All Forum Posts by: David Johnson

Hey everyone,

The main issue I've been having with expanding my real estate portfolio is obtaining additional financing. I see people posting all kinds of strategies just assuming that one can easily obtain financing (seemingly endlessly), but my debt to income ratio is high and it seems to eliminate me from contention.

For context, I currently have two 30 year fixed rate mortgages that I took out 7 and 8 years ago, respectively, worth about $385K put together, on two rental properties worth at least $1.1M combined. Additionally, I own two properties outright that I bought with cash a few years ago, each worth about $180K and $160K, respectively. I have a very high credit score that is above 800.

What are my options here? I have enough money for another down payment and I have all of this equity that I want to tap, but I feel as if there aren't any lenders that will issue a loan. Are portfolio loans the way to go? I'm interested in any kind of financing, be it another mortgage or a home equity loan or line of credit. Any insights you can provide would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I have a rental property in Baltimore that I have been using as a long-term rental for nurses throughout the pandemic. Long-story short, I decided to stop using it as an Airbnb in the fall, stopped taking new reservations, and planned to wait out the guy that was planning on staying through January to either put the house up for sale or get standard long-term tenants in.

The guy stopped using Airbnb because "his bank wouldn't allow him to pay through the platform" (red flag, I know) and I allowed him to pay me separately through PayPal every month. Once his reservation had ended and the property manager went to the house to clean and change the locks, he was still in the property and asked to extend, which I declined. A couple of days later, the property manager visited the property and the guest had barricaded himself in the bedroom and said "you're gonna need a court order to get me out!"

I contacted Airbnb, but I don't expect them to be of much help because he stopped using the platform months ago. Since he's stayed in the property for about 6 months and Baltimore has very favorable tenant protection laws, I'm sure he has some sort of right to stay, legally speaking.

Does anyone have any advice for how to handle this? I plan to start the legal process for eviction, but I've heard that Baltimore's court system has basically come to a standstill in the midst of the pandemic. The only thing I can think of is to just offer him a payment to leave immediately.

Hey everyone,

I have a rental property just north of Patterson Park that I have been using as a long-term rental for nurses throughout the pandemic. Long-story short, I decided to stop using it as an Airbnb in the fall, stopped taking new reservations, and planned to wait out the guy that was planning on staying through January to either put the house up for sale or get standard long-term tenants in.

The guy stopped using Airbnb because "his bank wouldn't allow him to pay through the platform" (red flag, I know) and I allowed him to pay me separately through PayPal every month. Once his reservation had ended and the property manager went to the house to clean and change the locks, he was still in the property and asked to extend, which I declined. A couple of days later, the property manager visited the property and the guest had barricaded himself in the bedroom and said "you're gonna need a court order to get me out!"

I contacted Airbnb, but I don't expect them to be of much help because he stopped using the platform months ago. Since he's stayed in the property for about 6 months and Baltimore has very favorable tenant protection laws, I'm sure he has some sort of right to stay, legally speaking.

Does anyone have any advice for how to handle this? I plan to start the legal process for eviction, but I've heard that Baltimore's court system has basically come to a standstill in the midst of the pandemic. The only thing I can think of is to just offer him a payment to leave immediately.

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in the process of evaluating real estate strategies going forward and attempting to convert the substantial equity I have in two single family homes into cash flowing multi-family properties seems to be an appealing possibility, but I'm not totally certain on how the process would unfold, so I figured I'd put it before the public for advice. Here's the situation:

Current Portfolio:
4 Properties Total
2 SFHs in Washington, DC, each worth about $530K (with loans of $180K and $200K, respectively)
2 SFHs in Baltimore, MD, one worth about $150K and the other worth about $180K (no mortgages)

Proposed Strategy:

1) Sell both SFHs in Baltimore using standard method

2) Use the proceeds to pay off as much of the DC mortgages as possible (for sake of the example, ~$280K, so likely all of one and a good chunk of the other)

3) Use the paid off house in DC (~$530K in equity) as a down payment for a 1031 exchange to trade up to a multi-family property

So, my main questions are:

1) Would this strategy even technically be possible? 

2) Even if so, is there a better way of leveraging all the equity I have in the SFHs to trade up to more valuable, better cash flowing real estate?

3) What is the maximum down payment (%) that can be used for a 1031 exchange?

4) My experience with banks has been difficult since my income has been mainly derived from income properties and freelance work, so I'm curious how easy are banks to work with to get approved for a new loan with a 1031 exchange? (Currently my credit score is about 815)

5) Are there any special considerations for a 1031 exchange that converts an investment property that's residential (SFH) to one that is commercial (multi-family)?

Let me know what you guys think when you have a free moment.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Really appreciate this list, David. Thank you so much!

Thanks for the rec, I'll look him up and reach out!

Yes, both are.

My property management company is a complete disaster. Abysmal communication, inscrutable monthly statements, high turnover, and just a general sense that an already rudderless ship is sinking. 

I'm looking to cut ties ASAP, so if anyone has any recommendations for a property management company in DC that is well-suited to managing two single family homes in Brentwood, I'd love to hear them. I'm entertaining all suggestions at this point, but obviously I would prefer to pay less than 10% of monthly rent as a fee.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hey everyone,

I have a 2 BD/3 BA property located in the Ellwood Park neighborhood in Baltimore City and have furnished it for short-/medium-term rental for traveling nurses through the housing website Furnished Finder.

I was curious if anyone has had any experience (positive or negative) with this service and could offer some insights on how to use it more effectively.

Let me know when you get a chance.

Thanks!

Thank you for the insights, everyone. This is all very helpful and I really appreciate it.