All Forum Posts by: Kimberly Marshall

I try to avoid more than 2 vacants on the block and nothing immediately next door or across the street.  but manily check the comps in the neighborhood using Redfin or Zillow.  If the resales are strong, then 1 or 2 vacants are having enough of an impact to stay out of the area.

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.  

It's not going to be like 2008.  2008 was mainly due to the sub-prime mortgages and variable interest loans that people couldn't afford once the rates adjusted

IBC Global has some good videos on youtube that explain it.  

I was interested in it at one point, but because of the amount of premium you have to pay on the paid-up rider that impacts your cash flow, I figured I could use that money to buy real estate instead. And you can borrow immediately but not the full amount of premium that you paid.  It's about 3 - 5 years before you can borrow all of the cash value.  

I would start off listening to some of the bigger pockets videos on Youtube and then reading some of their articles and books. 

That is a very tough question when you don't really know Baltimore.  checkout the Live Baltimore website to learn about the neighborhoods and get the statistics on the renter percentage vs ownership percentage.  

I live in Prince George's County and cheap is relative.  You can find a 1000sqft fixer upper with structural damage for $275k.  It's much more expensive than Baltimore but cheaper than Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County and Northern Virginia

@Antonios Kranidis.  I totally forgot.  You can look at getting a 203k loan which gives you the money to finance the purchase and repair.  But I believe they stipulate that you must live in the home

If you're going to BRRRR you could reach out to some hard money lenders and get an idea of their terms. There are several who will lend to someone with no experience. Your credit score is definitely high enough for an approval. A house hack situation would work well as it would get you lower down payment and lower interest, however I am not sure how you would finance the rehab.

Was your plan for the property for it to be a house hack? What is the ARV if you fix it up? What type of repairs would be needed to get that ARV? I think you should look at rentometer and see what you could rent the entire property for. I am not sure if people do the "roommate" thing in Laurel. You could look at doing an AirBNB maybe, if your property is in an area that has a demand for Air BNB. Since you're living in it, maybe you figure out the resale comps for it, spend the next 6 months making any updates/repairs/etc. then sell it. Have you heard the expression "Yout make your money when you buy"? It is so true. You have to have a plan for the property before you purchase. You have to know what it could resell for or what it could rent for and if your strategy will work. While I admire your gumption to get started, I think you need to do a bit more goal setting and researching.

good bigger pockets video to check out