How would you start out?

[Haseeb Ahmad]

Hello to everyone in the community!

My wife and I are trying to get into real estate. We are eyeing properties in our area while trying to educate ourselves as much as possible. I am beginning to connect with an agent (going to look into more agents as well) however we are definitely a little overwhelmed. We spoke with a lender and got pre-approved however here is a little insight on our situation.

We have money saved up for a down payment however we are still renting ourselves! We live in a nice downtown area in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC and love the community and the area. We are not sure what the future holds for us and we may not be living in this area for much longer, maybe moving in 2 years or so. Speaking with the lender, they of course recommended purchasing our own place and renting it when we move, house hacking, etc, especially with the current rates. The cost of living in our immediate area is very high and multi family homes seem to be sparse. Lots of apartments/condo buildings. We really do not believe moving would be best for us at this moment in our lives and we are actually very happy with where we live. 

We are looking at single family homes and condo's mostly. I would love to hear what others think, recommend and any general advice for a newbie. Thanks!

[Clint Pearcy]

If you don't already know how, learning to do your due diligence on a potential property now would help ease your mind as you look for an investment.  I don't know anything about your area, but I do know to invest where it makes sense.  If you can't make anything work for you comfortably in that area, I would look somewhere else.  Have you looked into any turn key property providers?  Norada, Rent To Retirement, and Mid-South Home Buyers are a few that I know of. 

[Haseeb Ahmad]

Quote from @Clint Pearcy:

If you don't already know how, learning to do your due diligence on a potential property now would help ease your mind as you look for an investment.  I don't know anything about your area, but I do know to invest where it makes sense.  If you can't make anything work for you comfortably in that area, I would look somewhere else.  Have you looked into any turn key property providers?  Norada, Rent To Retirement, and Mid-South Home Buyers are a few that I know of. 

 Thanks for the reply and information. I will look into turn key property providers as well.

[Russell Brazil]

Condos if they are 2 plus bedrooms, preferably in gentrying location. Or Single family rowhouse. 

Specific location of where you want to ve for commuting, as well as price point will play a big part in where Id suggest.

[Martin Smith]

If you're already comfortable with the Maryland suburbs, I'd recommend talking to an agent who can help you identify what your goals are and rank them properly - is monthly cash flow your biggest objective? Long term natural appreciation? Forced appreciation through renovation work? Places like Hagerstown or Baltimore can provide good cash flow with the right property, but natural appreciation can be light. Places like Bethesda or Chevy Chase will do well with long term natural appreciation, but cash flow will be minimal without putting a LOT down. Westminster can provide good multi-family options near McDaniel College. Frederick is my personal favorite for decent cash flow and solid long term appreciation, though the recent price increases there in the past few years have made forced appreciation much more challenging there using BRRRR or for flipping.