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All Forum Posts by: Sam Lewis

Sam Lewis has started 10 posts and replied 277 times.

Post: This is Not the Real Estate Environment for Rookie Investors

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

@Terry Harris this is when I predict a lot of homes will enter the foreclosure status. I vast majority of homes entered into pre-foreclosure in late May, and 6 months later is when the ticker hits

Post: What can I do until I get enough money to invest?

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

Abigail, contrary to popular believe you do not need a full 20% down to purchase a property.

If you purchase a property with the intent to live in it (i.e. owner occupied property), you can qualify for as little as 3% down. Granted, I am no lender but you should have a credit score hovering in the high 600s and above, a low debt-to-income ratio, and cash reserves on the side for worst case scenarios. 

@Bryan Noth brings up a great point about househacking. This is a cross between an owner occupied property and either having roommates or a completely separate unit (i.e. duplex) for renter(s) to live.

This is what I do, and it allows me to pay off my entire mortgage and pocket the rest. Let me know if you have any questions! 

Post: Steps for Determining ARV

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

This is a really great question!

I agree with @Will Fraser on putting yourself in the appraiser's shoes. I actually start at 90 days and 0.1m miles strictly on bedroom count (i.e. 3) and property type (i.e. townhome), and then move the location out to 0.25m, and then 180 days if needed. 

The #1 game changer to pulling good comps is looking at the map. Even if something is 0.1m away, it could be across the street in a separate development. Every time I look at the radius on the map, I question "which property would an appraiser most likely pick as a comparable?" 

It works like magic and you will boost your confidence by asking that question.

I also remind myself that humans are innately biased towards how things appear. So if a potential comparable has the same street name as the subject property, there could definitely be some bias by the appraiser in selecting that house as a comp.

Unfortunately so many investors don't understand that at the end of the day, one appraiser will affect how "great" your deal is, especially with the BRRRR method.

Post: What Do you Spend the Most Time on?

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

I would say 50% networking, 25% deal analysis, 25% whirlwind of managing tenant needs and maintenance requests. 

I think the best ROI is helping others (part of networking). Time and time after again it's proven to come back with a new opportunity or connection that has accelerated my real estate journey

Post: Cozy.Co Merger No Longer Totally Free?

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227
Originally posted by @Travis Bagley:

I cannot find too many specifics on this other than a small blurb.

"Is Apartments.com free like Cozy?

If you manage properties with 20 units or less, all of the core services that you use on Cozy are free for you on Apartments.com. There’s no hidden fees and you can list, accept applications, create leases, and set up rent payments for free. For renters, ACH payment are still free to send while card payments incur a 2.75% transaction fee. Renter applications cost $24.99, and include screening reports from TransUnion. They are re-usable for 30 days."

Now I am no where near 20 units today, but the selling point for Cozy for me was that it would scale indefinitely for free. Since I can't find other pricing info it is hard to say what impact this might have for those with > 20 units. 

Anyone thinking of going elsewhere due to this? Anyone have any other information on what happens past 20 units?


A wise property management colleague of mine once said "Cozy all the way until 20 properties, then hop to Buildium." I use Cozy and have a long journey to 20 properties

Post: Looking for BP members to be on a webseries

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

Hey @Alexander Felice,

I live in Towson, MD and am curious how I could be a part of this. I have a househack in Towson and would be able to educate others about the criteria for picking a great location, great house set up (rooms, bathrooms, extra entrances, etc), screening great tenants, and other criteria such as parking, neighborhood involvement, etc. 

Post: Rookie in DC area looking to begin!!

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

First of all I am 100% jealous of your name. 

Best way to get your ducks in a row is to set a search in a set of zip codes and get familiar with property values based on location (street by street) and condition. Find yourself an investor-friendly network by posting on here and starting a meet up! 

Have you house hacked before? That's a great way to dive in

Post: This is Not the Real Estate Environment for Rookie Investors

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

@Mike H.

Foreclosures will start to pile up... its a ticking time bomb

Post: Home Equity Loan vs Paying Capital Gains

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

If you've lived in the property for 2 out of the last 5 years, consult a CPA and you should be able to avoid capital gains thanks to the 2/5 rule.

I agree with @Brian Ellwood - a HELOC is the move because they typically have very low fees (typically an appraisal fee at most).

I personally prefer cash out refi's if you need to pay off a high interest hard money loan. What's cool about these is while there are a lot of fees associated (appraisal, title, transfer taxes, etc.), you can write them all off come tax season : )

Post: Maryland House Hacking

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227

@Brian Kolb This is awesome. How did you go about getting it zoned by the county? I am analyzing a potential investment deal in BalCo that can be potentially a two unit, but I'm afraid zoning could be a mess...