All Forum Posts by: Julius F.

Welcome to BP Andre! I'm not working in Baltimore, but west Baltimore is a bit vague. I grew up in Baltimore and it is a block by block type of city. West of MLK blvd and route 40 (which is a part of west Baltimore) has a great deal of abandoned houses. Also, Baltimore county is different from Baltimore City so be aware of that.

I would make sure you have some boots on the ground when doing rehabs, and at least drive around (both night and day) to find locations that you are interested in. You will quickly find out which areas should be avoided. It is getting warmer so people are coming outside more, and you can get a feel just seeing the amount of people outside. Good luck!

Hi Shauntice, 

Welcome to the BP community! I am in the DMV area and new to REI myself. I have not found a deal yet, but I'm analyzing and learning. The DMV area is a big area to cover, so I would recommend you picking a general location to start learning about.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

@Gregg Hutton might be able to help you.

Just a suggestion, but have you tried training a wholesaler to run correct AVRs the way you run the numbers. You can teach them your system as to how you find a correct AVR, and turn a bad wholesaler into a good one (as long as they are open to change).

Hey @Tom Gimer, I would be interested in participating, thanks.

@Dan Bernstein I am working with an agent and if I was not I would go get licensed myself. But it is good to know who has my best interests in mind. As I gain a little experience, I am starting to realize what is important for deals and the people I work with to make those deals happen. Thanks.

@Dan Bernstein

The house was 2212 Sweetbriar dr. The house seems in good condition, but that is only based on the pictures.

@Thomas S. , @Dan Bernstein , @Matthew Paul

Thanks everyone for the feedback and tips. I thought my numbers were high I guess I was hoping. I'll work on finding rental comps for rooms.

Is there a way to check prices for rent? I use a combination of Craigslist and Rentometer. Is there any other methods people would suggest for finding rents?

@Chris Seveney 

The locations is south of 495 (about 2.2 miles south of Huntington metro station). It is not on the metro, but relatively close. But as you stated I was being pretty optimistic.

My thoughts were the house is in a location close enough to public transportation (metro/bus) and the rooms seem a bit bigger than places that I have looked at. After doing a little more research though, the rent is more in the $600-800 in better locations as you stated. 

No, I am not sure I can get the house for $40k below the asking price. However, I was under the impression that you don't know unless you ask.

My analysis

House: 3 bed/2.5 bath

Asking price: $359k

Proposed offer price: $310-330k

ARV: $359k (assuming that there is no change in value to be on the safe side)

Rent total: $3400

• (2 bedrooms (9’x15'): $1100 x2; shared bathroom)
• (1 bedroom (12’x10’): $1200; private bathroom and walk-in closet 7’x8’)
• Utilities split between roommates, except garbage

Closing cost: 9k (includes $6k for paying PMI upfront)

Repairs: $2k (minor touches; seems to be in fairly good condition)

Down payment: 3.5%

Loan rate: 4%

P&I: $1428 - 1520/mo

Taxes: $334/mo

Insurance: $150/mo

Garbage: $45/mo

Vacancy: 8.5%

Repairs: 7%

CapEx: 10%

Property Management: 10%

Annual Income Growth: 2%

Annual PV Growth: 2%

Annual Expenses growth: 2%

Sales Expense: 10%

Cash flow: $143 - 235/mo

Cash on cash: 7.64 - 12.95%

Is my price for the rent too optimistic? Renting the entire house would be less (say $2000-2400). But, I feel the size of the rooms justify the rent along with the W/D in the basement and the house is in a good location (Alexandria C+/B- area). 

I would be living in the house first with 2 roommates and then fully renting out the 3 bedrooms later. The rent does not include the basement that also has a half bath (maybe I could live in the basement and rent out all 3 bedrooms).

@Shawn Clark

The VHDA loan was kind of the first thing that was offered to me. From the research I have done they talk about the benefits and good points of the loans, but there is little information regarding the requirements. As I talk with others (such as @Amy H., thanks again Amy), the finer details of different loans start to appear. At the moment I am looking to focus on just one deal, but I will surely keep that in mind once I start looking for other deals. Thanks.