All Forum Posts by: M Marie M.

@Ned Carey is right on about a difference a block makes.

About a month ago when I was in Baltimore to take a closer look at neighborhoods, I discovered what a difference a block or a cross street can make.

I was staying (AirBnB) in a Union Square rowhouse on a lovely street and knew of another row how for sale, same street, one block over that was in my target price range.  So a day after settling in, I walk towards the house for sale and my gut feeling was "NO!" Not just 'no', but "NO" &"NO!" And this was just one block over, crossing a 4 lane (incl. parked cars) road.

Union Square has some beautiful homes and blocks that house some UMBC students but those homes are surrounded by blocks that aren't there yet. One day a no can become a maybe, and a maybe can become a yes one day. For now, I'm avoiding the nos.

When I bought my primary residence over a decade ago it came with a home warranty. That first year my toilet was running or doing something, I cannot remember. What I do remember was I paid the plumber over $100 to deal with it, and this is with the warranty! I figured next time I could probably either fix it myself cheaper or find a better plumber, so I did not renew.

Then my aunt who has been renewing her home warranty for years gets the run around when her fridge/AC started acting up. She had to wait on a part or a week of back and forth and this and that. The extra bother of dealing with the warranty company AND the service person didn't seem worth it to me. If I'm the one paying I'm the one they have to make happy.

I (and apparently family members too) have problems when trying to deal with warranties. Some places are great, no questions asked, send us the faulty item we'll take care of it and send a new one right away, others, nitpick and find ways to not to fix or replace it. 

So long story short, I tend not to do warranties.

@Rachel Gill, the after photos look amazing.

You mentioned contractor issues. Care to elaborate?

@Max Householder maybe I'm too used to being in a city full of policy wonks who are specific about why things are bad. The two guys quoted didn't add too much.

If there is very little opposition it could also mean that despite what is written it might not have real teeth. For example, there are rules with Section 8 about drugs and what not, but in some places it is not enforced well or at all. 

The regular landlord/tenant court may also not support the law in practice and decide not to let the eviction go through, which screws things up for the landlord who now has a pissed off tenant.

What are the civil liberties groups in the area saying about it?

I suggest the webinars - 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/webinar

and the podcasts- under the "Learn" tab. There are a lot of podcasts so first pick the ones most relevant to you, then after that listen to the other ones. Even though it might not be about your specific type of investing you may hear some tips and get some ideas or understanding that you might apply down the road.

I have a complicated (because I made it that way) personal finances, so I bank at a mix of banks. The majority of my banking is with the local credit union, but other banking is with Wells Fargo and a regional bank. I have them for different reasons.

The main bank is inconvenient and local, and I prefer it that way, so I'm not always in there. They have on-line banking, an app and semi-inconvenient ATMs. The regional bank is for the rental, and it serves where the one rental is. Wells Fargo is the personal account where I get to visit banks when on the east coast and the west coast. There is a branch across the street where I work, it is too convenient and so money does not stay in that bank long.  

I also like the local credit union because they aren't always getting me with fees and dealing with them is cheaper. Frustrating but cheaper. I don't hear about them in the news, they are a non-profit, and because they are local they respond quickly to or are very understanding regarding local problems (like govt shutdowns in DC).

 Thanks. 

If that class action suit ever happens it will be interesting.

I live in a city (DC) but I never knew how good I had it until I started looking at Baltimore property taxes. Holy Mole over 2%, whereas in DC it's .8something %. And the assessed value usually is some price that reflects another time (maybe another neighborhood). I have seen some advertisements regarding going through the process to lower the assessment but wonders if anyone has tried it.

@Molly Lee the Bigger Pocket's Blog just put up a post about this very topic. How timely!

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/09/25/landlords-guide-tenant-abandonment/