New Investor from Maryland!

New Investor from Maryland!

Potomac, MD · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 7 votes

Hello everyone,

My name is Michelle and I'm a new investor, located in Montgomery County, MD. I'm a young professional working at a large accounting firm in the Tyson's Corner area of Northern Virginia and currently live at home with my parents. 

I'm really excited to find the BiggerPockets community and look forward to starting my real estate investment journey! I've looked around a bit on the forums and read some stories. I've also attended one meeting of a real estate investment club.

Right now, I'm thinking I might like to buy a property and rent it out as a cash flow property, but I'm also considering a situation where I buy a property with a couple of bedrooms and have roommates instead. It's pretty expensive in this area either way but I'm also open to buying my first home elsewhere. I have seen suggestions to buy a duplex or triplex which would be great, but I'm not sure any in the area are close enough to my work. I'm currently saving up for a down payment and I'm hoping to start looking at places summer of 2016. 

I'm looking forward to building my wealth through real estate and be able to generate enough passive income to achieve financial freedom and the lifestyle I want. I'd like to have a portfolio of rental properties and expand from there. I think I'd be interested in multifamily properties as well, but it seems a little daunting right now. I'm open to other opportunities as well. Eventually, I think it'd be really great to have properties all over the country, including Hawaii, and internationally as well.

Aside from my real estate investing goals, I hope to use the money I earn from real estate to finance entrepreneurial activities, including my interests in music, the arts, education, as well as philanthropy to make the world a better place.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

3Reply
98 views

Most Popular Reply

Ned CareyPro Member
Moderator
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
10y

Welcome to BP @Michelle E.. I grew up in Montgomery county. Since you work in VA there are some groups there that might be worth checking out to. Member here @Roger Lin runs a group in NOVA

See this reply in the discussion

36 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    10y

    Welcome to BP @Michelle E.. Im right down the road in Rockville.  We have a local BP meetup in Rockville each month you should consider coming out to.  Also if you are ever in need of an agent in your home search, feel free to reach out to me.

  • Investor · Tromsø, Norway (Europe) · Member since 2015 · 431 posts · 194 votes
    10y
    Michelle Eng Welcome to BP! I've lived in Honolulu in Hawaii for quite a few years. It was fun! Do you know which island in Hawaii you'd want to invest in?
  • Boonsboro, MD · Member since 2011 · 137 posts · 26 votes
    10y

    Welcome to the BP Community!  There are a lot of educational materials out on this site.  It sounds like you want to do the rent/hold niche.  I wish you the best, and am looking to hearing about your ventures.

    I suggest @Brandon Turner's new book, here on the BP site, "Rental Property Investing".

  • Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    @Michelle E.

    Welcome to the Bigger Pockets community. It is a great place to learn about real estate.

  • Real Estate Broker · Kensington, MD · Member since 2014 · 84 posts · 16 votes
    10y
    Michelle Eng Welcome neighbor to BP! I'm right around the corner in Kensington. If you'd ever like to chat about Montgomery County area feel free to contact me. Look forward to seeing you around BP!
  • Real Estate Professional · Dayton, OH · Member since 2015 · 423 posts · 187 votes
    10y

    I think you are on the right track.  The demand for rentals is the highest it's been since the 1960's.

  • Potomac, MD · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 7 votes
    10y

    Hello @Russell Brazil - thanks for the warm welcome! When are the meetings for BP? I'll try to make it out to the meetings!

    Hi @Ingrid J. - It's nice to meet you! Right now I'm not sure where in Hawaii but I read on one of the threads about Hawaii that there are some places near military bases that can cash flow quite nicely. If you have more information I'd love to learn more!

    Hello @Terry Beall- thanks for your well-wishes! I will check out the book that you recommend!

    Hi @Mark Nolan - great to meet you and thanks for the welcome to the BP community. I look forward to learning about real estate!

    Hey @Brett McCurdy- it's great to hear that you are close and thanks for offering to chat about MoCo!

    Hello @Account Closed- thanks for the encouragement! I definitely know there's a lot of people renting and especially a lot of my peers in the millenial generation. Hope there will be great opportunities in rentals!

  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    10y

    @Michelle E.

    http://www.meetup.com/Gaithersburg-BP-Real-Estate-Meetup/events/227268487/

  • Ned CareyPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    10y

    Welcome to BP @Michelle E.. I grew up in Montgomery county. Since you work in VA there are some groups there that might be worth checking out to. Member here @Roger Lin runs a group in NOVA

  • Investor · Fairfax, VA · Member since 2015 · 239 posts · 90 votes
    10y

    Hi @Michelle E.

