New to Howard County, Maryland

Justin Lenk

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

9y

Welcome to BP!!

Jorge Rojas

OP

Real Estate Professional · Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 1 vote

9y

@Justin Lenk - Thank you! How's the wholesaling business going? Are you focusing locally in your area or venturing outward?

Jorge Rojas

OP

Real Estate Professional · Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 1 vote

9y

Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

The areas I'd recommend depend on what you are looking for in a home or investment property. I certainly prefer Montgomery and Howard County to say PG county.

Current Criteria (Treating First Home / Primary Residence as an Investment Property):

SFH / Town Home; Beds: 2-4; Baths: 2-3; Sq/Ft: 1000min; Price: $200-250,000; Class B min; Aiming for 1% Rule;
Understandably, a lot of my expense criteria will be dependent on the the price of the home and rent rate (Cap Ex: ~8-10%, Repairs:~ 5%; HOA Fees: <$150; Vacancy: ~6-8%, etc.)

Currently In Howard County I'm looking at Elliott City, Eldridge, and Columbia through your typical online sites (Realtor.com, Zillow, Redfin, etc.) However, I would really like to start sit down with someone to see what's really out there. Any recommendations on a local Realtor that might be available to help? Does my criteria sound reasonable for these areas?

Richard Mollel

Real Estate Agent · Bowie, MD · Member since 2015 · 30 posts · 15 votes

9y

Howard County homes are generally highly inflated price wise and it would be difficult to find any decent returns there. If I were you, I would look into areas drivable within 1hr, such as Upper PG county - Bowie, Greenbelt, Laurel areas and Sub-urban Baltimore areas, such as Owings Mills.

I personally do have interests in these areas and I can tell you that homes in Upper PG county do receive multiple applications and rent out generally within 1 week, while Owings Mills, you should expect a vacancy of up to a month.

Montgomery county (MC), the purchase prices are inflatedly high and generally fetch lower rents. A 2B/2B Garden style Condo in Bowie, MD could be bought for about $145K couple months ago and easily fetch upto $1900/month. That price point, if you can find one in Montgomery, would only fetch around $1400-$1600 (in Germantown or the Layhill area of Silver Spring). The typical price for a 2B/2B condo in the areas I mentioned above for MC is closer to 180-200K, but the rents remain constant. Owings Mills has plenty of decent offerings in $145K range that easily rent out at the 1% rule.

[Btw, my first post in BP]

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Very interesting posts! I currently occupy a 3BR 3.5B towhouse in Columbia and was wondering about converting in into a rental or selling and taking the equity elsewhere. Howard County Real Estate is certainly not cheap...

Laura Tokgozoglu

Rental Property Investor · Catonsville MD · Member since 2015 · 135 posts · 44 votes

9y

Welcome! We lived in Howard County for 20 years, recently moved to SC but we are planning to go back to Howard County in a couple of years. You might look at North Laurel, the part that is in Howard County. We lived on Steeple Court in a town house there and later we moved to Dayton, MD. The homes in western Howard County are quite expensive. North Laurel is more affordable and is close to Fort Meade and there is always a need for housing for the folks who work there. There is a foreclosure listing at 9535 Quarry Bridge Ct, Columbia going for 170,700. This is one that I would consider a possibility for a rental. We also rented on Stirling Bridge Rd, Columbia at one time and there are some townhomes in that area that would be possibilities. 9668 Stirling Bridge is for sale, also a foreclosure, however is only 2br.... I would also look at properties near Historic Ellicott city, and possibly town homes in River Hill, although both of these places will be more expensive. River Hill is a very nice place to live, with one of the top schools in the nation, River Hill HS. Centennial and Glenelg are also top schools. There is a home being sold as is on Roxbury Rd in Western Howard County for under 300,000.00 Needs work but almost impossible to find something at that price in that area so you might want to check it out. Hope this helps. Clarksville MD is expensive, but a great place to live. A lot has to do with your price range. Greg Kinnear is a wonderful Realtor, you wont be dissapointed with him! You might also want to look at Sykesville, the Howard County side or even the Carroll County side. Carroll County will get you more value. Talk to Greg Kinnear, he will give good advice!

Nicole A.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

9y

Howard County has some good real estate, but at the average prices there, do not expect to cash flow. You might even have to pay out of pocket to cover any difference that rental income can't cover.

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Thanks for all the info Laura! This is great perspective! Thanks for the referrals as well :)

I will do some investigating!

Best regards,

- Caleb

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Thanks @Nicole A. it certainly seems very difficult to get properties to cash flow in HoCo... What surrounding areas do you suggest looking into?

