All Forum Posts by: Alan C.

The state of Maryland also has a program, but it's only for state-assisted housing.

The details are here

You don't need 20% and you don't even need 3%.

If you get educated about how do creative real estate deals, you really can do deals with no money down. That doesn't always mean "no money" changes hands. It means none of your own money.

I've done it and know many people who do it on a regular basis.

Truly motivated sellers are not as concerned about the purchase price as they are in getting rid of their real estate problem(s). Once you have the education, you can become a "transaction engineer."

The key is finding motivated sellers and having the knowledge to negotiate a win-win situation with little to no money down.

Water is the most insidious element when it comes to properties. You buy insurance in case a fire burns down your house, but the odds of that happening are probably a million to one. But insurance won't cover water damage which is probably the most common cause of property repairs and deterioration.

In Baltimore, you have the added pleasure of a dilapidated water system that can cause sewer back ups into your basement (ask me how I know about those). On top of that, the water billing system is inefficient, incompetent and overpriced. City residents pay more than Baltimore County even though the county residents get their water delivered by the Baltimore City system. Plus, tenants don't report leaks or running toilets and then don't have the money to pay the outrageous water bills.

When I was doing more rehabs, I learned that it paid to put in a waterproofing system even if the house never had problems. It was worth the extra cost for peace of mind and made for a good selling point since my waterproofing company came with a transferrable, lifetime guarantee.

As one of our presidents said, "I feel your pain."

I don't know this company.

However, and you probably know this already, but beware of companies that promise to "get it done" and charge upfront non-refundable fees. They can take your money, check your credit (which can hurt your score) and then say they can't do the loan. They've wasted your time and kept your money.

Maybe you can try an independent mortgage broker who doesn't get paid until the loan closes.

As was said above, most multi-family and real estate in general is now overpriced in my opinion. 

My thought is that if you can wait at least 6 months or more, evictions and foreclosures are going to have a lot of owners selling and there will be lots of opportunities for taking over payments (subject to), owner financing and short sales.

I would agree with most of the comments, except one about appreciation. 

While it's true that many if not most properties appreciate if held long enough, my (conservative) philosophy is to buy a property with good cash flow, pay it off ASAP so it has great cash flow and never worry if it appreciates or not. As many in the business will tell you, "you can't eat appreciaton." That is, unless you put more debt on the property and that just reduces your cash flow.

Many people in real estate will tell you that "you make your money when you buy." 
If you have little to no cash flow (or even negative cash flow) from a rental, I think you are asking for trouble. Many people I know were buying in 2005-2007 and banking on the crazy appreciation rates. Most of them lost a lot of money and got out of real estate investing entirely.

If you have good net cash flow and/or a paid off property, it's easier to sleep at night.

And if the property appreciates, that's the icing on the cake.

Hi and welcome to the world of real estate investing.

I'm a Baltimore native and investor since about 2000. 

Looking forward to connecting.

You don't need a PM if you just need someone to file for late rent and/or evictions. There are companies called "rent court agents" who go to court for your. The cost for them to file and show up at court is around $25 which is a bargain compared to  spending all day in court.

I'm not 100% clear, but it sounds to me like you are planning to keep the new property vacant so you can "pop in and out."

Is this new property going to be an occupied rental or kept as a soundstage for filming your YouTube videos?

How does buying this new property generate a return on your cash?

Please be more specific about your plans for the property.

No matter what your plans are, you are not likely to find anything in the DC metro area in your price range. I know lots of people who live in your area, but invest in Baltimore where their money buys more property. They do commute several days per week to oversee rehabs or look for/check in on rentals. But they generally get much higher return on their investments so it is worth the drive.

The deal was changed to a straight assignment with no double close needed so we didn't need the documentation.

Thanks for volunteering to ask your attorney. I have an attorney, but was hoping to avoid the expense of creating a new contract if a boilerplate document already existed