All Forum Posts by: Tim Jacob

I doubt it will get worse.  I have had similar situations with cats and guinea pigs.  Strip the floor to the subfloor and paint over it to stain block then just recarpet or put in vinyl to mitigate future stains.  Furthermore if they are always paying they probably will stiff you in the end if they know they aren't going to get the deposit back.  Hit them with charges after you have got everything you can from them.  I would mention the damages to mitigate more however and let them know you will be doing inspections in the future because of what you found unless you are always in there anyways bc things keep breaking anyways.  Filter changes are a good time if you have them as well.

I'd pay a few hundred and get some nice pics.  I didn't see it except for in the bottom and not in the wording.  I might be looking at the sale add and not the the rental.  Either way parking and laundry are major amenities and I would highlight that.  A lot of potential people will see your add and move on if they can't find things easily as a lot of adds falsely represent the property.  Renting by the room doesn't make sense for a lot of people but when you have 4 bedrooms and 4 parking spots it might.  I have 1 that has worked for a while.  It has 4 bedrooms like this 1.  As long as all the rooms are decent size with closets it could work and you could get closer to what you want in rent.  Most importantly right now is getting it leased as it has been vacant so long and will be hard to lease until March.  Hope things work out for you.

Hi Samantha.  

I saw your listing.  A few things of note.  There are no pics of a washer/dryer i think at that price point no one wants to go to the laundromat in Baltimore.  Secondly the kitchen could use some cosmetic upgrades as well especially considering the bathrooms look so nice.  The 4 parking spots are big.  There is no pic of them in the addendum.  I would consider getting some more pics.   Have you considered renting by the room.  With the 2 fridges it seems set up for that.  A place with parking and a private bath should 850 to 900.  You will have to offer less for the other 2.  Anyway you cut it they will all want a washer/dryer.  Even with those upgrades you are listed too high this time of year.   I would try to get a 5 or 6 month lease at cheap after a washer dryer add then renew in June for a higher amount or register it then and optimize the rent.  As a single family 2500  in Ridgeleys Delight but would atleast give a washer/dryer.  

Let me know if you need help.  I work in Baltimore city as a realtor and a property manager.

This is a good point.   It's why when you look at cashflow if you think long term the nicer neighborhood could catch up or pass the lower neighborhood.  In the higher neighborhood you can afford more aggressive rent hikes bc replacement is much more guaranteed and easier.   In the lower one if someone is paying you hold onto them even if it's notably below market rent.

It sounds like you have a bad pm if they are ignoring when you are trying to contact them.  I would wonder if the previous owner owed them money and they dont believe ownership changed.  A lot of times it is best if the existing pm is the listing agent so they can negate this along with tenant communications.  Did you receive security deposits with interest and pro rata rent for the month at settlement?

The pm could also  be very unethical.  They should atleast be communicating with you.  It would be helpful if you had your settlement papers.  When sdat and city taxes updates there will be no question though that could take months.

A lot of the better pms void this by only managing in the better parts of Baltimore city or the suburbs.  There they have a much higher likelihood to get tenants who will pay not to mention respect the property and make things easier for everyone.  If you are in a lower asset class things can go the other way.  A lot of voucher tenants actually can afford to not live in the worst parts of Baltimore but won't live in the best either.  Thus you might be able to find someone.  As things get more difficult more and more and just staying higher end.  If you go too low I would either recommend self managing or liquidate it.  The best lower end property landlords self manage.  The best way to look at things is the amount of hastle and money the pm will make.  In low end properties they dont make enough and they also take on considerably more risk.  

If you can share the address it could answer some questions.

The class will really dictate how to manage the property.  You can manage D grade rentals in rough areas but in general the most success is from those that manage their own rentals in those areas of town.  If you get to a pound t where it's a C grade rental or better you can start to get decent management.  You have to look at things from the management perspective to understand this.  If the property is in a rough part and only rents for 1000 and is harder to manage than a rental that's double that and it's percentage based they gave to be compensated fir the extra work.  No eviction protection so since you gave to settle on someone with and low 600s credit score if you have to go to court they get to charge for their time on that.  Also get to charge for turnover work.  In higher grades you can get those protections.  In general decent pms just don't manage in bad areas.  I would call pms and ask them areas they would manage or go on someone websites where you can get an idea from their.  I would say air on the side of caution.  

What's not going to happen is your going to get good long term pm done for you in rough areas with no other incentives like they are making money more on project management of the renovations.  Also more likely you have better rentals which are less hassle.  No one is going to subsidize your cash flow on their behalf taking on all that responsibility for what they could have made as a teenager working at McDonald's.  As long as you treat things with a level of fairness it will work out.  Section 8 is getting harder and harder in the city btw.

You can thread the needle by purchasing the right property but you need someone who really knows the local market.  If you need help let me know.  Im a realtor and a pm up here.

I really appreciate the post about the lead lawsuit.  I'm sure there are plenty of people here that invest in the east and midwest that have had 1.  Imagine if there had been no risk reduction cert and no acknowledgement of these things on the lease.  I will say this though.  Think about your asset quality and the most likely demographic that will be there.  Do they have young children.  Furthermore as many people unfortunately default to I wouldn't label Baltimore bad entirely.  Being a large city there are good and bad parts.  Also if you have someone testing positive for lead somewhere else I wouldn't expect your jurisdiction to save you.  The law will come down on you hard for that in other places as well.

I would think about how much money it is to go lead free if you are buying a new property though.

Going lead free in old homes that are pretty 1950 usually means eliminating old radiators, getting the lead off them, or replacing them as well as eliminating all old trim aa well as cornices and even fire escapes.  Some of this isn't economically feasible like the fire escape.  However you can still go lead limited which means it's lead free on the inside.  This means a visual inspection of the exterior every 2 years.  This eliminates some liability and is easier for turnovers as keeping lead on the inside means dustswipes for every turnover regardless of tenancy length.  Usually the radiators are deal-breakers for me but I would be honest with yourself and ask your self who your tenant is.  If you suspect a lot of families will be leased to than it might be worth getting the inside done.  If it's a college area it won't matter as much.  A lot of lead inspectors can you give you a cheap test to tell you where it is to confirm things.

Dundalk I would prefer compared to Essex as it's closer to the city.  I'd say for mid term I'd be near hospitals.  The main hospital and Bayview are commutable from Dundalk.  Good Samaritan and Franklin are both close as well.  Parkville in the right area is nice.  In general you are looking at C grade in some parts of Parkville as well  as Dundalk, Essex, and Middle River.  Price will reflect this.  Northeast near Morgan they are upgrading but is in the city.  Ofcourse that means more taxes and water bills.  Towson things will be nicer but the purchase price will increase.  I'd make sure it would do well with long term in case you get sick of mid term and want to convert it to long term.    

I assume you would never consider moving into 1 like occupying an apt in a duplex if that is included.  If you do you can use the 250k tax deduction or double it  for if your married but you need to live there 2 years.  You will need to collect mail there and have your license note that address as well as living there to check that box.