All Forum Posts by: Eric G.

 Yes, he deff can. In my situation, it was better to cash out re-fi becuase it gave me a much better interest rate. I was going to IRRL anyway, so it kind of just made sense. It really just depends on your situation. 

@Matt Dubois

I am a REI living in Baltimore City. My opinion is that you should go with option 3. I bought a two family home in southeast Baltimore for 260,000 in December of 2017 with a VA Loan. I just had it appraised for 360,000. I have the option to pull out 80,000 and re-invest it somewhere else while the numbers STILL work (rental income) wise.

However, here is something that you need to think about. When I purchased the home, I paid around $6,000 for the VA funding fee. In order to cash out a VA loan, you have to pay another VA funding fee of about 9-10K. So, you need to make sure that the amount you're able to pull out is worth it to add another 15-18K on the life of your loan. If the numbers still leave you with a great cash flow, it's almost a no-brainer. I still acquired this property with no money down so its a win regardless. These are just things to think about. Everyone has their own style. If you need any further advice about the city feel free to reach out.

Best of luck,

Welcome @Account Closed

      You can learn a ton from this forum. The networking abilities are great. 

Best of luck,

@Zachary Miller

     If you call the Baltimore Zoning Office they will be able to tell you what the zoning status is almost immediately. I will pm you that number, it's good to have. Now, depending on a neighborhood, a multi-family conversion can be a real pain of a process. If for some reason you have a property(s) that needs a specific kind of zoning, I highly recommend calling Justin Williams of Rosenberg, Martin, and Greenburg. He is a fantastic zoning attorney. I have referred him to several people who have been thanking me since. If you need his contact information, send me a PM.

Good luck,

Eric

Hey @Kadeem Swenson   

You're going to want to go with Brad Chenowith, for sure. He knows most of these bmore area properties inside and out. He can point out things a lot of investors and other agents miss. @Brad Chenowith

Good luck, 

Eric

Welcome to BP, @Cassandra Murray

When you say "investment property" are you looking to flip, buy and hold, do the BRRRR method, maybe house hack? I feel like you may need to tune in on a specific strategy based on your desired end goal. If you're looking for a diverse group of experience, I would attend the local meet ups. Once you get a little more specific I can give you a better input. Best of luck.

-Eric

Welcome @Account Closed

       I started with house hacking a multi family property in Baltimore City. I currently occupy the downstairs (1BR 1BA) and rent the upstairs (3BR-2BA). Fortunately, this pays my entire mortgage. If I was going to occupy a home and rent out individual bedrooms, I would only do it in certain neighborhoods (that's just me). If you were to run numbers on homes in Canton, and Brewers Hill, it could still make sense on certain properties even with the rising prices. 

Good Luck,

Eric

 I think people who weren't involved in Greek Life just see Fraternities and Sororities as party animals but it can actually be quite the opposite. I was in a Fraternity at Radford University. First of all, a Fraternity CHAPTER house is usually a place for organizational meetings and ceremonies all of which don't involve excessive drinking. That's usually the house the National reps visit and tend to be very strict on policy. Most of the raging parties Fraternities hold are off location because it's really easy to get kicked off campus if you have a strict Greek Life committee at your school. That's not to say people won't have events at the house, because they will, but are typically well maintained. Fraternities usually like to add history to their houses by holding them for LONG periods of time cutting out on turn over costs. You can always guarantee the house will be filled by members even if one graduates. Lastly, Fraternities carry their own national insurance which at times can cover a lot of personal injury ON your property. We did have an incident once during a Fraternity Sponsored event (someone fell down stairs) and same was covered by our National insurance policy.

PS: Not saying that I haven't seen raging parties at Frat houses but if you're in a college town you're guaranteed to at least run that risk regardless.

I have never been a college landlord, but I have been a college tenant. The first thing that semi confuses me about this post is that people keep talking about "9 month leases". Is that how it is now? I went to Liberty University in Lynchburg VA, and Radford University in Radford VA and I always rented for the entire year (as did everyone else I knew). I've actually never heard of anyone only renting for 9 months unless it was a SPONSORED campus housing. I don't know why anyone would ever even offer that. Kids typically like the year long leases because they don't have to pack up all of their stuff and vacate the dorms at a certain time.

Being as though I was recently a college student I feel like a 9 month lease (with turnovers) would be an absolute nightmare. I will say, as long as student loans exist, there is a huge market for college rentals. I went to both private, and public institutions and I saw how common it is for students to pay their rent with portions of their student loans. In fact, a former roommate of mine paid 6 months in advance. 

I'm a big proponent of college rentals. Most of you are going to disagree with me on this one but especially to Sororities (and sometimes Fraternity's).

Hello @Morgan Ross

I am also a semi new REI in this market. I'm originally from Bergen County NJ. I spent most of my summers in Ship Bottom, Long Beach Island, not too far from you two. I'm reaching out because although I am currently in Baltimore, I have family members who are currently looking for multi unit properties on the island. It's a strong possibility that I may end up going in on a JV in that area myself. I would love to speak with both of you in reference to what projects you have worked on because we don't have any contractors in that area at the moment.

Best,

Eric