All Forum Posts by: Sam Lewis

@Tiesha Mobley I really like 3 bed 1.5 bath townhomes that need a little bit of work. It’s all about the numbers!

Seconding @Joe Norman and @JC Cole here. Househacking is a fantastic way to jump into real estate. I purchased a househack in Towson, MD and rented it room-by-room. It allowed me to 1. live for free (and make money), 2. have awesome roommates, 3. practice being a landlord.

When done correctly, househacking will snowball your real estate investment success by eliminating the costly expense of housing, throw you into the fun of property management, and the icing on top - loan pay-down and some extra money to put in your pocket each month! 

So that's the icing - what about the cherry on top? If you're a first time homeowner, you can qualify for seller concessions - in other words the seller will help out with closing costs (in my case it was about 7k). My realtor took care of that when I purchased my househack - so I made a 350k purchase with 10K down (3% conventional loan) and 5k in closing costs. 

As for location, my rule of thumb is within 1 mile of a public university, 1 mile of a private university, 1 mile of a large well-established company, and 1 mile of a major hospital system, and of course in an area where you wouldn't mind living. All those factors considered, you shouldn't have an issue screening roommates you wouldn't mind living with.

@Nick Love night owl 🦉

Hey Joe! Looks like something I wouldn't want to miss. Thanks for posting.

Hmm... no bias here at all... but Baltimore! (Might I add I don't know Richmond very well, so save that for a fellow Richmonder). 

I love Baltimore due to the cash flow, exit opportunities (can turn a rehab into a rental easily, with a dense population), and the fact the metroplex is heavily funded with Federal employment. I specialize in Baltimore County however, so not the city. 

The best advice I can give you without actually knowing you is to pick an area you are familiar with, i.e. your "backyard." You have more market insight than the average Joe and are way less likely to walk into a deal and leave without a shirt. 

@Daria B. I don’t have my tenants pay water. For section 8 I mark that I pay water, so I get a little more each month because so. In my opinion I don’t want to chase tenants over water bills - not worth it IMHO.

Others will differ with my opinion

@Joe Norman crushes it again. I second what he says, with a double emphasis on finding (and keeping) great tenants!

Fully agree with Joe - Baltimore is so diverse and while there are areas I personally wouldn't invest in, I like the sweet spot of Class B neighborhoods with a fair share of working class and Section 8 voucher holders (my two favorite types of renters for cash flow). 

Baltimore County also works! I love Parkville, Dundalk and Middle River.

Ryan let's stay in touch and I'm a relatively new agent myself. I started out investing in a SFH househack and now do BRRRRs in Baltimore County. I have great contacts for property management, electricians, plumbers you name it. Please pm me if there is anything you need

Yes I second Kelly - who is crushing multifamily in the city. 

I would push near a University for sure (one Public / one Private). In Towson I chose my property based on Towson University and Goucher College.