All Forum Posts by: Malcolm Lawson

I would ask the agents what they are going to do for marketing.  For example are they going to take the photo's them selves or have a professional take them?  Aerial shots?  Paid facebook ads? Open Houses?  Video Walkthrough with the zillow app? Professional staging? These are the things that will make your home sell quickly and for more money. 

Agent #2's team selling 125 homes really just means they have great lead generation.  There average days on market will tell you how accurately they price there homes and good they are at marketing.  

Also, La Plata is not a great commute to DC.  It's well over an hour in traffic and further then buying a home in Waldorf or Brandywine so I wouldn't count on that adding to much value.

For the most part you see them just outside of DC and Baltimore or across the Bay Bridge in Queen Ann County.  They are pretty rare outside of those areas.  Occasionally you do find them though.

Another option you can pursue is creating your own multi unit.  If you find a home with a basement with it's own entrance or detached garage you could convert into a rental unit.  Sometimes you even find homes with a separate guest house you could rent out.  

Traditional banks probably are not your best option, you really need a lender who specialize in those types of loans or an HML, Hard Money Lender. Take a look at http://www.cskyfinancial.com/ or https://limaonecapital.com/ i'v known people who have used them.
 

Hey David,

So are you going to be stationed at the Navel Academy? Annapolis is a great place to live. I did exactly what you are planning on doing, bought a town house as my primary residence with the in Annapolis using the VA loan for $220,000, stuck about $30,000 renovating and now have been renting it out for $1,900 a month for the last 4 years. My mortgage is only $1,300 a month so it is working out pretty well for me. Let me know if you have any questions about the area.

Hi Michael,

I am in the military as well (Bolling AFB) and also have my real estate license and work with investors in MD.  The first step is talk to lenders, several of them so you can compare there loan programs (as long as they don't ALL run your credit score because that will lower it).

Now you could use your VA loan to purchase a property with a rental built in and ultimately rent out both units when you PCS. You may be able to pull that off without putting anything down. I rent out the first home I bought using my VA loan near Annapolis MD.

When you are ready let me know and I can help you find some deals, probably foreclosures or short sales.

What area are you looking to invest in? Have you ever used your VA loan before?

HAHA Just looked it up "Political Opinion: The opinion of persons relating to government, the conduct of government, political parties, candidates for election or elected office-holders. (Harford, Howard and Prince George’s Counties)"

I work in Waldorf Maryland and find it interesting that in some counties like Prince George County you can not decline a potential tenant based on there source of income.  In other words you can not decline a renter because they are on section 8.  However in other counties, like Charles County where I live, that is perfectly fine to do so.  When I work with landlords around here I often run into tension when I tell people the owners "are not participating in the section 8 program at this time" and then I have people trying to tell me that the owners HAVE TO accept section 8.  I then very politely inform them that there are Federal, State and County level Fair Housing laws and in our county you can decline someone based on there source of income.

Hi Kezia,

Bowie is a nice area, I used to go to the Bowie Town Center allot.  If you ever need the services of a real estate agent let know.  I work with allot of investors and If you like, I could also help you find foreclosures deals in your area.

-Malcolm

Sounds like it could be a great deal, good luck Ben!

There is a saying "I'll give you your price if you give me my terms." Seller financing for 50 years at 2-4% sounds like great terms. Have you run the numbers yet? What can you rent the home for after repairs? What will your monthly holding cost be? Taxes, HOA, insurance, financing cost, property management cost, ect. If you stand to make a nice monthly profit I would say go for it.

As for your estimate of $50-$75K in repairs, no offense but if you are new to REI than there is a good chance your estimate might be off. If that estimate came from the seller, he has an incentive to underestimate the cost of repairs. I would recommend having a licensed contractor come out and give you an accurate estimate, even if you have to pay for there time it's worth it.

Also how confident is your ARV estimate of $400-$475? That seems like a pretty big range. Unless you are really familiar with estimating home values I would recommend asking a real estate agent what they think the ARV would be. If you message me the property address and some basic info I can pull some comps and try to give you an estimate of it's ARV. I do ARV estimates all the time.