All Forum Posts by: M Marie M.

No it does not mean squatters are on the land.

If this is Baltimore, it is one of those weird quirks of the city. And if that is the city, it means someone owns a lease upon the land the property sits.  It is something like $80-120 a year. Failure to could result in a foreclosure.

If this is Baltimore then check out http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/Groundrent.html for more information.

I just recently joined BP and started listening to the podcasts and have been reading BP blogs and forum discussions, learning a lot.

Before I joined and the reason I joined was I was thinking of investing, well buying and holding in the city north of mine, Baltimore. Unlike DC, I can buy something with money from my savings in Charm City. So my sole focus was buy and hold for cash that I had on hand. Then I start listening and reading and learning and all these possibilities that I had never considered before, such as looking in my own back yard, financing options, etc.

I also run (well, inherited and I'm keeping it on life support) a blog about vacant nuisance properties in DC. Before that I ran a popular neighborhood blog where I would occasionally talk about real estate and development in a transitional neighborhood. That was and is my neighborhood activism. 

So after about 2 weeks of BP, a thought enters my head, instead of just complaining about poorly kept and vacant buildings that are preventing a street or block from being its best, why not put my money (or other people's money) where my mouth is? I spoke to my husband about this and he asked where would my (our) investment do the most good? Don't get me wrong, I'd like to make some money too, but I want to help uplift a neighborhood as a landlady. He did ask a good question, something I'd have to research. I know NW and NE DC better than I do B'more, and I know what areas have the best chance of getting better. But Baltimore needs more people willing to give it a chance.

Anyway, I'm just thinking out-loud. But what do you think, mixing your activism with real estate?

I'm trying to figure out the whole thinking someone had a copy of her key thing. A lot of keys look alike. I have a key emblazoned with the University of Florida logo, I'm sure someone else has the same looking kind of key. 

Do you change the locks when new tenants come in? If you do, and if you never lost your keys and she didn't lose keys then the facts don't support a need to change the locks. But if it would make you feel better or if this will bug you, change the locks.

Is the building across the street the competition? And what kind of renter does the four-plex attract now?

Hello @Sanzhar Zikirov and welcome to BP. It looks like you have a lot of things going on with real estate. Your first point mentioned appreciation, I believe Brandon Turner (BP VIP) said that appreciation, when it comes to rentals, should not be something you're depending on. Your focus with rentals should be cash flow. Don't put more into the place than you can realistically get out in rent. Just run some of the basic numbers accounting for vacancies, taxes and repairs and see if it makes sense.

@Jon Behlke suggested selling the properties off, that's an option if it worth more in the long run, rather than renting. 

I do wish you the best and, again welcome.

@Shayne Brescia I love what you did with the front adding a real porch. You have done a beautiful job, and renovated the house the way these things should be done.  Cheers!

@Chris Hoffman welcome fellow Florida native to BP and congrats on your up coming nuptials.  And if I am reading you right, there is no guarantee that you'll be relocating to Florida because your fiancee's internship duty station is unknown? 

Also adding the word wedding makes everything 2x as expensive. We saved money on our big days (2 weddings, 2 coasts) by using connections we had and being creative. Exercise your creativity, as it is useful with real estate too.

There have been a lot of great suggestions and I second getting window units as a temporary measure until you can get to the actual problem. I'd also suggest monitoring the heat and humidity levels in various parts of the house. You can buy something that measures those in garden centers and big box stores. Maybe those can help pin point the problem.

I'm a Florida native and my parents seemed not to believe in AC when i was growing up, so I keep my house at 80, sometimes 78 when I want to be spoiled or when turning on the oven.

Hi @Teddy Moges sorry for welcoming you so late. 

The area of which you speak is my neighborhood, or at least my area of personal expertise, not professional. Personally I think there are more deals to be found a bit farther down Rhode Island NE heading towards MD. 

Welcome @Dave Leresche to BP. There is a lot to learn here from the forums, the blogs, the podcasts, and webinars.