All Forum Posts by: Kenneth Cheston

@Paul Welden Indeed! Part of me thinks it's best to wait out this peak, but never hurts to explore options.

@Russell Brazil Okay thank you for the thoughts.

@Russell Brazil Thanks for the input. Then what time of the market is best? Have you used a 203k Loan?

@Mao Pmn I'm circling back to see how your 203k loan experience went. It's something I'm exploring in the Baltimore area and would love see what lessons you have learned. It seems this is somewhat a dormant financing option in the Baltimore area. 

@Account Closed The deal does look enticing and may be too good to be true. As Tim pointed out a 200k would give me a C grade property in an A grade area. Now I'm looking for C grad properties in B grade areas. Best of luck in Pittsburgh! I'll have to confirm the trash fee although that is what I am seeing from the city services site.

@Ozzy Sirimsi you are absolutely correct. As Tim pointed out earlier taxes are 2.25% so this scenario would be $4,500! Great point.

@Julius Chinn Julius it was actually me imposing my will upon a certain area trying to make the numbers work! Very naive of me.

@Jeffrey Evans I couldn’t agree more. I wasn’t not even expecting responses to this forum out of exhaustion from other newbies asking the same question but we haven’t a lot of helpful investors here. Seems we are in a similar situation. Best of luck! I’ll be looking for updates on you’re journey.

@Nicholas L. see if that worked... 

Yes listing prices are crazy right now. Good for you grabbing a househack in Arlington. With Amazon HQ moving into Crystal City it's tough to find something that is reasonable. Nice my brother lives near Hartford, CT and says it has some promise. Pittsburgh! I'm an Architect and just helped finish documenting the new landside terminal at PITT airport. See below. I have a friend who just rehabbed a place and another who is househacking a townhouse in downtown. Seems like it is up and coming with healthcare, education, and start-ups as the drivers. Good luck with the BRRRR. That is definitely a powerful strategy from what I have read and researched.

Nicholas L. - how are you tagging me? I'm copying your name from your post (I can no longer call myself a millennial). Nick I'm a first timer or looking to purchase my first rental property. I live in the D.C. area where prices are sky-rocket so it made sense to look into Baltimore although the city has it's own set of problems. I have been talking to realtors and they suggest areas between the "bad" and the "good" contain blue-collar tenants. These areas contain price points and rents that start to make sense. This is now my focus. How bout yourself Nicholas?

Nicholas L. but thank you - you are right. If I had gathered fully evaluated comps I would have seen a problem.

Nicholas L. The issue is actually the purchase price, but your instincts are correct. Something is wrong. As Tim Jacob pointed out - I was looking in the most affluent areas in Baltimore like Fells Point or Charles Village. 200k wouldn't give me a great turn-key property unless I was seeking out a fixer-upper, but even then I not sure the numbers would work. Rent is actually $2,000 dollars in these areas. I use "rent-o-meter" which grabs comps from the areas and shows square footage, rent, bed/bath, and location. The purchase price was the faulty variable.