All Forum Posts by: Rashad Nelson

@John Neff.

Hi there - great thread :-).

Here are my top books:

Mindset by Carol Dweck - teaches to foster a growth mindset and that the pursuit itself of a skill or goal versus the end result and the embrace of failure on the journey is far more beneficial than to never try at all.

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson - the importance of small daily actions will lead to big results overtime.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad - got me started on my journey in real estate and wealth creation. More importantly to break out of the worker drone mentality.

@Ray Harrell With subsidized tenants in Baltimore, you're not granted the rent you want, but the rent you successfully negotiate, with the HABC (Housing Authority of Baltimore City), which is slightly higher than market.  It may cover the water, it may not.  Roll of the dice.  We get the most we can, but no guarantees on amount.  

@Thomas S.  Ah yes, thank you for acknowledging the subsidy component in my scenario.  Folks here assume I can just raise rents and evict people willy nilly, :-).  God bless them though, they're only trying to help.  Great suggestion - the property is located near the university hospital, a major jobs hub, so it would be attractive for a market tenant.  The funny thing is that I have another rental property in Baltimore County - a much newer home and in a much nicer area outside the beltway, near a major bus route and shopping center (Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Home Depot, etc.), yet I have very few market applicants interested, even though it's being offered at the market rent.  We'll see how it goes.  

@Samantha Klein - in Baltimore, it's called a "Failure to Pay" notice.  Can't do that because the water utilities cannot be added to her rent, per local Section 8 rules.  You can't simply evict unfortunately.  I can take her to small claims court, get a judgment in my favor, and effectively get her subsidy voucher revoked.  That's the official plan of action per Section 8 and my attorney in Towson, MD.  

@Ian Barnes - I agree with you about the age old sentiment of getting the right tenant.  I've lived in Baltimore for seven plus years before relocating to GA.  She's been my tenant since early 2012, effectively paying both her rent portion and water utilities bills with little to no issue.  I suspect she's run up on hard times financially. I can try to add this to her rent during the next HABC negotiation, assuming she's still my tenant.  

I do thank you guys, but again, no advice is needed.  Just curious about anyone's particular situation that maybe reflected this scenario (Baltimore rental owners only please, thanks).  

Hello fellow BP members, 

I'm not looking for answers, but I am curious if anyone with rentals in Baltimore City has dealt with the following situation:

Here's the scenario - I have a SFH rental in Baltimore City with a long time tenant. She's subsidized through Section 8, partially. Still paying her rent, but as of late, she's falling behind on paying her water bill. Not sure why. I informed her repeatedly if she's having financial trouble, then approach Section 8 on re-adjusting her rent portion until she has it firmly under control. Per the lease she's accountable for paying her water utility bills.

Now, here's where it's my problem.  Typically (in a place that makes sense), if someone fails to pay a bill, any bill, then the service is cut off by the service provider. That absence of service is more than enough incentive to get past due bills paid to restore service, especially if it's water.  Everyone needs running water where they reside.  However, Baltimore City doesn't cut water service for delinquent water bills, but simply places a tax lien on the property once the delinquent bill is over $1,000 over due and after failing to pay three consecutive delinquent water bills.  I hear NYC does the same, not sure why, maybe to save costs on continually cutting off and turning back on water for multitudes of properties.  In any case, it would certainly prevent further investment on my end on buying additional properties in Baltimore.  

To avoid any issues with the city, I paid the tenant's bill and informed Section 8.  My argument is that if the water service is never discontinued, then there's zero incentive for any tenant to pay their water bills in Baltimore City, at least on time.  

Again, I'm just curious if anyone experienced this.  

Thank you for your input as well.

Thank you John for your constructive insight.  That's exactly the type of feedback that I find helpful. Here are my typical market research resources per the criteria you've mentioned.  

Population growth - https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045216/....  I can only seem to get consistent growth figures measured between 2010 to 2015.  I've had no luck finding more recent data.  The current administration plans to cut Census Bureau funding, so this will certainly not improve things here.  

Job growth - http://www.deptofnumbers.com/employment/ - Latest info as of March 2017. Sources directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (which is not an easy website to gain information from).  This breaks things down far more easily.  

Days on Market (DOM), List Prices (appreciation), and Number of Active Listings  - http://research.realtor.com/ - Latest info as of April 2017.  

I also use Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities of 2016 - http://www.best-cities.org/. This info points me in a good general direction of a market to delve further into.  I focus on smaller cities.  

May I ask what specific resources do you use to track your data?  

Thank you both for your input.  

Hi Michaela, thanks for your feedback.  Any specific, recommended market research tools to vet neighborhoods with?  Most only break data down to metro areas and small cities.  

Hi all, 

I'm an investor in the multi-family commercial space (based in Atlanta) and I'm looking for a tertiary, emerging market to play in.  I've read Dave Lindahl's book, "Emerging Markets", where he breaks down the (4) stages of an investment real estate cycle:  Seller's Market I, Seller's Market II, Buyer's Market I, and Buyer's Market II.  

Buyer's Market II - beginning / first half of an emerging market - market absorbs oversupply, time on market decreases, job growth increases, existing properties rehabbed, rents begin to slowly increase, prices slowly begin to increase.  This is the market to buy.

Seller's Market I - supply dwindles fast, properties selling fast / very competitive, bidding wars start as properties come onto the market, time on the market is at it's lowest point, unemployment low, properties prices and rents rising, demand is at it's highest point, market will start to cool off at some point (can't last forever).  The savvy investors begin to sell their portfolios in this market and find other opportunities.  The green money stays in.

The major difference between these two markets is that Buyer's Market II is a market not considered "hot" and general investors at large do not really know about them.  Seller's Market I is your typical "hot" market (ie. Atlanta, Dallas, etc.).  

My question is this - what market research source can I use that clearly identifies markers that separates the two types of markets?  I wish to clearly identify cities that are in a "Buyer's Market II" portion of a cycle.  Any and all responses are welcome.  

@Becky Y.  - you're welcome Becky.