All Forum Posts by: Ruth Lyons

Hi Jeremy, I've seen the city do all sorts of stuff but that doesn't sound right. Are you sure it was legally zoned as Multifamily before?

Ruth

Nice! Good job Brian!

Are there any pictures with the listing? If you can’t go inside you have to budget to replace major items like water heater, furnace, AC unit and kitchen appliances. If it has a basement you should budget for possible waterproofing needed. By the age of the house, you can estimate other costs such as roof, septic, well, etc. If the home was built before 1978, don’t forget about lead paint inspection too. Buying a house unseen is very risky. Are you sure you want to buy at auction?

Hi Erick,

Baltimore county is definitely more investor friendly as far as getting started than Montgomery or Howard county. Harford, PG and Anne Arundel county are mixed. But it all depends on what you’re looking for and how much money you have to invest. Are you looking for class “B “properties, for example? Are you looking for cash flow, appreciation potential or a combination of both? Are you using hard money or traditional bank financing? How much cash do you have for down payment? I am an agent and also an investor… The answers to these questions are really crucial to knowing where to look. My rentals are all B class properties scattered throughout the county and across asset types (condos, towmhomes and single family) to achieve a level of location diversification and potential appreciation because that’s the investing strategy I chose. Many investors want lots of “doors” in C and D class properties rented to Section 8 tenants to get high monthly cash flow. I work with a few investor clients that don’t care about cash flow but are banking on long term appreciation by investing in only A class properties. So it all depends — choose a strategy and find the niches where your strategy will work...

I have had experience with Section 8 in my rentals, both good and bad. My broker and I interviewed Marsha Parham, the director of Baltimore's Section 8 program last fall. It's very informative about how the program works for tenants and landlords. I'll try to place a link here as there is nothing promotional about it, but it may be removed by admin.  If so, you can find it on Sachs Realty's youtube channel. 

I was able to get a HELOC on a rental by going through a credit union. Additionally, the HELOC on our primary residence is with a small community local bank, Sandy Spring.

Hi Brandon,

I would love to connect. I'm an agent and investor. My office is in Columbia. My retail and investor clients buy in Howard and Baltimore counties primarily.

Ruth Lyons

Three young adult men sharing one bathroom is much easier than 3 young adult women would be! LOL. I can't help but be struck by how comfortable we've become with the perceived need for convenience in our lives. It wasn't that many years ago that a single family home was a small rancher and one bathroom was common and very doable. There were 7 in family and we only ever had one bathroom. You take turns.

Hello BP friends and fellow landlords,

I'm looking for a new contractor. I've been using the same one for a few years and the quality of work has been going downhill each time. I'm closing on another property on August 10. Property is in Owings Mills and needs some fixtures updating, painting and flooring to make it rent ready. I would appreciate any recommendations.