All Forum Posts by: Sam Lewis

Typically you can request a rent increase once a year on their renewal.

Pros: consistent payment, tenants are incentivized to treat place well, tenants stay longer, rent is higher than market rent typically

Cons: some of the tenants can be nightmares, lots of paperwork, yearly inspections

Wholesalers who look up fancy scripts or wordplay to convince a seller to sell for a lower-than-market value price will not succeed in wholesaling. To locate potential homes, the most successful wholesalers I know drive for dollars or pull niche lists that aren't on commonly used websites / data sources. 

Still, when you're on the phone with a seller, or meet with them face-to-face, successful wholesalers figure out what their problem(s) are. 

Successful wholesalers don't talk, they listen. They also are transparent and honest about how the process works, and don't wordsmith or fabricate intent - those who do won't last long.

I hope this helps,

Sam
  

Hey Alex, this isn't a one size fits all approach. You actually have a couple options. Since your condo is paid off, you could sell it and take the proceeds to purchase a multifamily property, however the market is hot and it may be difficult to find a small multi family (since that is a common criteria for a new investor wanting to "househack.").

Assuming you've lived in the condo for a minimum of 2 of the last 5 years, selling the property would allow you to pay zero capital gains taxes. Look up the 250k/500k tax rule.

Another option is to take out a HELOC on the property. You could get a revolving line of credit (like a credit card, or in some cases like a checkbook) to use towards a down payment on a property. 

A third option is to simply refinance the property, and take a mortgage on the property to have additional cash savings to buy additional property. I personally like this option because the cash you take out after refinancing wouldn't have to be paid back, like a HELOC, and you can keep the asset long-term for rental income, loan paydown (principal pay down), tax benefits, and in a perfect world - appreciation

I hope this helps and wish you the best,

Sam

Hey Maurice, agree with what others have said. Look around on Facebook for terms such as "Baltimore Investors..., Maryland Investors..., Wholesaling DMV, etc." 

You will see a lot of great groups to join.

Wish you the best,

Sam 

Hey James, welcome to BiggerPockets and hope all is well. With 25K saved up, I think your best option is to purchase a househack in your area - ideally a pocket of Hagerstown with a good amount of young 20 and 30 somethings who would be willing to share a house and rent room by room. You could also purchase a 2-4 unit, however those are harder to find and typically get bid up to the point where they are no longer deals (too many people have read BiggerPockets books, haha).

The way I got started was by doing a 3% down conventional loan for a 350K property in Towson, MD. I brought 14.5K total to the table after asking the seller to pay 3% towards closing costs. I went from paying $1000 a month in rent, to making $1000 a month from renting rooms.

Sure you could do a flip, attempt wholesaling (off market deal hunting), but I truly believe your investment journey will take off if you make that first purchase a solid househack.
 

I hope so man! We have yet to meet in person 

Hey folks, wanted to make sure greater Baltimore investors are aware of a real estate meet up we are hosting this Saturday from 2-6pm at State Fare in Catonsville. Hope to see you there!

This is the original BiggerPockets event post: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

INVESTORS!

Come one, come all, for food, beer, and oh yeah - other investors to talk to. What more could someone ask for? Spouses, moms, dads (rich dads) and children are welcome, as long as they know what BRRRR means

WHO: Greater Baltimore real estate investors and professionals
WHAT: Drinking, eating, and more drinking
WHERE: State Fare Restaurant & Bar
WHEN: Saturday, July 24th, 2021 from 2 - 6pm (and on).

We have a reserved area with high tops, private bar and bartender, and tent with a welcome table for guests to sign in

FB link here: https://fb.me/e/JkEPNW38

Key words: Baltimore Maryland MD DMV Catonsville Towson Bel Air Reisterstown Aberdeen Columbia Owings Mills Woodlawn Glen Burnie Parkville White Marsh Middle River Linthicum Overlea Halethorpe Lutherville Timonium Glen Arm Ellicott City Frederick Hagerstown Federal Hill Fed Hill Fells Point Locust Point Canton Inner Harbor Hampden Inner Harbor Charles Village Pigtown

Best of luck, feel free to reach out if you have any questions 

Some banks can qualify you for multiple loan options, typically both FHA and conventional (which both allow low down payment options, FHA as low as 3.5%, conventional as low as 3% down). Typically FHA is better suited for folks with lower credit (580-620, whereas conventional is the way to go if you have good credit - 620s and above). Note this is as of June, 2021.

Assuming you have no other recurring monthly debts (e.g. car loans, revolving credit card debt), it's fair to take your yearly income and multiply by 4 for the total amount of house you can afford. So if you make 50K a year, expect to be qualified up to 200k for a house.

Is your PT job W2 income or 1099 income? W2 is generally better, but if you have at least 2 years worth of 1099 (self employment) tax return income then you may be good to go for loan qualification.

Best of luck,

Sam