All Forum Posts by: Alan C.

As has been said, there is always a way to succeed in real estate no matter what the market is doing. You just need to adjust to the conditions. My major concern would be that you get too wrapped up in your 90-day challenge to the point that you get into a bad deal just because you feel the pressure of your artificial deadline. It's great to be motivated and take action, but the ultimate decision should be based solely on the numbers and not on any emotions.

You might want to make connections with local investors and take advantage of their experience versus asking people who have no concept of real estate investing.

I’m currently a full-time wholesaler in the Baltimore-DC area and president of MAREIA, a local investor association. I've also done many rehabs and had a number of rentals. Feel free to contact me about the Baltimore market.

In my opinion, if you are doing a rehab in the Baltimore-DC area, you need to pull permits. First, if an inspector catches you unlicensed crew doing work, you will get shut down and face fines of $1,000s of dollars. Second, if you are planning to retail the property to a homeowner, the agent and/or buyers are going to do an inspection and ask to see the permits (and they can be checked online). If you plan to rent the property, you now need to have an inspection done to get a rental license and again, that may open the permit can of worms. 

When it comes to minor repairs, you can go with an unlicensed handyman, but you should get lots of references, put everything in writing and as has been said, no money up front.

I’m currently a full-time wholesaler in the Baltimore-DC area and president of MAREIA, a local investor association. I've also done many rehabs and had a number of rentals. Feel free to contact me about the Baltimore market.

There does seem to be a lot of information missing. You calculated cash flow based on $69,000 and then said the property sold for $38K in December and $20K in March. None of that makes sense to me. Given what you have posted and that you may be relying on the BP calculator to make your investment decision, I think you need a lot more education and connection to investors in your local market.

I’m a full-time wholesaler in the Baltimore-DC area and president of MAREIA, a local investor association. I've seen way too many people jump into their first property without the knowledge they need from people who have investing experience. Feel free to contact me about the Baltimore market.

As has been said, Baltimore is not buying any rehabbed homes in the city. There are programs to help buyers and Johns Hopkins has a "live near where you work" program that helps to underwrite purchase and closing costs. 

I’m a full-time wholesaler in the Baltimore-DC area and president of MAREIA, a local investor association. Feel free to contact me about the Baltimore market.

I agree @Ozzy Sirimsi that you can do well in Baltimore, but you need to do a lot research first. As @Russell Brazil stated, Baltimore has lots of problems and is not landlord friendly. However, if you do your due diligence and get a handle on which areas are the safest and most stable, you can get some bargains. Especially from other out-of-town investors who didn't do their homework before investing in Baltimore City.  

For your $225K you can get 2-3 turnkey rentals in decent areas that could generate $3600 or more in gross rental income. Be careful not to spend your entire line of credit on the purchases. Keep 6 months of reserves for all the things that could go wrong.

I’m a full-time wholesaler in the Baltimore-DC area and president of MAREIA, a local investor association. Feel free to contact me for help in the Baltimore market.

I've been told that setting up an LLC for each property is inefficient. You should seek out a good asset protection person. I can recommend Dyches Boddisford or Lee Phillips.

I disagree with @Solomon Morris about your price point. I'm pretty sure you can get a turnkey or near-turnkey rental for $70K or less. I'm a full-time wholesaler in the Baltimore-DC and get those type of properties on a regular basis. You do need to be careful about choice of property management. I can't help you there since none of my investor friends have yet to find the perfect company. 

Best of luck and feel free to contact me for more Baltimore info.

I'm a full-time wholesaler here in Baltimore and have seen many types of contracts being used for wholesale deals. Unfortunately, many of them are too simple at one page and leave too many openings for legal problems. And there are others that are so complex they may scare off the seller. Many "gurus" sell contracts and that is how I started out, but have since greatly modified the contract that I bought as I encountered real-world problems not covered in the usual training manuals.

Full disclosure: I am the co-founder and president of MAREIA, a local Real Estate Investors Association in the Baltimore area. You may want to attend meetings where you can meet other investors and get their opinions on the best way to do wholesaling in Maryland. And you can meet other investors of all types (who could be your potential buyers) as well as agents, lenders, contractors, etc.

Alexis, congratulations on deciding to invest in real estate and having the idea to build a rental portfolio. Your questions are good, but you are asking for someone to give you a large part of the education that you will need to become a successful investor. As the president of a Mid-Atlantic REIA (MAREIA), a local investor association, my advice, as alway is to get a good education as a foundation for your real estate business. Also, by attending real estate meetings you will people aleady doing what you want to do. More than one person has said that to be successful, copy what other successful people do.

Given that you are just starting out, I can't emphasize enough that you need to learn the real estate business (and it is a business) as well as the local market before you spend any money on buying property.

I will (partly) answer one of your questions: Overall, Maryland is not, in general, a business friendly state, but each jurisdiction has its own rules and regulations. Being involved in MAREIA, I can also tell you that most of the state and especially the I-95 corridor is very tenant friendly so it is extremely important to screen tenants or it will take months to get them out if they don't pay rent or otherwise breach you lease.

Don't get discouraged. Get the education you need so you can minimize the mistakes that are part of any business.

I would endorse @Erik Whiting's comments and suggestions but would add one more thing: Attend your local Real Estate Investor Association (REIA) meetings for a few months while building your cash reserves and evaluating properties. By attending, You'll find out about the local market from people actually putting their time and money on the line as investors. For a relatively small amount of money, you can get a great education and make some personal connections. Full disclosure: I am president of Mid-Atlantic REIA so I am biased, but have seen many people who want to get into real estate and lose money because they did not have the education to know what good deals look like or run their operation as a business instead of a hobby.

Take your time to learn the market and the real estate business. As the saying goes, "Investigate before you invest."

I am looking for the right paperwork that might be able to help me with a lending situation.
I'm going to lend some money for a wholesale deal involving a double close. This will be done from my own funds as a one-time favor for a friend.

Does anyone know where I can get a transactional funding note/contract or whatever document might be used for these deals?

I want to cover the funding fee and interest rate/fees/ if the money doesn't come back in 24 hours.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.