    Welcome! Glad you're here.There are lots of ways to learn more and getting involved in the local real estate investor community in Maryland is something I'd also put on the beginner list. Bigger Pockets is great. Listen to their podcasts in the car and you'll learn a TON.

    Also, I'd be happy to point you in the right direction for things to think about and consider as you make a decision regarding your next steps.

    Please check out my profile and reach out if you think I might be able to help you. I have lots of clients in the same boat- just getting started and trying to make the best possible choices as they move forward. It's great that you're reaching out for how to get started. That's a VERY smart first step. :)

    Liz

  • Burke, VA · Member since 2013 · 163 posts · 63 votes
    10y

    Ned, Thanks for mentioning me and our Group. We do have a great group of people.

    Hi Michelle,

    Welcome! Like Liz Nourse (She's a good friend and a great resource) says, it's good you are reaching out. We are actually having our Jan meeting on the 27th in Fairfax if you are interested. Private message me your email and I can put you on the distribution list. Also here' our FB group if you are interested in checking it out.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/CapitalBP/

  • Ned CareyPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    10y

    @Roger Lin someday I'll get over there to visit. A few of us from the Baltimore area have talked about going as a group but it hasn't come together yet.

  • Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 5 votes
    10y

    If you are ever interested in investing in the Baltimore areas there are tons of hidden gems and resource groups that love to help out first time investors!

  • Burke, VA · Member since 2013 · 163 posts · 63 votes
    10y

    Ned,

    That would be pretty awesome!

    Roger

  • Potomac, MD · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 7 votes
    10y

    @Russell Brazil– thanks so much for the link!

    @Ned Carey – Thanks for the referral to the NOVA group – I’ll check them out!

    @Elizabeth Nourse – Thanks for the warm welcome! I’ll definitely listen to a ton of podcasts and keep learning as much as I can in Bigger Pockets. Thank you for your willingness to help out and your encouragement!

    @Roger Lin – Thanks for the info! I’ll be in touch with you!

    @Queen Sheba Owusu-Hassan – I bet there are great gems in Baltimore! That’s one of the areas I’m open to investing in. What Baltimore resource groups can you point me to? Thanks!

  • Investor · Annandale, VA · Member since 2015 · 54 posts · 10 votes
    10y
    Welcome Michelle Eng ! Roger's meet up is great! I'll be there at the next meeting. Baltimore seems to be a hot place to start investing, I'm actually looking in that area also since NoVa prices are so high. Good luck and hopefully will see you around the meetings!
  • Real Estate Investor · Bourbonnais , IL · Member since 2012 · 257 posts · 16 votes
    10y

    Welcome to Biggerpockets @Michelle E.!

  • Investor · Tromsø, Norway (Europe) · Member since 2015 · 431 posts · 194 votes
    10y

    @Michelle E. Ok, nice. Unfortunately I know little of the military bases located in Hawaii. 

    If you decide on being in the proximity of Honolulu you should have many alternatives. Be sure to check out crime stats in the area you wanna buy in

  • Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2015 · 152 posts · 231 votes
    10y

    Welcome to BP Michelle! This is a great source to get started! BP and going to REIA meetings helped me the most!

  • Investor · mount airy, MD · Member since 2014 · 20 posts · 0 votes
    10y

    Welcome Michelle to BP!!

  • Frederick, MD · Member since 2015 · 654 posts · 256 votes
    10y

    Welcome neighbor!  I too grew up in MC.  Wishing you much success!

  • Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 5 votes
    10y

    realdealmeetup.com is having their next meeting Feb 27th and Baltimore REIA is a good resource. Both are awesome groups to become involved with. A lot of free resources available and big players in the Baltimore investment arena spear head those groups. Whenever you are thinking about attending let me know! @Michelle E.

  • Oahu, Hawaii. Investor & Realtor. · Member since 2015 · 95 posts · 11 votes
    10y

    @Michelle E. is right. What island to invest in is important. I have a few properties on Oahu that cash flow pretty nicely. I'm headed to another state later this year as the cash flow is better there. It's all a matter of what you want and what you're willing to do.

    Aloha.

  • Rental Property Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2015 · 143 posts · 61 votes
    10y

    I'm from hawaii and just moved to maryland. I'm also military so if there are any questions please let me know. I know the vast majority of the area pretty well. As a start, if you're looking up there, I feel the best values on the island of oahu will come from kapolei, salt lake and pearl city/aiea. The vast majority of people i know prefer to rent in those areas. Kapolei/Ewa beach i feel personally will be a bit cheaper as most single families go for over 300/400. 

  • Wholesaler · Mt Airy, MD · Member since 2016 · 130 posts · 56 votes
    10y

    Welcome to BP @Michelle E. ! 

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.