- Caleb

Nicole A.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

9y

It's hard to say... I'm not terribly familiar, but perhaps Laurel area has something more affordable. I currently invest in Baltimore County (not City), and there are some nice pockets of that area. There are plenty of $100K and less properties there too that can cash flow, however, you really need to know how to find good tenants. Places like Dundalk tend to be a bit rougher of a crowd, but there are also lots of good tenants if you take the time to find them. Too many landlords in Dundalk just let anyone with a heartbeat move in.

2 Reply

Laura Tokgozoglu

Rental Property Investor · Catonsville MD · Member since 2015 · 135 posts · 44 votes

9y

Joe England just did a podcast and he invests in Baltimore City. He has some good thoughts, you might want to listen, it was excellent.

Ned CareyPro Member

Moderator

Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes

9y

Welcome to BP @Jorge Rojas. I live in Howard county and invest in Baltimore city. It is going to be very hard to get positive cash flow in Howard county. (Real positive cash flow after all expenses, not just your mortgage payment)

BJ McKellar

Property Manager · Washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2014 · 24 posts · 5 votes

9y

We manage lots of rentals in Howard. The schools help with getting hire rents than in other counties. Some of our investors love the Laurel area, you get more house for your money than in Most of Ellicott City or Columbia. Depending on the location in Laurel, the schools are fantastic. Our investors like town homes 3 bed 2.5 bath with at least 3 floors. The 3 beds gets you a lot hire rent than a 2 bed. The 3rd floor give the tenants a couple living areas, and makes the home seem much larger.

There are lots of great townhome communities in Laurel, Columbia and Ellicott City.

A good agent can help you run the numbers, so you are buying a cash flowing property. If you need rental comps, feel free to let me know.

Good Luck!

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Thanks for all the information!

@BJ McKellar

I am currently aggressively paying down my mortgage in order to beef up my future cash flow options when converting to a rental. There is some really great development going on around the southeast corner of columbia / jessup / elkridge area right now! Looks like two new schools are being built too which I hope will bolster local real estate values.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/elkridge/ph-ho-cf-new-high-school-0512-20160506-story.html

Anybody else know of any development news going around the Columbia / Howard County area?

Best regards,

- Caleb

BJ McKellar

Property Manager · Washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2014 · 24 posts · 5 votes

9y

@Caleb Waller

That is what I've seen as well. The new schools will make a huge difference to the current schools that are feed by those locations.

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Very exciting stuff. I personally think the Columbia area is a great place to invest for the long term. The city itself is only 50 years old... The new Medstar headquarters in the "crescent" development by the mall is great news too.

http://www.downtowncolumbiamd.com/the-crescent-neighborhood/

[email protected]301-893-4635 Podcast Guest on Show #192

Russell BrazilBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes

9y

Columbia is a very nice place, with high demand. A few things people do need to keep in mind though is that Howard County has higher real estate taxes than some adjoining counties like Anne Arundel and Montgomery County. You do get a better school system in general than Anne Arundel, but we are probably splitting hairs with the entire state typically rated 1 or 2 in public education with Massachusetts being the other top one. Also in Columbia you have the CPRA fee, which many people dont realize exists, and doesnt really show up in most real estate listings online. I prefer Montgomery County to Howard County in general....but again, we are splitting hairs since I do like both.

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Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Very good points @Russell Brazil !

I really enjoyed Podcast 192 by the way. Its always great to hear local voices and perspectives!

A pro-tip I learned when buying my townhouse in Columbia is to look at the color of the street signs. The blue streets are subject to the CPRA fees. Green or Brown signs are not subject. Green indicates that they are maintained by Howard County and Brown indicates they are privately maintained.

I was fortune enough to buy a home on a green street and get to enjoy all of Columbia's amenities without being subject to the CPRA fees. Definitely something to keep in mind as they could potentially sweep away rental cashflow.

2 Reply

Laura Tokgozoglu

Rental Property Investor · Catonsville MD · Member since 2015 · 135 posts · 44 votes

9y

We are moving back to MD next year....I have been looking online at the new development in North Laurel, Elkrige, Jessup. I am very excited to hear about the schools being built. I lived in Howard County for 20 years and I generally living liked Western Howard County, but with the growth at Fort Meade these areas will be sought after because of the proximity. I think the potential for appreciation will be pretty good!

Nicole A.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

9y

Is the CPRA fee different than the CA (Columbia Association) fee?

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-04-15/news/1...

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Hi @Nicole A. the terms are interchangeable and mean the same thing.

Here's some more information:

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/about-us/polic...

Columbia, MD · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 8 votes

9y

Hey BP! Quick question for all the professionals on this thread:

Should I take out the equity in my home now via a cash out refinance while rates are still super low?

Or should I wait for more appreciation and hope increasing rates don't eat into my profits?

Your thoughts?

- Caleb

Alfredo T.

Bowie, MD · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 3 votes

9y

I learned a lot of good things in this thread and want to say thank you