All Forum Posts by: Tiana O.

Thank you all for your help. I was able to get a recommendation from my mortgage lender for a home insurance company. The final quote came out to a little under $800. 

This looks great Mindy Jensen . Is this something you all can also do for the BP app as well? I typically use the app during the evenings. For example: I’ve been looking for how to sign up for webinars on the app, but unfortunately I can’t find any easy way to get to the webinars.

I’m looking for recommendations on a good property insurance company for a Townhome I’m about to close on. The quote I got from GEICO was $1600. That seems a little high for a rental. Almost twice as high as my personal home insurance. Any recommendations? Also, I’ve heard about getting umbrella insurance up to $1 mil since my property won’t be in an LLC. Is that something I just ask the insurance company to tack on? Or is it completely separate? (Excited. Hopefully I’ll close on my first rental by Christmas!)

Thanks Patti Robertson This is great info. It also gives me a more realistic view of the Section 8 rent process.

Hey Ozzy Sirimsi , As an update: I ended up nixing the deal in Capitol Heights. Besides the bank taking too long to respond (short sale), it was in a closed townhouse community where I didn't see a lot of opportunities for appreciation. Also there wouldn't be much equity after I bought the home, so after paying the 20% down, there wouldn't really be a way to get my money back out. Shortly after I wrote a 50k offer on a property in Baltimore near a college. However, the seller has been unresponsive (something about wanting to evict the current tenants before selling). But I did have the chance to spend some weekends in Baltimore and get a feel for some areas and some cross streets where I want to invest. I was in the process of looking for rentals on Zillow, with a focus on my target areas in Baltimore based on where I visited, when I found a foreclosure property in DC that I liked. So I'm back to my original plan of investing in the transitioning neighborhoods in DC (which is more of an appreciation than cash flow strategy). However that property needs a lot of work. So I'm probably going to be sitting on 4-6 months of Renovations. I'm going FHA so once I move in, I'm going to rent out my old home and go from there. Since I'm doing owner-occupied for the DC property, I'll probably be back to looking in Baltimore a couple of months after closing. The goal is to get at least 2 units by the end of this year.

Hey @Russell Brazil. Thanks for the heads up. I've read that contractors need to have enough money in the bank to cover the project or at least the beginning phases of the project (e.g. the first $20k), and that might cause them to drive their prices up a little. (Good ole supply and demand). Also, that's the price I might just have to pay if I'm only paying 3.5% - 5% down with my own money. 

Also, for anyone else reading this post, I was able to speak to my lender and I got some good contacts for contractors and FHA inspectors in my area. That seems to be a good way to go.

Hey BP fam, Looking to do a gut rehab (3/1 convert to 4/2 1-level SFH 1000 sf) along with major landscaping (ex. Putting in 3 levels of retaining walls for house on a hill). Does anyone know any contractors that work with the Fannie Mae HomeStyle Reno Loan or Contractors that work with 203k loans? I'm interested in knowing more about how the Rehab process works with those 2 loans. And possibly get some contacts to put in bids pretty soon.

Hey BP Fam, looking to buy a property in DC with the Fannie Mae Homestyle Purchase and Renovation Loan. It's a complete gut job. Are there any DC area contractors who have worked under this loan before? Over the next month, I will be looking for contractor bids. More importantly, I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect during the renovation process. I've read that contractors don't get paid until the final inspection with the Homestyle Loan. However, on some of my past projects, contractors asked for half up front (as a deposit, and also to buy materials). Any information you all have would be helpful.

Yeah an you give us more info on the property. Might know someone whose interested. Also, you can try posting on BP's marketplace.

Hey @Laurence Means. Just wrote some offers on some properties in the City. Are there any contractors you would recommend? If my offer gets accepted, I want to try to get some bids as soon as possible.