All Forum Posts by: Serena Appiah

Great discussion! I own a single family home in Silver Spring and a townhouse in Hagerstown (Washington County). I've got enough cash for a healthy 20% - 25% down payment and I'm struggling to find some affordable properties, too. I've been looking in Baltimore County but really wish I could get something in Silver Spring since it would be only a hop, skip, and a jump away. I am planning to buy and hold for about 5 years or more. 

I've even considered buying in Hagerstown because I've never had problems renting our townhouse in Hagerstown over the past 15 years. You can get a much more affordable place there. But rents are also a bit lower. So to buy there, you would want to make sure the expenses each month are really low to account for lower rents. But there has been no shortage of renters in Hagerstown. 

I am looking for a fixer up where I can do much of the work myself, though, which is why closer to Silver Spring would be ideal so I can work on the home easily.

Alan, I'm a DIY blogger and YouTuber and do home improvement projects, furniture makeovers, gardening projects, etc on my blog and channel. My own home has served as my content, but now that my home is nearly "done" I am looking for a fixer upper that can serve as the next source of content for me. I work with a lot of brands, also, on sponsored content so they pay me to create content using their products. Having my next property in need of these projects will yield me lots of income from brands, while at the same time building equity, especially if I get something prices right. 

Lastly, my business has started venturing into producing more content for brands as a freelancer. So having a staged home where, if I need to do bedroom filming, I'll have a staged bedroom where I could film without the hassle of needing to clean up my own personal bedroom ;) If that makes sense!

So as you can see, this property will serve several purposes! My plan would be to hold it for 3-5 years while working on it.

What places in Baltimore and Bmore county do you recommend?

Thanks!!

Serena

Hi, I'm a newbie here! Hubby and I own our current single family home in Silver Spring, MD which is part of the Washington DC Metro area. We also own a townhouse rental for 15 years in Hagerstown, MD, which is my original hometown 1.5 hours away where my mom still lives. 

I'm a little discouraged with trying to find affordable properties here in Montgomery County and surrounding areas. I've considered venturing into Baltimore County. But I was hoping to find a property that is no more than 30 minutes away from my home because here is my strategy:

Buy a fixer upper that I can take my time in fixing up while using the content for my do-it-yourself YouTube channel. Once fixed up and "staged" it will be like office space for me to use for when I need to film content or work on projects. Therefore, it has to be close to home, somewhere I can pop in and out of when I need to film projects.

But the closer I am to home, the more expensive (like $350K to $450K). I've got about $75K available to put down. But even with that amount, I feel I am priced out of this market and it may require me to go further out, which means commuting long distances multiple days per week when I need to do work at the property.

What's the solution here in an expensive market? Pay more (larger mortgage) for proximity, or commute longer distances (smaller mortgage)?

Thanks!

Serena