As an invetsment-friendly agent (based out of Houston, TX), I’ve seen how the right professional will help you analyze cash flow, manage comforatble contractor bids, and even drive for dollars if you want a broader look at potential comps or deals in the neighborhood.

So many "investors" bury themselves in complex, expensive situations to protect themselves from some unknown threat to their non-existent business.Figure out if you have any shooting skills (or even enjoy the game) before spending money on $600 Nikes or an indoor basketball court. 

Use your evenings and weekends for follow-ups and networking.Sending text messages could fit into your schedule too!

Best to hire it out, even though it hurts the margins, it saves my time and stress substantially.

Hi, pre foreclosure in all of its permutations, before the bank sends Notice of Default (NOD) or efter which is state even county dependant but often starts a 4 week clock till the trustee auction are the 2nd most difficult deal scenario and IMHO only experienced investors should bother, the 1st most difficult deal scenario are bidding at the court house steps on lord only knows what is being auctioned off sometimes even 2nd mortgages, you need to do so much home work to attempt to reduce your risk at the court house steps...Pre foreclosure no one talks about these issues, always about the nice sounding stuff like "motivated seller" get a good deal etc etc both are usually not the case.- 95% of folks in pre or post NOD want to stay in their house, keep their house inspite of them 100% will loose the house at the auction. 

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

I guess that kind of vitriol is to be expected coming from someone who doesn't even have his own picture in his profile. 

I’d try my best to be outside the beltway in Baltimore county, generally the nicer areas, I tend to especially like Towson, lutherville, even parkville is a good value. 

If you’ve got any success stories, lessons learned, or even cautionary tales, I’d love to hear them.Thank you for welcoming me to this amazing community.

I've done a lot of research and even worked on running numbers for certain options (just as an exercise), but I'm now looking forward to jumping in.