All Forum Posts by: Kamyar Dastani

We're in the process of rehabbing one of the units we manage, and during teardown of the kitchen, we notice that on the wall behind where the sink and dishwasher were, was a hot water baseboard heater. We consulted with a couple HVAC guys and while they did advise that it wouldn't be too much of an issue because it's just "radiant heat", I wanted to see if anyone has seen something similar or encountered a situation like this? 

What we'd like to avoid is drilling into the slab and dropping the hot water pipe under the floor, or re-working the plumbing and electric to change the kitchen layout to avoid anything on that wall. Our contractor is suggesting we leave a small gap of ~3" from the wall to where our cabinets and appliances would come, but our concern is that this would lead to food/water falling through the large crack and being hard to retrieve/clean.

We happen to be in the same situation with our (non real estate) business. The nice thing is, we have been approved and have sixty days to decide whether or not to accept the loan.

On one hand, we were encouraged to take the money because, even if we are doing alright right now, all it will take is another wave or two to send everything hitting the fan again.

On the other hand, if you were to set that money in a separate account (which is HIGHLY recommended whether you use the funds or keep it sitting), that's $5,625 in interest, which I'd rather not pay if I don't need to.

If your business can stomach a $6000 insurance policy (that's how I look at it), by all means take the money. Our business is teetering on the edge of not wanting to take the money because that way, we have significantly more freedom when it comes to aggressive loan payment, potential owner draws, and just less stress of another lien on our business.

@Fernando Gonzalez

Hey Fernando, welcome to BP! I myself am a newbie but I've been eyeing the market around the DC area for a while now.

Personally, I've seen the market in this area remain somewhat flat over the past few months. Inventory has contracted a slight bit, but buyers are out there and some properties I've been looking to make offers on have gone for above asking.

I highly doubt the DC market is going to see too much in terms of a correction; there's a fair amount of money and the stimulus+forbearance, as well as the fact that the DC area has managed the coronavirus situation pretty well, contribute to the likelihood that property values won't sink too much, and very well could continue trending upwards.

In the end, you're looking to buy and hold, so as long as the numbers work, you should be fine, even if property values dip a bit. Then again, I myself am a newbie, but hope my brief analysis is helpful. Good luck!

Hey everyone! I've been a BiggerPockets member for quite some time now, and have spent a good chunk of time lurking the forums and trying to gain as much knowledge as I can before I make the deep dive into real estate investing. I have been an avid listener of the BiggerPockets podcast, and decided that I should start being more active in the forums as well. 

Born and raised in the DC suburbs, in good ole' Maryland, the only times I have left the area have been for vacations and the occasional summer internship. I have grown to love the DC area, and having gone to the University of Maryland and graduated not too long ago, I hope to be able to stay here for quite some time. I would love to become more active in the DC-area real estate market, and own a property or two (or ten) right here in my own backyard. And also own my backyard. Pretty ironic to rent while owning a bunch of property.

My ideal goal is to invest in rental properties in the College Park, MD area. Not only do I know the area really well, but I feel as though there is significant potential for growth, and that area of the Washington D.C. area is one of the few affordable areas remaining. Being a recent UMD alum as well, I feel that I know the amenities that renters in the area are looking for, and I believe I have the stomach to deal with a landlord's worst nightmare--college student renters. 

I hope to be able to connect with both novice investors (to be) like myself, as well as the more seasoned real estate investors that have been active in this market. 

To make myself seem much less boring than it may seem, I do have some activities that I enjoy outside of browsing the BP forums and listening to podcasts on my Metro rides to and from work. I enjoy trying out new restaurants that pop up all around the DC area, and am in the process of developing a Persian food blog and reviewing different kabobs in the DMV and beyond. I also am a big traveler and love finding ridiculous travel deals; I actually found out about BiggerPockets from a friend, as we were doing a day trip from DC to Austin, TX for just $36. And for other recent Terps, I do sometimes enjoy being able to go back to College Park, namely to go to rails at Cstone. 

I would love to get to know y'all, and don't hesitate to drop a comment and reach out! More than happy to talk about real estate, flight deals, the best Persian restaurants in the DMV, or about why the DC area transit system is doomed.