to take action but didn't know how I wanted to tackle my real estate goals. I had just moved to Baltimore at the end of 2015 for a job and still learning the area, but I knew this would be the place to start acquiring properties for myself. 

I synced up with some great people here in BP in the Maryland area that helped me achieve my goals. Especially my agent who's been patient, as I had gone under contract on a property at the beginning of this year but to see that fall through. Now though, I just closed on a duplex last week. 

As much as it was disappointing to see a potential investment fall through, in the meantime I had been developing a relationship with a rehabber in the area and the money I would have used for that property I loaned to him to fund his deals. In that time frame to now I was able to save up more money to fund a down payment separate to me loaning the money out. It was because I used an FHA loan I was able to come up with additional funds in a short time to cover the down payment (hooray owner occupancy).

So now here I sit, with a duplex in hand and money invested in rehabs, going over what I want to have in store for myself for 2018. I do know I would like to be more involved in rehabs.

I know I have a lot to learn in the field of land-lordship, but in the end I have a place to live and own myself, and currently refreshing one unit so someone else will pay (most of) the mortgage. Let the journey begin!

Brian

I am interested in anyone who is knowledgeable in the Staten Island market around McClean Ave by Holy Rosary School. What is the surrounding rental market like? Do you think the market hit it's peak and be better to sell? 

Hi Louis, life threw me a curveball and I have since moved to Baltimore, where I am focusing my efforts. I still keep tabs in the DC area, but have not bought any properties there. I walked through several properties, but just couldn't pull the trigger on a property when walking around the surrounding areas. Baltimore is a similar situation, but I live and walk around it and know where the good and bad areas are. DC, not so much (I was living in Northern Virginia at the time.) I have had very positive experiences in DC and the people I have met through Bigger Pockets have given me invaluable advice. I'd be happy to share my experiences if you'd like. 

My account lets me borrow 50% of balance OR up to $50k, whichever is less. I think it is a great way to get started in flips but after building up rehab profits a HML might be better suited to transfer the risk. Like @George P. said, a downside is that you have to liquidate those assets and your money isn't working for you in the markets.  

Edit: My account is a Roth so it already has been taxed.

@Darrell Jones

How did you market the property to buyers? Is all you did was post it to the BP marketplace? If so, there is a major hole in your marketing strategy. Probably one of the first places I would go if you haven't already was a REIA meeting. Usually at some point you can pitch your property to the whole group. You can get live feedback on the good and bad potential buyers see. Has anyone told you where they'd buy it at? Try and ask that question. While BP is a great resource it would be one of the last places I'd go to post a property for sale. Too many relationships in my network that I've developed through REIA meeting and BP to just post online.