All Forum Posts by: Sara Frank

 I used FF for a bit with my Baltimore airbnb but ended up having more success with airbnb for guests staying 1 month or less and then even better success using the nurses Facebook group and just writing short term leases for stays up to 3 months. That way youre not dealing with airbnb taking a cut. Plus nurses have given feedback that they dont love furnished finder because most landlords arent attentive to it managing their listings on there so it's not seen as reliable. Let me know how your experience is with it 

Depending on your budget and cost of capital the hot neighborhoods of Baltimore could be a good bet particularly if you are owner occupant. If not, there are some great up and coming neighborhoods outside the downtown core where acquisition cost is low enough that you could get away with BRRRR margins - just expect to leave money in the deal no matter where you buy in this climate. Shoot me a PM if you have more questions about neighborhoods I can give you more specific info

 Congrats! Most get caught up in wanting to read every book and listen to every podcast before they take action. It only holds them back in the long run. Best of luck:) 

 Ive had an easier time in Baltimore with airbnb vs. furnished finder. the nurses I've had stay in my airbnb say that in general the nurses prefer airbnb because landlords on furnished finder typically take longer to respond and the data isn't up to date. Another option is just advertising in the travel nurse Facebook page and writing short term leases. I'm doing this right now with a surgical fellow and its nice because airbnb isn't taking a cut. 

Another option is a SFH with a guest suite or basement with separate entrance that she can airbnb to get significantly higher rent than what you'd get by renting individual bedrooms. She can live in guest suite and rent the house or vice versa. This combines those two strategies and would likely be less expensive than multifamily in NJ

Prices are lower but property taxes are higher. I live in Canton, Baltimore and chose to buy here vs. DC because I was able to buy more house = more rooms to house hack. If you look for homes with features like a separate basement entrance, renting that basement as its own suite or unit on airbnb will bring you significantly more income than ltr of one of the rooms. Just need to get creative no matter where you buy 

Can be awesome especially in "hotter" Bmore neighborhoods (canton, fells point, fed hill) because those taxes are brutal. Ive seen a lot of developers buy a property, hold it for the 10 year period and then sell right when it expires. 

CHAP is a 10 year tax abatement -- property usually needs to be in designated CHAP historic zone. You'll need photos, plans, scope of work, appraisal, proof of ownership, etc for the application. Designs need to be approved by CHAP before you begin work, they will want you to preserve as much as possible (makes sense). 

The credit is assumable when the property sells, so if the current owner is on year 1/10 - the new one will have 9 more years of benefits. A lot of big investors will redevelop a property and sell it almost exactly 10 years later so make sure to ask about the CHAP credit (if there is one) -  dont just accept the answer "yes, there is one" - make sure to ask how many years are left. And definitely get in touch with the CHAP people to confirm this. 

Baltimore is very block by block, you need a good realtor that knows their stuff. Pros is that there is low entry price but that usually means lower quality tenants. I sometimes advise OOS clients to start off with a turnkey property in Baltimore county, once they get the feel for the area they can be smarter about investing inside the city. High risk but also high reward in the right circumstances. Not sure of turn key companies, from what I hear they usually have massive markups. I would just advise you to create your core 'team' for OOS investing which is an agent, lender, contractor and PM. 

Fundamentals are that there needs to be an egress/window, 70 sqft. floor area. There are requirements as well for bedrooms in basements with minimum ceiling height, I believe 60%+ of basement area must be at least 7' but even that can be a bit arbitrary. Has to be some way of exiting the basement aside from primary stairs, whether its an exterior door or egress window.