Newbie in Northern VA

New Member Introductions

Newbie in Northern VA

Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes

Hi Bigger Pockets! I have actually had a profile on this site for about 6 months now and I have just added a profile picture and created this introduction for myself. I guess I got caught up reading all of the articles and forums on the site. I'm currently in graduate school and I plan to buy my first investment property following graduation (1 year from now). After graduation I will be working as a consultant in the DC area but I'm a bit nervous about investing in an area that has such a high cost of living. I'm willing to move anywhere in the Northern VA, DC, or Maryland area where I can own a multi-family that I can occupy and rent to tenants. I have friends who have done the same, however they are not making cash flow from their deals. My main purpose for joining BiggerPockets is to learn valuable information that will help me prepare for my upcoming real estate ventures and find a solid mentor who is willing to help me in some of the fuzzy areas.

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Christopher Hunter

Real Estate Investor · Cypress, CA · Member since 2013 · 877 posts · 94 votes

12y

@Gabrielle E. welcome to BiggerPockets Gabrielle. Great plan. Check out the blog written by @brandon Turner how to hack your housing.

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Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Pawan W. thanks!
0 Reply
Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Paul Timmins thanks so much! This info is very helpful. I'll have to look back at your comment and look at each piece of advice individually. I was considering looking into buying housing in college areas but I didn't know how it would be with the constant turn around of new renters, partiers, etc.
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Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Darron Stewart your advice on focusing on schools, commute time, and central location are definitely three key things that I needed to hear!
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Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Adam M Schlabach I'm very familiar with the Rockingham County area. Nice to meet you :)
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Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Jeff K. That sounds like a long commute that would wear on me after a while. I don't think the Baltimore area would be my number one pick based on the commute time
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Andy Gross
Baltimore, MD · Member since 2014 · 145 posts · 65 votes
12y
You may also want consider places in the general vicinity of College Park, MD.
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Account Closed
Investor / Developer / GC · Manassas, VA · Member since 2013 · 229 posts · 39 votes
12y
@Gabrielle E. Welcome to BP!
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Sara Cunningham
Investor · Chesapeake Beach, MD · Member since 2013 · 273 posts · 37 votes
12y
Welcome to BP Gabrielle. Sounds like you have a lot of things to think about. I am new to the area and have found it really hard making a decision about where to invest myself. Much more difficult for you since you plan on living there also.
Good Luck.
Sara
1 Reply
Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Sara Cunningham Thanks Sarah! How are you going about your decision making process?
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Dmitriy Fomichenko
Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
12y
Welcome to BP community @Gabrielle E. It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more.
Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
Wishing you the best!
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Gabrielle E.
OP
Flipper/Rehabber · Richmond, VA · Member since 2014 · 184 posts · 40 votes
12y
@Dmitriy Fomichenko thanks for the info!
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Nancy Roth
Investor · Washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2012 · 239 posts · 168 votes
12y
I don't see why you have to leave DC. Many of the rehabbed houses in town include separately metered rental units in the basement. It's a popular feature for buyers, who then are able to offset part of their mortgage with the rental income. My Petworth rowhouse has one, and it's not at all unusual.
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Brandon TurnerPro Member
Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y
Hey @Gabrielle E. welcome to BiggerPockets! It's great to have you!
Podcast Guest on Show #92
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Elizabeth Colegrove
Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Welcome to Biggerpockets!
What is your definition of not "making money"? We do not follow the 1%, 2%, or 50% rule and have done very well. I also grew up in the D.C. area. Oh my gosh do I miss it :) My husband might have the opportunity to get stationed out there at some point for his job. Personally if I went back I would buy a single family or row house in a great location that was a duplex. I would rent the bottom out as a vacation rental. If I was single with no kids I would also rent out all the rooms in the house.
Maybe it's just because I am a finance major so I think of all these crazy thing but make sure you calculate in the true cost of commuting. We have some great friends that lived outside of San Diego instead of downtown. When I calculated their gas money and extra electricity cost due to weather (san Diego the coast is beautiful, beyond the mountain range is extra hot). The honestly could have had a $700-$900 a month higher mortgage and came out equal!
We personally live close to work in great areas putting the "extra" commuting cost into our mortgage (appreciating asset) not our cars (depreciating asset). Also look at the time it takes to commute. For a while I was commuting 1h 15min, the commute time was "killing" me. My standard day was 51 hour work day just counting commute, and a 40 hour work week. Add the mandatory 5-10 hours of overtime to be succesfful and the 1 hour lunch you have to be away from home and you are looking at 61-66 hours a week.
We personally buy single family homes. We live in them while we are in an area and than rent them out when my husband gets transferred. Because of our transient life style causing home to be "relevant" to the current set of orders. We are also investment for cash flow in 15 years not now. So we have a very unique busienss plan.
- We don't follow the 1%, 2% or 50% rule
- We invest in appreciating market/rent area
- Invest in Class A properties
- Self-Management- Saving management fees and regaining control
- Low Vacancies - nothing to date
In general we follow the south west airlines model. Smaller margin but operated tighter.
I would love to be able to find a multi-plex that makes sense. In our areas that we currently invest they are over priced and hard to find.
In addition to the podcast, blogs and forums, their is a great resource down in individuals signature line, their website. Many of us including myself write about our niche and strategy more in depth on our website. So definitely check out these websites as they provide even more resources.
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