All Forum Posts by: Chrissa Carlson

Hi Molind, we are in the same situation except we’re buying direct from the seller (off market). Went under contract with a five day contingency two and a half weeks ago, the sh*t hit the fan the day after the contingency period ended and we confirmed we were moving forward. We’re going back to the seller to see if she’d seller finance a portion of it, give her about a third of the contract purchase price at closing with an agreement that when we sell we pay off hard money and reimburse our carry costs, keep 10% of sold price as profit, and she gets the rest. If we’re able to sell at the arv we used in our analysis she’d walk with the original contract sales price in her pocket and if we have to sell lower (HIGHLY likely) we’d share the burden in our take home. The outcomes of all of this on prices 4-6 months from now are completely unknown and could be devastating, I could envision not only not making our projected profit but losing a ton. We are hoping she’ll share that risk as she wants to get the house sold ASAP and I think she’s gonna have a hard time getting someone else to take it in the short term. Everyone is in tight spots right now!!! I’ll let you know how it goes and good luck getting your price down!

@Amber Linthakhan i May be misunderstanding your question but the counties tax assessment has very little to do with the actual market value of your home. Assessors don’t go in the house and the assessments are infrequent so don’t track the market. The only thing the assessment determines is how much the tax bill is. You can find the annual tax bill on the mls or the state sept of assessment and taxation website. You can also look on the county website to see if the tax bill was paid for the year (most likely yes unless it’s a distressed property). And as the previous response says, if it was paid you’ll have to bring cash to the table for the portion of the year remaining between closing and June 30.

Hi Ken,

I'm right there with you--my husband and I both work full time, we have two young kids (1 and 3) and we've recently pulled the trigger on getting serious about RE investing. It took him three years to convince me a good idea; he started talking about it when my oldest was a wee baby and we had just moved house, and I was like NOPE, I can't handle any more changes right now, and I already hated being away from my little one for work, didn't want to add more distractions. Another baby and another move later and he's still talking about it, and I still resisted. But then my job started turning extra miserable, right around the time we put our last house on the market, which I now call an accidental live in flip--it was an REO, we had some work done but I did a lot of work myself, just because that's what homeowners do...we are about to close on it and clear ~$40K. That helped things to start to click. I listen to a few podcasts, read a few books, and suddenly I'm hooked.

All that said, we've committed ourselves to timeblocking scraps and shreds of time to taking action, visiting 3 properties a week (kids in tow sometimes), assigned ourselves various lead streams to analyze, taking turns getting kids out of the house on weekends so the other can work, attending 2 networking events per month, setting up systems, having a weekly battle planning meeting. We haven't made an offer yet, but already it is HARD! Like you, I'm up at 5am to get a tiny bit done (when one of the littles doesn't sabotage my plans with an early wakeup), using an hour or so at work (I'm more efficient than most of my co-workers, so I figure I'm due), bleary-eyed time at the computer when I'm dead tired after bedtime. We hope to have our first deal under contract early in the new year, and we'll need to take every little sign of progress to heart.

I know it's going to get way harder once we actually have our first property, so we'll need to stay focused on the vision. For me, the vision isn't about working less, it's about setting my own schedule. Being able to go to school concerts and teacher meetings, etc. Building wealth, working with purpose, directing my creativity and talents to developing something that will serve our family. And eventually donating of my well-paying/secure state job to someone who wants that path:)

Feel free to share this with your wife if you're trying to get her more on board, or I'd be happy to talk with her.

Best of luck, please share how things evolve!

Chrissa

Hi Michael,

I'll send you a DM re: a realtor--I think realtors aren't supposed to self-promote on forums, not sure if recommendations are allowed.

Re the rental inspection, here is the form so you can self-assess what work would need to be done. It's a little general--for instance, the requirements that outlets are GFCI in areas where "water is generally present" leaves a little room for interpretation. I think 6' is the standard, though my guess is inspectors probably eye ball it differently.

We used George Gavin for our rental inspection. He's on this list. He was pretty thorough. But they are all independent contractors and I think their thoroughness varies wildly. We had a friend living in a rental when it was inspected for registration--the inspector took one look, saw they had a cat, and said he wasn't coming in because he was allergic and fudged the inspection!

I assumed you were talking about the BWI meetup as that one seems really popular. Tomorrow will be my first time attending. I was confused and assumed it was held near the airport, but it's in pikesville. Here is the meetup page: 

https://www.meetup.com/BwiMeetup/

Hi Michael,

Your post caught my eye since I've had some similar experiences. I am new to this as well, currently selling a home purchased as a foreclosure, with a lot of sweat equity put into it, then rented for one year after we moved. We decided to sell because we realized it didn't make sense as a rental for a number of reasons--the layout, the maintenance on a three story 140 year old home, the size of the yard, etc. So we're turning the forced equity/appreciation into funds we can invest more intentionally into real estate. I also previously owned one other home that I renovated myself and briefly rented before realizing it wasn't a good fit.

I can offer this: it can be really hard to detach emotionally from something that was your home and that you put a lot of work into, and turn it over to renters. It's good you're recognizing this. But from what I've learned here and other places, you absolutely need to turn off that emotional attachment, and if you can't maybe consider other options for the property. I'd start by looking at whether it is a viable rental--what is the rental market like in the neighborhood, are the mechanicals new/in good shape to avoid a major expense in the first few years, etc (lots of more experience people here can add to this list), what is needed to pass the Baltimore City rental inspection, would you pass lead inspection. Also, can you refi to pull out equity to use toward another property? Look at it as an investor, not as a homeowner. And if you do make it a rental, screen tenants well (I totally failed at this my first go), create policies and systems, and make it a business, not a home. The fact that you own it free and clear is an amazing start.

I will be at the BWI meetup tomorrow, perhaps I'll see you there! And congrats on the pending arrival of your little one! I have two littles myself which is a huge handful but a real motivator for my husband and I to achieve FI.

Chrissa
Chrissa

@Mike Shahi I’m a newbie but I know the Baltimore area. You’re right that cheap properties in Baltimore city will be in rough neighborhoods. But there are some zip codes in the surrounding counties where you can find cheaper homes for rentals. The Essex/middle river area, Dundalk, lansdowne. The deals are hard to find and it’s competitive but you could look outside In these areas before going long distance. Is 100k your total budget to purchase and any repairs/upgrades? Or are you looking for a rent ready property?

@Tyler Dalton my husband has been to the BWI meeting, I hope to make it soon myself!

@Josh Johnston thank you! Please share triumphs and challenges, on the business side as well as keeping the wheels on the wagon at home. I'll do the same.

@Justin Windham there’s a lot here, thanks for the tips in wading through all the resources!

@David Stumpf thank you!