All Forum Posts by: Bill Kenny

Hey Ilya, Sounds like you made the fatal mistake of over pricing the property and now you lost the initiative. If you haven't received any offers in this market then you are still overpriced. I would bet your getting adequate marketing. In this market, if the property is presented well and priced right you should receive offers. Your only issue could be if the sales price is over 400K as the average sales price in Washington County of 200K. If you have a property that is in a hight price point that matches the buyers of the market then if will take longer than average. I would recommend you drop the price to the market price, sell it and move on. You are either winning or learning. In this case sounds like you are learning good lessons. 

@Sean Portune How is the real estate investor market in Morgantown? I am a WVU grad and my daughter is a student at WVU. I would love to pick up a rental in Morgantown but I bet the prices are out of control. I'm used to Martinsburg / Hagerstown Prices. What's the market look like in Morgantown?. 

@Robert Lasko This is an old thread but interesting to go back and see how this played out.. Around this same time, I started investing in Martinsburg and I can tell you it was the best investment decision I've made. Prices were affordable and I used the BRRR method on multiple properties. Thank goodness I did. I was nervous about each deal but I heard a podcast where the investor said if you don't buy every discounted deal you can get your hands on right now you will be kicking yourself. It was a true statement. Since then we have been adding multifamily along with flipping and wholesaling in Berkeley County. While the rest of WV is declining in population the eastern panhandle is growing. I'm all in on the area. I hope it turned out well for you. Anyone interested in connecting regarding Martinsburg and Berkeley County feel free to reach out and connect.

@Travelle Mason There have been many discussions on treads withing BP about investing in Hagerstown. I do and many investors I know and work with invest in Hagerstown. I would suggest you read some of those treads as a lot of ground has been covered. It's not for some and others love Hagerstown. Feel free to reach out to me if you have specfic questions. Best of luck! 

@Jessica Derr sent you a PM with my local contacts. Ranson is a nice area, I don't think you can go wrong in Jefferson or Berkeley County for long term rentals. Like @Joshua Beall said, it depends on where you want to start.. Many different possible starting points. The price point will be determined by how much time you spend searching for properties (MLS vs Wholesalers and private sellers) and how much work you want to put in to get it cash flowing (level of rehab and sourcing and selecting tenants). Lots of education and networking is the first correct step.

I and my business partner currently have over 30 units in Martinsburg and will continue to buy in Berkeley County. Berkeley County and the Eastern Panhandle have been growing in the right direction for so time now.. We feel it is a great place to be an investor. Many reasons... Economic Growth, proximity to Northern Va and DC, Rents vs property values, among many others. I live here, invest here, and have my realtor and investor flipping business here. Feel free to reach out for more info.

@Eva Jensen

Getting the best tenant (or Resident) is always the name of the game. Everything starts there and ends there. I have a pretty solid process that works well to screen and get the best of the best.

Properties on the outside of the city of Hagerstown are more desirable but more expensive. If Cash flow is your game then Hagerstown works. Most of my rentals and the ones in our joint portfolio with my business partner are in Martinsburg WV. We own in both Hagerstown and Martinsburg. I like WV a little better, their lead paint laws are less costly and restrictive to landlords. Very similar locations and Berkeley County is growing like crazy. PM for more local information and invite to are real estate meetup. :) Bill 

@Eva Jensen
What it comes down to is that if you are a landlord and you are not managing your tenants and those tenants are causing a problem for the neighborhood and the police have to make multiple calls to your location the you could have a problem.. then the city would have the right to take away privileges to operate in the City. I don't know of anyone that this has affected in my circles. There is something you have to add to your lease that discloses the crime free city policy.
As for double taxation I think you mean that in Maryland if your property is located inside a city you would have a city tax and a county tax. If your property is outside of the city you would not have the city tax and then you would not have the city services of potentailly water and trash etc..

Hi Jeremy,

We live and invest in Wash Co Md and Berk Co WV and surrounding areas. You may want to come to our local RE meetup. That is where we got started years ago. We wholesale, Flip, hold rentals. All that good stuff.

We just picked up a brick rancher in the Halfway area to flip and I've sold many homes in that area. Its a good area because its county taxes only (you are just outside of the city) and everyone loves brick Ranchers.  If they are done well it will sell quickly. We also own multifamily in Funkstown.