All Forum Posts by: Wes Talbot

Paul, thanks for the input. Over the past couple of weeks, I have certainly come to that realization - I need/want to focus on my neighbors and backyard. I would like to focus on markets with more potential for appreciation, I don't need the cash flow right now. I'm not looking to do short-term rentals, I plan/want to house hack when My wife and I move from our current townhouse (Will rent it out). I'd like to get started in a fix and flip and depending on the deal, I'd also do long-term rentals. My finances are in good condition and have a 12% DTI and about 250k to get started; would prefer to keep the first deal to under 100k if I can so I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket and if I take the 'learning loss', it won't be devastating.

 I have spent some time driving around the Baltimore area and have certainly noticed it's block by block. The more I've looked into the current business development efforts and population growth, I have become hesitant about it. As you mentioned regarding value and risk, I think for my first few deals I would like to have something a bit more low-risk as I learn. 

Thanks, Corby. I used a VA loan for the townhouse my wife and I currently live in. We are potentially looking at moving further west of DC and will be renting it out and using another VA loan for the next. Would certainly take some convincing for my wife to want to house hack - but I've been laying the foundation for that, so we will see. But, you are absolutely right.

I suppose I've largely written DC off; I certainly will spend more time learning about the different markets there. I'm more pessimistic about Baltimore the more I look into it; at least for my first deal. I'd like to get started with something simple a little simpler just to learn the ropes. 

 Appreciate your weigh-in. I do understand NoVA has very little inventory of multifamily opportunities outside of larger commercial properties. As for Baltimore, I was looking around the west of Bayview (Brewers Hill, Highlands) pretty much around Patterson Park for those properties you mentioned. Appreciate the insight on the limited multifamily inventory there. Would certainly appreciate connecting. 

 Thanks, Brandon! Certainly would appreciate the connection. 

 Dawn, appreciate it! I will reach out to Russel, given your recommendation. I am primarily interested in Northern Virginia, Baltimore, and Connecticut. I am open to other markets given their economic and population growth potential and what their local government development plans look like. 

I certainly need to put some more time into narrowing down my criteria; But, for now, I am looking to focus on multifamily residential but I would also be interested in jumping right into a multifamily commercial property with 5-10 doors. I think B-/B are the types I would like to start with.  

 Hey Anthony, I'm good, thanks for asking. I have a friend who separated who did and still does the same thing; she works as a dog trainer supporting general obedience training and agency/police/security canine detection work. 

I actually have some family in New London that works in the Groton area supporting the base and one of the nuclear power reactors close by. Appreciate the insight into Electric Boats' hiring efforts; My current W2 position is actually pretty cushy and the pay is too. I can certainly see it providing a lot of flexibility as I get things started on the RE side. 

I certainly would appreciate connecting and would be interested to learn more about how the markets are there; I am a little familiar with areas in and around Manchester since my dad used to be the Fire Marshal there for residential zoning and it's where I grew up.  

Hello! My name is Wes Talbot, I work as a cybersecurity engineer in the DC metro area. I did post here as a newbie once before in late 2019 as I was separating from the Navy (Intelligence Analyst) and starting a defense contracting position; But once COVID hit, I lost the focus I had and life took over and I focused more on growing my W2 income. I'm finally trying to get into it again and finally ready to pull the trigger and get the ball rolling. I started watching/listening to BiggerPockets a few years ago which stirred my initial interest and want to finally jump into the community to learn and grow and become a real estate investor.

I currently don't have any related experience in real estate outside of some light contracting work I did as a carpenter's apprentice and some demolition work a decade ago. I am going to restart attending local real estate investment group meetups to build out my network. I do understand where I live is a hot and expensive market, with few multi-family opportunities. I do understand if you drive a few hours out or go on the Maryland side, prices are a lot more affordable. I also have some opportunities up in Connecticut, where I'm from. I do have an interest in multi-family and commercial real estate and do have a decent chunk to get started. 

My first short-term goal is to acquire my first multifamily property this year and learn more about different markets, including out-of-state investing opportunities.  A long-term goal is to get into commercial multifamily or other commercial real estate sectors.  

I look forward to growing, learning, and potentially even contributing, to the BiggerPockets community. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to talk about real estate, share some tips, or even talk about any of the latest IT/Cyber/Tech trends.

@Chris Coleman - Thank you for the recommendation to go to the GRID meet up. I went to the one a couple of weeks ago and met a lot of great investors and lenders which I have begun establishing relationships with. The meet up alone had a lot of great information and I look forward to the next one. 

@Ned Carey - I actually work with a security consultant in Prince George County who is also looking into real estate and we are considering partnering - he also used to be a county cop there and knows a fair amount regarding the market quality. We have begone looking around the area to better understand the market in terms of pricing, rehab costs, and comps. 

@Peter Giardini - Hooyah!  I'll be a NAVY veteran aswell! I appreciate the axiom and I will certainly keep that in mind - Maybe even print/write it into my binder. 

@Gil A. Thanks for the 2 cents! I know an investor that is up in Baltimore who says the same thing, with a few caveats. He works with a couple of other investors who work to buy deals on the same streets to work on bumping value together. I may consider investing there, only after I get some experience in more stable markets and more savory tenants.