All Forum Posts by: Jessica Mariano

@Joseph Vu I chose Baltimore because I was thinking there would be a higher pool of tenants. The houses are also less expensive.  In the city it’s around 270K-320K for a townhouse whereas in the counties it’s starting at $400K 

@Joe Norman thanks for the advice! I also see you’re a realtor which I am in search of one so I can find a good rental home. Would you be interested in connecting? 

@Matthew Paul that’s interesting… I live in AA County and my mother in law has a few rental townhouses here too and she said she isn’t making profit off of them because the expenses are so high after the tenant moves out (replacing flooring, painting etc.). She said with one townhouse she had to pay $7500. I can’t tell if she is doing something wrong to not make profit. I was also worried that there wouldn’t be enough of a tenant pool in the counties compared to the city. My thought process was that there are a lot of students (grad, med, law etc.) that would be looking to rent so I thought it would be easier for me to find a tenant. Do you have trouble finding responsible tenants in AA county? 

@Robert Carter thanks so much for your advice! I had a property manager in mind based on reviews but I’ve never actually interviewed them. I’ll get started on doing that! We’re there any key qualities you were looking out for during the interviews? 

@Drew Sygit will make sure to read that! Thanks for your post! 

Hi William, I am new to the rental investing so when I read your post I noticed you mentioned that it was a mistake to buy your 2 properties outright. Why is that? That is something I was going to do but if you can shed some light on that I would be grateful. Thank you!

Hi BP!
I am new at rental real estate and had my eye on buying property in Baltimore city. Because I am new I am VERY nervous about buying homes. Is there anything I should be wary of and watch out for? I don’t know, what I don’t know.. so I am trying to find out what that might be. So far, I know I should be wary of the neighborhoods I am looking to buy. I am focusing on Fed Hill and Fells Point. Should I look out for townhomes that have a specific number of bedrooms and bathrooms? What property management company do you guys use? What are all the expenses that come with renting Baltimore homes (other then house maintenance fees like painting walls, broken HVAC etc.). Are there city fees that I should look out for? Anything else I should know? Should I even invest in Baltimore city or should I invest in other places like Ellicott City or Columbia?