All Forum Posts by: Kenyatta Donley

In early for one of the sessions tomorrow. Is there any registration or anything that we need to do today?

This is my first BPCON as well and I’m super excited. I m coming in from the Philadelphia area and days away from finishing up my first rehab (located in Baltimore). So this is the recharge that I need. 

Anyone interested in meeting up for a cocktail and or cigar… send me a message. I ve been to San Diego once before for a different conference. it’s a great town. 

Quote from @Account Closed:

Been looking forward to this since the start of the year. Excited to meet like minded people!! 

Same here! I think since I joined and didn’t get to go last year. Part of me wants to start packing! 😂

Quote from @Heath Thomas Jr:

Hey @Kenyatta Donley wanted to see how this project was coming along. If you are planning to flip it, try to market it with Live Baltimore's Vacants to Value program if it is eligible as it is a great incentive to buyers and could help you squeeze a little more profit out of the flip.

 Hey Heath thanks for the tip but I m not looking to flip. I think we are entering interesting times in Baltimore. So my goal right now is to build a portfolio rental properties. I think in this current market there will be a lot of opportunities in rentals. I believe in Baltimore specifically has DC becomes less and less affordable Baltimore will become attractive for young professionals. At least that's my plan for now. As I think I mentioned I have my own cash in these deal. So I'm the bank and the only real pressure is the pressure I put on myself. 

In terms of my project...I'm stuff in the inevitable Baltimore mud. We're running into some problems with an over zealous inspector. So he's holding up my framing approval. Then we have had electric services rescheduled several times and waiting on the water meter installation. Not "major" issues just pain in the a$$ things that are slowing down the project...mostly the inspector. The good thing is that I paid my contractor in draws that we both agreed to. So its not like he is walking around with my money and nothing is going on. He benefits him to keep things moving. So he is doing his part to help follow up on services and approvals. We have great relationship that started out and it appears to be paying dividends.

The upside is that the neighborhood is continuing flourish with some new neighbors coming in who are higher wage earners and a lot of curiosity and interest in my the completion of my project. So I am actually popping down tomorrow just to show my face on site. 

Quote from @Kimberly Marshall:

I am actually a member of the program and it greatly helped me navigate investing in the Baltimore City Market.  The thing that is much different with their program is that you have access to them to helo analyze deals and ask questions.  That includes direct contact with the leadership as well as zoom conference calls 4 times a week to cover various topics and answer questions that the members have.  They also provide a wide range of resources for lending, contractors, property managers, title companies, etc.  But the best thing about them is that their mission is to revitalize Baltimore.  Baltimore has been blighted by out of state investors who just buy up properties and them leave them vacant and drive down property values.  

 I know this is an old post but if you would be open to it I would love to connect with you and learn more about this program. I attended one of their free session and yesterday I just signed up for their their conference in October. I am interested in learning more about the NextGen Program before making a decision to sign up or not. 

Quote from @Mert Icgoren:

Hi all, 

Thanks in advance for all your opinions and suggestions. First time posting ! 

First time buyer here. I came across the Section 8 market in Baltimore, the cap rates look attractive, but since I'll be from out of state, I'm a little scared about finding the right property manager. 

I've been trying to do this investment from long distance and I know it's not the right way to do it and I should probably be on the ground in Baltimore, but my plans is to buy a property on Auction at Alexcooper.com, I've been following them closely for the last couple months, looks like there could be some interesteing properties.

Has anyone here invested in Baltimore section 8 market ? What has been your experience so far ? Do you suggest any other markets rather than Baltimore ? 

Thank you and best

I tend to agree with a lot of what has already been shared. However I do think there are opportunities using auctions and it’s not as scary as some people think. You just can’t rush into anything and do as much due diligence as possible. Also there are some auction companies that do allow you to visit the property prior to the auction date. It’s usually listed in the listing on the auction company website.

I m based in Philly and purchased my first property in February in Baltimore through an auction. It was a shell. The listing had a lot of pictures. I was able to get some Intel on the block. I looked at all the Google map pictures. I researched on PropStream.

I literally did everything i could before bidding on that property and kept my budget relatively low to minimize my risk. So it’s possible but you can’t go in half cocked just because it’s cheap.

The other thing is finding out as much as you can about the block. Specifically making sure you not buying a property with 6 vacants on either side. A lot of times you can see that by just looking up the address and using the realtor site to see the street view. It won’t tell you everything but it will at least give you a starting point. 

Take your time…research as much as you can from a distance. If possible make a day trip to Baltimore and just drive the neighborhood. 

Quote from @Dan H.:

just completed registering the wife and me. We also signed up for the STR workshop (extra $300) which was signing up fast. In the time between my sign up and the wife's signup (which was immediately after I signed up) the openings rent from 36 to 31.

This will be our first RE conference of any kind.  We have been investing in RE for many years, but never attended an RE conference.

Looking forward to the various sessions and meeting many investors.

Your message just made me go back and change my registration and add this session. I had initially skipped for a number of reasons but figured what the hell. I might as well get all that i can out of the experience. 

Quote from @Alexandra Hughes Pailet:

Quote from @Kenyatta Donley:

Someone how I got my dates wrong and though registration was opening on 5/1. I was super disappointed to realize that it actually 5/10! LOL

 I'm so sorry for the confusion!  We had a slight delay and changed it to 5/10. Apologies for the delay but we'll be ready to roll on 5/10! 🎉 

Guess who is about to go registered?? This guy!

Quote from @Alexandra Hughes Pailet:

Quote from @Kenyatta Donley:

Someone how I got my dates wrong and though registration was opening on 5/1. I was super disappointed to realize that it actually 5/10! LOL

 I'm so sorry for the confusion!  We had a slight delay and changed it to 5/10. Apologies for the delay but we'll be ready to roll on 5/10! 🎉 

No worries. This is my first one…I’m in the middle of my first project and I’m just excited! 😂

A word of advise to my other newbies friends....beware of people calling themselves contractors. I had one crew that was going to try and do my job without permits until I questioned it. Then they brought in another guy who was supposedly "licensed". Well when I pulled up his information he was licensed as a real estate appraiser and not a general contractor or trades person. Maryland has a website that makes it super easy to look up someone's credentials. Everyone is trying to get paid which is fine but we are responsible for our properties and risking our finances. So don't be afraid to verify and ask questions especially if things don't see correct.