Looking for advice for Investment Properties in Montgomery County

Germantown, Maryland
General Real Estate Investing
4yFollow

Looking for advice for Investment Properties in Montgomery County

Geoffrey You
Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes

Hello, 

Me and my wife may be relocating to Montgomery Co in the next several months due a better job opportunity. We have a home in Baltimore Co which we plan to sell. We are hoping to purchase a 2 bed/2 bath condo or comparable town house in MoCo that we will live in until we purchase a larger home in the next few years. I am hoping to use this property as an investment in the future and rent it out once we move. 

We are not very familiar with the area and not sure if this would be a viable option with the housing market so inflated. Any advice from people with property in MoCo would be greatly appreciated!

Best,

KB
 

0Reply
65 views

Investor-friendly agents in Montgomery, AL

See the agents BiggerPockets members work with in Montgomery, AL.

12 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    4y

    Inflated? When is the cost of housing not inflated exactly? At 99.9% of all periods on a timeline, housing it as an all time high. Thats how inflation works, things keep getting more expensive.

    Additionally you are moving to the richest region of the country. 11 of the 25 richest counties in America are in this metro area. Montgomery County is the 10th richest county in the country. And presumably you are moving here because you will make more money here.

    MoCo and DC in general is amongst the lowest risk markets in the entire country. With that not only comes atrong appreciation, but virtually no probability of price declines. Even during the housing collapse, this was a pretty insulated market. But you will get very low if any cashflow at all on the initial purchase. But, we have incredible rent growth. Ive got a property in Rockville for instance that broke even roughly 12 years ago when I bought it, and today I get $2,000 a month in free cash flow from it.

    [email protected]301-893-4635Podcast Guest on Show #192
    District Invest Group545 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Jack Seiden
    Real Estate Agent · Washington DC · Member since 2016 · 847 posts · 656 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Geoffrey You:

    Hello, 

    Me and my wife may be relocating to Montgomery Co in the next several months due a better job opportunity. We have a home in Baltimore Co which we plan to sell. We are hoping to purchase a 2 bed/2 bath condo or comparable town house in MoCo that we will live in until we purchase a larger home in the next few years. I am hoping to use this property as an investment in the future and rent it out once we move. 

    We are not very familiar with the area and not sure if this would be a viable option with the housing market so inflated. Any advice from people with property in MoCo would be greatly appreciated!

    Best,

    KB
     


     I think condos in Montgomery County are actually slightly undervalued right now. What’s your price point?

    0Reply
  • Ivonne H. Magdaleno
    Real Estate Agent · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 3 votes
    4y

    Hi Geoffrey. Congrats on your new job. Montgomery County is an area of high affluence, a great variety of activities,  tons of different  cuisine  to choose from, and so close to DC and NoVa.  Properties in Moco appreciate. The rental market is and has been strong. You will find that properties  in MoCo are expensive compared to your  Baltimore market. However,  any property  you buy here in MoCo will most likely continue to increase in price over time. When you decide to move to another home, it is highly likely you will rent it at a good price and will continue to take advantage of market appreciation.  Good luck I'm MoCo. If you see something you like, you will need to move very fast here. Properties go under  contract in less than 5 days (if you are lucky).

    0Reply
  • Tom HarkinsPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · DC Area · Member since 2019 · 101 posts · 54 votes
    4y

    @Geoffrey You I did what you are looking to do. My wife and I started with a SFH in Montgomery County (Aspen Hill area). We converted it to a rental when we moved to the Wheaton area a few miles south. We plan to rinse and repeat when the time comes to move again. I prioritized areas that are within walking distance to a metro station, which I'm hopeful will only help the already solid appreciation that homeowners in this area can expect.

    0Reply
  • Geoffrey You
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    @Jack Seiden, our price point is around 600K-700K

    0Reply
  • Geoffrey You
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    @Tom Harkins

    Thanks for your reply, we have a young child and frequent family visitors so a SFH may make sense as well, but figured a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo or smaller townhouse would be a more rentable property, what was your experience with your SFH and if you don't mind me asking what was the price point for a SFH vs Condo/Townhome in MoCo.

    0Reply
  • Geoffrey You
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    Thank you @Russell Brazil and @Ivonne H. Magdaleno very insightful. We plan to work in the Rockville area, any advice on which areas of MoCo you both would recommend that tend to have the best appreciation and cash flow properties, or does it all depend on the specific properties. Any advice would be appreciated!

    0Reply
  • Ivonne H. Magdaleno
    Real Estate Agent · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 3 votes
    4y

    Honestly it depends on your price range. Average price for homes in MoCo are in the Mid $500s. Rockville homes in older neighborhoods are in that range. Are you looking for a SFH or TH?

    0Reply
  • Jack Seiden
    Real Estate Agent · Washington DC · Member since 2016 · 847 posts · 656 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Geoffrey You:

    @Jack Seiden, our price point is around 600K-700K


     That’s a pretty healthy price point, could get a pretty nice single family home at that point. Would also allow you to rent by room once you move out to maximize cash flow.

    0Reply
  • Geoffrey You
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    @Ivonne H. Magdaleno, looking more for a TH or Condo, something that is easier to rent out than a larger SFH.

    0Reply
  • Geoffrey You
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    4y

    @Jack Seiden, we'd ideally like to rent the entire property rather than room by room, so perhaps a Condo or TH makes more sense?

    0Reply
  • Ivonne H. Magdaleno
    Real Estate Agent · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 3 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Geoffrey You:

    @Ivonne H. Magdaleno, looking more for a TH or Condo, something that is easier to rent out than a larger SFH.

    THs and SFHs are both easy to rent in moCo. Remember, condos may have rental restrictions and the condo fees may put you at the monthly price of a TH or SFH. Focus on where you want to live and look there for a property.
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free