All Forum Posts by: Lesli Dixon

 Hi Bud - Thanks for the recommendation. Do they currently service one of your properties, possibly in the East Baltimore area? 

I just did a quick Google search and a number of companies popped up.  Could you send me their contact info?

Not trying to bust your balls, but I take it you're not trying to share the name of either of the alternative PM companies you've chosen to work with? 

Thus far, no one has had anything (good or bad) to comment on any of the other agencies I referenced in my initial post. That kinda leads me to believe maybe I should start out with Bay and simply be prepared to counteract any pitfalls I can expect with them. (i.e. Better the devil you know than the one you don't).

Thanks everyone for your responsiveness - I know we're still in the midst of the Holiday Blitz. 

In the meantime, if anyone else has any recommendations they'd like to share - please do!!!

Thanks.

@Ozzy Sirimsi East Baltimore generally - Charles Village, Remington, Waverly, Highlandtown ...

@Raymond Simms Thanks for the input. So are you using a different management agency or are you managing your property yourself now?

Hi All -

I'm looking for some folks who've had first hand experience with property management firms in Baltimore. I'm specifically looking for those that rent SFH or Duplexes. On my list are:

Bay Property Management

Premier Property Management

Vacancy Fillers

Rentwell

BMore Management

Alpine Property Management

Who would YOU all recommend from personal experience?

Thanks!

Sorry to hear about your predicament Paula. But I appreciate your post in helping all us newbies prepare for these kinds of challenges. I'm going to make sure to incorporate the ideas from the responses in my rental contracts in the future though - to the extent it's legal in Maryland ;) I do hope you come to a positive resolution with your tenants quickly. Please update us on how it goes. Best of Luck!

Hi Joy - Are you currently in Baltimore or Philly right now? It helps to have boots on the ground and access to a dB of properties when you're evaluating whether a particular area, or property, is a good investment. Have you already created an LLC or other entity to purchase a property under and secured/investigated financing options?

Hi Moises,

Affinity - http://constructionbyaffinity.... - rescued me from a "no-show, take my money and go" contractor operating under dubious circumstances (don't trust your lender or anyone to perform the due diligence you should be doing on your contractor). I met Marcus through the Rehabber Pro Meet-up. Established a rapport and reached out to him when I had to fire my original contractor. He, and his team, came through like they said they would, stayed in communication and were very reasonable, honest and highly skilled. Now, Affinity may not be your cheapest bid, but they're certainly not the most expensive either. They'll likely be able to refer you to an architect if you need one or someone who can provide drawings, like in my case. Most importantly, they work legally, reliably, will customize when necessary and get the job done in a timely manner. For me, that's worth a little extra expense at the front end. (Measure 3x, cut once.)  Good luck!!

I check permit status for clients purchasing resale homes. The Title Co. doesn't check for them and, as illustrated, they can cause major headaches and become expensive. Guess who the client is going to blame - EVERYONE (i.e. me) So, I make it a stipulation in the contract that open permits (like any other foreseeable liability) be resolved by the seller well before close. It's a common issue in DC with the rampant rehabbing of property. A simple credit isn't necessarily going to cover unforeseen costs should the county/local inspector decide the work needs "adjustment" in order to close it out. Once you've purchased the property - that's your headache. PSA - An addendum doesn't typically extend beyond settlement. So any agreement you make by addendum should be performed prior to close. An amendment to the contract, on the other hand, usually requires resolution of the matter in order for the settlement to occur. In any event, it's yours now. So I'd advise that you reach into your sugar and honey reserves and do what needs to be done to minimize any negative impact on your investment. Best of luck!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Baltimore.

Purchase price: $200,000
Cash invested: $18,000

House hack-primary residence configured for a walkout basement rental. Used a 203K streamline loan to get home up to rental code and address maintenance issues. Initial cash outlay was about $18K, the rehab loan added 26K to our 200K mortgage. Completing kitchenette w/appliances added an additional $5000 expense to investment. SFH fully furnished bsmnt studio rental available for short-term lease (traveling nurses/professionals, AirBnB, students) starting 8/1/21 btwn $800-$1000/mo or $40/night.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I'd purchased a multi-family in SE, DC in 2004 and the rehab required a near full gut. It was an arduous journey. It was meant to be a buy/hold/rent but due to various circumstances (read: lessons), I sold it a year later at around a 28K profit - if I remember correctly. I wanted to start slow getting back into investing and felt a SFH would give us (I got married) a bit more wiggle room, and practice, by using our basement as our first rental and moving forward with other SFH rentals from there

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

As a Realtor I had an auto-alert. But ironically, my husband was browsing Zillow the day it came on market (w/i 5 hours of posting) and it fit all our criteria. I called the listing agent and forwarded an "as-is" offer with inspection contingency. The photos were gorgeous and it was in a good location, but as a "sight unseen" prop I added the contingency to protect us from any unknowns, including if we just didn't like it! We saw it the next day and were sold - pending inspection of course!

How did you finance this deal?

FHA 203K and cash for Settlement and prepaids was from Savings.