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!

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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

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  • Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    Welcome! Great to Connect! My husband is also military and we might be heading to Maryland for his next tour.

  • Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2012 · 605 posts · 103 votes
    10y

    welcome to BP. Check out the local reias and meetups, changed my life!

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

    Hi everyone,

    Wow! What a surprise to get so many responses - it shows what a great community BP is so thank you for making me feel so welcome! Sorry for the delayed response - I have been holed up for the past few days studying and taking the CPA exam.

    @Jimmy Nguyen – thanks for the warm welcome! I look forward to checking out Roger’s meeting. Hopefully see you at one of the meetings!

    @Joe D. – thanks for the warm welcome!

    @Ingrid J. Ledingham – No problem at all – I’ll look into Honolulu when the time comes and thanks for the heads up about the crime stats!

    @Joseph England – thanks for the welcome! I'll definitely take your advice and look into REIA meetings!

    @Robert Crozier – thanks for the warm welcome!

    @Michael Paris – hello neighbor! Glad to hear about another person who grew up in MC! Thanks for the well wishes!

    @Queen Sheba – Thanks for that great info. I’ll let you know when I can make the meet up. :D

    @Manly Souza – That’s a good thing to know. I’ll probably have to do some research in what I want. Appreciate your input.

    @Alex Day – Thanks for your valuable input, Alex! I have only been to Hawaii once but it seems like it would be nice to own an investment property there. Do you know if it's better to buy a SFH or condo to rent out?

    @Justin Lenk – thanks for the warm welcome!

    @Elizabeth Colegrove – Thanks for the warm welcome! It’s great to connect with you. I actually read one of your articles and doing long-distance is something I would consider once I get more experienced and I plan to listen to your podcast when I get a chance :D Hope to see you in Maryland :)

    @Anil Samuel – thanks for sharing your experience! I really want to change my life and I know amazing things will be coming! I’m looking forward to going to REIAs.

    @Russell Brazil – I just joined the meetup group. By the way, I was wondering if you might know anything about the duplex market up in Frederick, MD or the rental market up there? I read some threads about Frederick being a good place to do rentals and I was thinking of doing some form of house hacking to get started.

    Thanks for all the warm welcomes! I'm really looking forward to interacting with each and every one of you on BP. I have an entrepreneurial spirit and am eager to get started and do something cool so I really appreciate all of your input and help! Oh by the way, something I forgot to mention in my intro is aside from my interest in real estate and my work in accounting is that I really enjoy languages, video games and playing in orchestra.

    Fun fact: Part of the reason why I'm interested in the entrepreneurial side of real estate is while I was in college, I founded the first collegiate-level orchestra solely dedicated to video game music and now there's more than 10 similar orchestras around the country inspired by this orchestra, which created a community of amazing people, just like you guys that I'm meeting on BP. So, I'm hoping I can create value again for others and I look forward to learning with each of you!

  • Lender · Rochester, NY · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    @Michelle E.

    Welcome to BP! It is a great site and it looks like you have some great ideas to get started with investing! I am glad to answer any financing questions that you have. 

  • Real Estate Agent · Towson, MD · Member since 2015 · 27 posts · 12 votes
    10y

    Welcome to BP and good luck with the CPA exam!!!! ;-)

  • New to Real Estate · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2015 · 177 posts · 69 votes
    10y

    @Michelle E. 

    Welcome to BigggerPockets! Below are some links to get you started. Much success to you!

    I received this info from @Nathan Sharp when I first started.

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/04/how-to-rent-your-house/(house rental guide)

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/02/22/buying-rental-property/(how to buy a rental property)

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/11/02/hack-housing-get-paid-live-free/ (House hacking)

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/03/13/investing-multifamily-ben-leybovich/ (Podcast 061 - How to succeed in multifamily investing)

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/09/how-to-buy-a-small-multifamily-property/ (How to buy a small multifamily property)

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/11/16/how-to-choose-areas-multifamily-deals/ (Choosing multi-family deals)

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/07/19/how-to-buy-a-duplex/(guide to buying a duplex)

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/12/12/bp-podcast-048-duplex-managing-tenants-darren-sager/ (Duplex investing)

    Now that you have made the move, below are some links that will help with the navigation of the site.

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-introduction-to-real-estate-investing (video courses)

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing (Ultimate beginner's guide to REI)

    Before your 1st purchase, please ensure you visit the below link for some tips.

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/12/19/real-estate-investing-success-smart-tips/

    REI books suggested by BPers

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/11/13/7-real-estate-books-beginner-investors/ (7 absolute must read books for beginner REIs)

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/14/best-real-estate-books/?utm_source=search&utm_medium=internal&utm_campaign=books (books recommended by BPers)

    Simply, expand knowledge in such as, Forums, Marketplace, Learn, Network, Analyze and Resources.

    Continue to feast on the BP Podcasts, #askbp Podcasts, BP blogs and BP webinars.

  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Michelle E.:

    @Russell Brazil – I just joined the meetup group. By the way, I was wondering if you might know anything about the duplex market up in Frederick, MD or the rental market up there? I read some threads about Frederick being a good place to do rentals and I was thinking of doing some form of house hacking to get started.

    I know quite a bit about the market in Frederick. Currently I have two properties in Frederick. (I invest throughout the DC metro area, and work as an agent throughout most of the area).  You ask about duplexes...and one thing to keep in mind is that throughout the region, we have very very few multifamily properties (2-4 units) compared to other major cities.  Yes Frederick will have a few here and there.. but not a lot.  In the last year, only 4 2-4 unit properties traded in Frederick.

    I do in general like the rental market in Frederick though.  You can find low risk properties that hit the 1% rule (Read through the site to better understand what that means). I think you can get a little bit of appreciation in Frederick, you have a relatively easy tenant class to deal with,...if you do have to go to housing court ever, I do feel that their housing court is relatively fair.

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 144 posts · 86 votes
    10y

    Wow, what a response. I'm continually impressed with the support we have here locally in the Maryland/DC area. Lots of great advice and help has been posted for you here! You'll have a great start and I wish you the best in your investment future.

    Welcome to BP!

  • Orlando, FL · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 10 votes
    10y

    welcome Michelle! As a fellow newbie I share your excitement! This sit is packed full of awesome people willing to guide you along your journey. 

  • Real Estate Broker · Windsor, CT · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 268 votes
    10y

    welcome to biggerpockets!

  • Logan AllecBusiness Member
    Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 980 votes
    10y

    @Michelle E., in my opinion, house hacking a 3- or 4-unit property using FHA 3.5%-down financing is in my opinion the best option for a young person looking to get started investing in real estate. It frees up so much cash (if you have it) to invest elsewhere.

    One thing to keep in mind when looking for an FHA owner-occupied triplex or fourplex is that 85% (75% in certain states) of the market rents on all the units need to cover your monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and mortgage insurance). This is known as the self-sufficiency rule. It only applies to 3- and 4-unit properties (not SFRs or duplex) bought using FHA financing. I put together a spreadsheet here to help potential house hackers quickly analyze whether or not a property qualifies. There are other FHA requirements concerning which you should contact your local lender, but determining whether or not a triplex or fourplex meets the self-sufficiency rule is a good place to start as this rule will immediately eliminate many properties from your search.

    Good luck and feel free to reach out to me with any questions!

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