All Forum Posts by: Sara Frank
Sara Frank has started 15 posts and replied 248 times.
Post: Looking for new real estate coach.
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Quote from @Christopher Pearson:
Hi, I am a young out of state investor looking for a new real estate coach. Ultimately need help keeping my mind straight on RE and my next and best moves. At the end of the day I basically am ready to pay someone to talk with weekly or monthly to help me and maybe even partner with. Much appreciated!
Do you live in Baltimore and want to invest out of state or do you live out of state and want to invest in Baltimore?
Post: Real Estate Investment Newbie
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Quote from @Lena Johnson-Bey:
Just getting started. I have an offer in on my 1st investment property, a short sale condo. Glad to be a part of this community.
Baltimore is awesome! And so is BP. Welcome to the community and good luck :)
Post: How would you start out given my current situation?
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Quote from @Andrew L.:
Quote from @Sara Frank:
Quote from @Andrew L.:
Quote from @Nicholas L.:
can you say more about your situation? do you own or rent now? how much is your pile? are you pre-approved for any financing?
it's possible to house hack in the DC metro area, it's just more difficult and more expensive than in many other markets as @Russell Brazil alluded to
for example, you could try to find a multi in DC (there aren't very many) or maybe a single family home in a place like herndon or springfield with a basement that you could live in, and rent out the house.
going to be really tough and really expensive... but if it were cheap and easy, wouldn't everyone do it? =)
if you buy random condos off the MLS then yes, they won't cash flow.
or, you could get really creative, and BRRRR or live in flip something further out - like frederick md, or fredericksburg va
how much elbow grease are you willing to put in?
good luck
Very busy with the current job so as little elbow grease as possible.
I need to move out of the current place so whatever I purchase will be for myself too.
$500k - $600k in savings (not touching retirement funds).
So condos are probably out of the question. Part of me wants a single-family house but that also means I will exhaust all my savings and take out a mortgage.
I would highly recommend taking out the mortgage and buying a single family or multifamily home. Condos often do not cash flow due to the HOA fees and tighter restrictions on the use of the property. With the amount of you have in savings its feasible for you to house hack a turnkey multifamily in DC and can likely buy down the rate/pay points to lower your monthly payment (if thats what you want to do). If you put down enough money and rent the other unit youll be able to live very affordably in an asset that will appreciate exponentially more than a condo. Being young -- this will also put you in a fun location you want while giving you the long term appreciation that DC has to offer.
Along with Russell, you have convinced me to look deeper into a multifamily. There are a few available but all in area I am unfamiliar with. It's probably a bit handful for me to handle a multifamily...
So back to square one, single family house?
I agree with everyone here that said the condo fees can be prohibitive. Another option would be to buy a single family home that has a walkout basement with a full bathroom. You could add a small kitchenette (hot plate, sink, toaster oven, fridge) and rent the basement out or alternatively you could live in the basement and rent the upstairs. I use this approach in Baltimore but know people who do the same all over the DMV.
Post: Airbnb "All in pricing" discussion!
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
As a user of airbnb this is a no brainer evolution of the platform and will simplify comparison shopping. As an airbnb landlord, I think it will force me to stay on my toes with pricing and matching up to competitors
Post: Study Materials for RE License?
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
CE shop is the best. I used it for all my certs and most people I know did as well. I think they are doing a sale right now as well
Post: Where should I buy a multi-family for $1.6M?
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Quote from @Ryan Spearman:
Hi,
I am a property investor in New Zealand with a portfolio of mainly small multi-families.
I will be selling off some of my individual units in about a year's time which should give me approx US$640k.
As I have learned essentially all my property investing knowledge from the BiggerPockets podcast I can't help but come back to the idea of multi-family investing in the US. We don't have anything like that asset class here in NZ, 12 units are about as large as you can get. Even that is uncommon.
I've spoken to lenders in the states and I can only borrow 60% as a foreign investor. This gives me about $1.6 million to play with.
I have no ties to any particular state and a year to do my research. I imagine I can narrow it down to an amazing deal within that time.
Where should I buy? How big?
I'm looking for a classic value add, well cash-flowing property, that I can eventually refinance out a decent chunk of my capital while retaining a sizable cash flow.
Any and all advice would be welcome. I need to find a full team over there that I can lean on. I'm really hoping to develop long-lasting professional relationships in order to establish myself as an international property investor.
Thanks in advance
Ryan
Being out of country the biggest question you want to ask yourself is how much work you want to put into land lording. There are pros and cons to the two schools of thought: higher risk lower price assets in middle states VS low risk higher priced assets on the coasts. A third option if youre looking for true passive income could be to invest in a syndication
Post: Negative CoC ROI and Negative Cash Flow
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Quote from @Account Closed:
Planning on living in a duplex where we would have a negative CoC ROI and a negative cash flow for the first year. Only planning on living there for one year because of the FHA rules. From there, I estimate we would be cash flowing $200-$300 monthly. Silly idea or is it wise to pull the trigger?
Very hard to cash flow on most properties using FHA loan, no matter asset class. But negative cash flow is not always a bad thing when you are house hacking, particularly if youre in an area where you might benefit from appreciation. $100-300 of negative cash flow is exponentially better than paying rent at any level IMO.
Post: Buying cashflow properties
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Depends on WHY it has negative cash flow. If its because the in-place tenants are paying well below market rent - then it could be a good deal as long as you are able to raise those rents asap or get new tenants in there. If its vacant and the numbers arent shaking out then can you add value through renovations and subsequently raise rents? If its vacant, fully renovated and still negative cash flow then its probably not the best idea. Depends on your goal with the property
Post: How would you start out given my current situation?
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Quote from @Andrew L.:
Quote from @Nicholas L.:
can you say more about your situation? do you own or rent now? how much is your pile? are you pre-approved for any financing?
it's possible to house hack in the DC metro area, it's just more difficult and more expensive than in many other markets as @Russell Brazil alluded to
for example, you could try to find a multi in DC (there aren't very many) or maybe a single family home in a place like herndon or springfield with a basement that you could live in, and rent out the house.
going to be really tough and really expensive... but if it were cheap and easy, wouldn't everyone do it? =)
if you buy random condos off the MLS then yes, they won't cash flow.
or, you could get really creative, and BRRRR or live in flip something further out - like frederick md, or fredericksburg va
how much elbow grease are you willing to put in?
good luck
Very busy with the current job so as little elbow grease as possible.
I need to move out of the current place so whatever I purchase will be for myself too.
$500k - $600k in savings (not touching retirement funds).
So condos are probably out of the question. Part of me wants a single-family house but that also means I will exhaust all my savings and take out a mortgage.
I would highly recommend taking out the mortgage and buying a single family or multifamily home. Condos often do not cash flow due to the HOA fees and tighter restrictions on the use of the property. With the amount of you have in savings its feasible for you to house hack a turnkey multifamily in DC and can likely buy down the rate/pay points to lower your monthly payment (if thats what you want to do). If you put down enough money and rent the other unit youll be able to live very affordably in an asset that will appreciate exponentially more than a condo. Being young -- this will also put you in a fun location you want while giving you the long term appreciation that DC has to offer.
Post: Ground Rent Redemption - Time limit?
- Realtor
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts 255
- Votes 182
Contact your title company they will tell you your options and walk you through redemption process if youre eligible