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All Forum Posts by: Sam Lewis

Sam Lewis has started 10 posts and replied 277 times.

Post: Baltimore Maryland Investors, let’s connect!

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

Hey there Tadela! Welcome to the Baltimore area. Always open to connecting and always looking for deals for my clients (and myself!). I focus more so in Baltimore and Harford counties

If you need help with anything (any contractor you can think of) I have a really strong network in the city!

Post: Will people leave cities post COVID 19?

Sam LewisPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Posts 283
  • Votes 227
Originally posted by @Mark Franklin:
Originally posted by @Dennis Cosgrave:

It is not just the WFH phenomenon that is driving this trend. The BLM protests just added fuel to the fire. To make matters worse, the demands to defund police departments are actually being implemented in some cities. In NYC, de Balsio cut the police budget by $1 billion and within a week crime increased 380%. Who wants to live in that kind of environment? WFH just made the decision to leave a lot easier. 

Looking a little further down the road, municipalities have lost serious revenue from the COVID lock down and they will be raising taxes to compensate for the losses. Smaller communities suffered less.

I forgot to mention the pension problems that some major blue cities have. More tax revenue is being diverted to cover pension payouts that will result in other services being cut or taxes raised again. 

When you add this all up, the future for big cities, especially those that are leftist and financially unstable, does not look promising.

Reducing police budgets is a long term strategy to reduce crime. The immediate impact is expected to be negative, but those funds are being diverted to fund public health, education, and community improvement, which is at the root of crime problems. 

Reducing police budgets is a long term strategy to reduce crime... whaaaatttt? 

Post: Primary home for 7 years converted into a rental.

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

Love it! Buy and hold is the way to go for long term wealth. Did you have any reservations turning your primary into a rental?

Post: What are the major auctions for the greater Baltimore area?

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

Billig, Cooper, Ashland, Auction Brokers... I would think that covers 80%.

Much appreciated Tom! Thank you very much 

Post: Baltimore Real Estate Round Table Discussion & Deal Makers ONLINE

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

Hey @Larry Adler, do you have any other events in July? Would like to attend after talking with @Alan C.!

Post: House hacking sfh and renting to tenant that has kid

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

It is completely legal for you to say "unfortunately we only allow 1 person per room and no outside guests for more than 2 nights a week."

In addition, because you are living in the home, you can legally discriminate based on gender (but you cannot advertise in that way). In other words, advertise your dwelling as if it were non-owner occupied, but if someone does not fit your criteria (i.e. a married couple wanting to share a room), you can legally discriminate based on gender because you live in the home (see specifics below), but to avoid them being upset, you can make it more about the rules of the property (i.e. one adult per room) rather than it being about gender (i.e. boys only).  

Under the federal Fair Housing Act, landlords who live in a property with four or fewer rental units (this would include your situation) are exempt from all but one aspect of the federal law: They may not advertise in a way that indicates a preference for (or against) members of a protected class (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability). And, there is an exception even to the exemption: You may advertise for a lodger of a specific sex (and you don't have to specify your own sex).

Pro-tip: If you reject someone's application or interest in your property, always offer to help someone find another place to live or at the bare minimum, suggest websites for them to check out additional properties. This not only helps them, but makes them way less likely to be upset if they do not fit your criteria for living (i.e. financial requirements and/or gender *if you live there*)

Hope this helps!

Post: Bachelors or masters degree in Real Estate? Unnecessary, useful?

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

I personally see a ton of value in simply making offers on deals and joining a circle of active investors in your area more so than a traditional education. 

That being said, a bachelor's degree can really help with baseline income to fund deals. In addition, any bachelor's is a great thing to have under your belt - allows you to join the "club" of a college education - ideally a degree with a fair amount of math, finance and/or analysis of data. 

Assuming you are looking to become a real estate investor, I don't think a degree in real estate is a requirement but it could definitely boost your confidence in jumping in real estate.

Post: Hello, new investor here!

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

Hello Bigger Pockets family!

My name is Mark, I'm 41 years old and brand new to real estate investing. When the COVID quarntine started, I decided to pick up some books to read since I had some spare time, and one of those books was Rich Dad Poor Dad which was an eye opener. Since then I've been reading, listening to podcasts, joining facebook groups and online forums, watching YouTube videos and everything else real estate investment related. I start a new job in Aug-Sep and will be relocating to the Baltimore area where I will start investing. I'm excited, and very thankful for the knowledge and experience shared here in the BP community! I can't wait to gain some knowledge and experience myself and start giving back.

Cheers!

Mark

Welcome to Baltimore - there quite a few of us active on the forums. Baltimore is a fun place to invest and a lot of great people doing it - I focus more in Baltimore county. 

Investing in your first investment property will be like trying dark chocolate for the first time... it may be sweet and leave a bitter taste in your mouth, but you will become addicted.

Post: What is your ideal turnkey property?

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

This is seriously a great question and is not asked enough. The classic "it depends" will play a lot here based on the investor's goals and financing options available.

For an investor with a growth mindset, a great turnkey would enable steady cash flow, minor repair work (if any), and little cash stuck in the deal. With a growth mindset we'd want our money to keep working for us. In this case, a turnkey property would ideally have an option for the buyer to go about seller-financing with positive cash flow.

I analyzed a duplex today and almost made an offer, however the seller would not consider seller financing. Since the turn-key property was already fixed up and was not offered at a major discount, the numbers met the 1% rule but unsurprisingly, did not offer enough wiggle room for a potential refinance or cash-out down the road. 

In this case, it did not meet my criteria to meet a turnkey property. I would have had to put roughly 20% down (plus closing) on a 220k duplex to achieve a cash flow of roughly 800-900 per month. This may be great for a hands-off investor looking to put money to work who is simultaneously okay with leaving cash in a deal, achieving a slower rate of growth and cash on cash return.

A common theme in making a turnkey property is (1) the financing available and (2) the growth-minded goals for the investor. 

Post: COVID-19 Temporary Rent Support Landlord Fact Sheet - Baltimore

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

The program also requires landlords not to initiate filings for eviction due to nonpayment during July and August, although the tenant will still owe contract rent for those months.

This eerily makes me think there will be a "part 2" down the road... yikes!