All Forum Posts by: Matt Schelberg

End-of-group townhouse in the rapidly developing Station East community for under 50k! Vibrant, up-and-coming neighborhood blocks from Johns Hopkins Medical Campus in Baltimore, Maryland. Huge house on a wide, tree-lined street. Works as both a rental or a flip.

ARV:  190k.  This is conservative and based on a recent appraisal of one of my rentals several blocks away. Appraisal dated March 2018; available upon request.  

Comps:  See comps here.  There are MANY comps within a 3-block radius. 

Rental Rehab Budget: $65k if keeping current floorplan; budget includes all new kitchen, bath, mechanicals, windows, doors, masonry point-up, etc.      

OR

$85k if demo'ing interior walls and framing a new floorplan, adding add'l bath.

My estimates assume investor manages the subs; no GC.  Please do your own due diligence.

Brand new natural gas line from street (Feb 2018). 

New furnace 2016, but budget to replace ductwork. 

Electric is on.

Why am I selling? I purchased this property in February from a distressed seller.  But I have 4 rehabs going (including 2 in this neighborhood) and my time and money are stretched a bit thin.  Selling reluctantly.

Photos:  Dropbox link here.

Please message me for a showing or additional info.

@Sarah Kuppert I had a similar issue on a Baltimore brick rowhouse I was trying to make lead free.  The brick was painted and it contained lead paint.  The lead certification company I use is considered one of the best in Baltimore.  Their advice:  If you want to remove the paint and go lead free the paint must be 100% removed.  99% removed will fail.  The technician said he observed over 50 property owners try to remove lead paint from a brick wall, and only 2 were successful in getting all of it off without total wall reconstruction.  It is difficult work!

Alternatives I'm aware of:

-stucco

-vinyl siding (ugly)

-paint it and go "limited lead-free"

-hire a mason to repoint/rebuild the brick wall

Thanks @Ned Carey and @Tom Gimer. I appreciate the advice!  I contacted the city attorney and feel comfortable that they'll work with me on the receivership issue.  I am under contract on this one and look forward to adding it to my rental portfolio.  

While doing some due diligence on a Baltimore City property I'm looking to purchase I found that the local court has appointed a Receiver to sell the property.  I'm pretty unfamiliar with the Receivership process, but from what I can gather here, it's the City's way of abating "nuisance" properties when the owners won't renovate them.  The city basically seizes the asset and sells it.  Pretty drastic stuff!  And I need to understand it better.  @Ned Carey has a couple good blog posts on his experience with receivership but I was unable to determine the outcome of his efforts.

This is an assignment deal and I haven't yet signed the assignment agreement. So I have time to make a good decision. Here is what I know:

• The court appointed a Receiver on Sept 6th, with a stay of 60 days to Nov 9th (whatever that means). No court entries on the case file on Judiciary Case Search since September.
• The property is not in particularly bad condition.  Pretty standard moderate renovation. No fire damage. Roof, walls, floors are good.
• If I purchased it, the closing would likely be in mid-December.

Questions:

What ability do I have to step in as the new owner, start the reno, and get it out of Receivership?

Will a title company even insure this?

Thanks!

Hi @David Stumpf welcome to BP and congrats on the newborn! Middle River is a great little neighborhood. Look forward to hearing about your commercial properties.

This deal is currently under contract. I have a similar property coming available soon...if you missed out on this one feel free to send me a colleague request for updates on the next one.

Hi @Ernie Espinoza I am a home inspector and I recommend you address this issue with your inspector.  A service cable bypassing the meter is definitely a major issue and is definitely within the standard scope of a home inspection.  Your inspector will likely be very embarrassed about this error and he might even be willing to pay for it. If he refuses to pay for the repairs his insurance might cover it.

I agree with @Charles Smith that the problem is a safety issue and should be addressed immediately.  Be sure to document it very well with photos before you start repairs.  If the problem is as bad as you describe, the home inspector will cringe when he sees the photos and realizes his mistake (particularly with the bypassed meter). Hopefully he will pay for it. He should!

Hi @Clarence Hopkins, yes this is still available.  The biggest repair items:

-new flooring (best option for rental in this market is probably a high-quality floating vinyl plank over existing hardwoods) likely $3k.

-Furnace and water heater are both 10+ years old and in 10 mins of troubleshooting we couldn't get them to fire up, so the reno estimate includes $3,500 for new HVAC equipment + AC and $600 for new water heater. They might be repairable but I budgeted for replacement to be on the safe side

I can share my itemized reno estimate for anyone who is interested, but of course I recommend doing your own D.D.  

I tend to over-improve my rentals (granite counters, hardwoods, etc). Some landlords might opt for a smaller reno on this house.

Be prepared for a sharp increase in the property tax assessment.  Taxed at 2.3% they can eat you alive.  The current assessment seems low at $156k and Baltimore City WILL raise them eventually, even with no improvement in the local market.  Crunch your numbers and make sure your deal can survive an assessment increase to $250k.  (That would cost you $2,100/year!)

Beautiful townhouse overlooking wooded park. Ready for moderate rehab to make a great cash-flowing rental. Elevated main floor ceilings, sprawling hardwood floors. New windows, electric service, light fixtures, kitchen floors (all Aug '17). The high-value Woodberry neighborhood is 3 blocks away. 

The neighborhood: House is surrounded by trees -- a forested park is directly across the street and there is a wooded lot directly behind the house (rare for the city). There is an actively involved community that organizes a trash cleanup each summer to keep the neighborhood in good condition.

Market rents: $1,200-$1,250.

Voucher rents: $1,400- $1,600.

Rehab Estimate: $24,000+/-

ARV: $95,000 (sold comps on block range from $85,000-$105,000);

Type of Deal:  Standard sale - I own this outright

Dropbox link with Photos; BP Rental Calculator; Comps

Reply to this post or call me at 443-333-9296 for additional details or a tour.