All Forum Posts by: Joe Norman

VA loans are great products, but they do come with some restrictions. I would start by asking your lender what the underwriting/appraisal guidelines are for the condition of the home - if its over 100 years old then there may be some deal breakers. The 2-unit layout may also raise some flags with the underwriter.

Do you have an agent representing you? If not then why not? You should have someone looking out for your best interests, especially as a first time home buyer.

Its hard to "invest heavily" in real estate if you don't have disposable income to invest. Double down on your lead generation to build up your Realtor business and then invest the extra money you'll be making. 

You'll likely need a zoning variance from the city and that's hit-or-miss on whether it'll be granted or not. Even if it is granted its likely not worth the expense unless you're doing a major renovation anyway.

As many others have pointed out, either include electric in your rent or split it between the two units.

Are the rates really not "decent"? I know they're lower then they were a year or two ago, but 5-6% is still cheap money.

To answer your Original Question though, I guess "how you should buy your next property" depends on a lot of factors that we don't have insight into. How much money do you have to invest? How much is needed in the area you are investing? Whats your end goal for the investment?

To answer your original questions, I believe the answer is "No" you will not be charged transfers IF the LLC is owned by the same individuals who are currently on title.

That said, and as others have pointed out, if your only reason for using an LLC is the liability protection then its probably not worth the hassle - just get an umbrella liability policy and call it a day.

Sounds like a solid strategy, but make sure you're properly licensed with Baltimore City. Also you may want to check your asking rent per room, $1200/mo sounds a little aggressive given that full townhouses are only renting for a few hundred dollars more.

Good luck!

 The conversion was fully permitted by the county, although I did have to go through the variance process to obtain the approvals.

Keep in mind that in Maryland "Source of Income" is a protected class, so you can't advertise that you are choosing to "accept vouchers" - that is akin to saying you are choosing to "accept Catholics" or "accept white people". Your marketing and screening should not encourage or discourage the use of vouchers.

That said, you absolutely can screen based on Amount of Income. In the situation you described in your OP ($1,500/month rent, 70/30 split, requiring 3x monthly rent in income) then yes, you would need to confirm that the tenant has a monthly income of at least $1,350.

Good luck!

You should ask your PM what their funnel is for capturing leads and converting them into showings - if they don't give you a detailed answer then you should look for another PM.

That said, I agree with everyone on here that you're probably priced too high. $3800 is the high end for Canton, and while some of the rooms in this unit look high end, others do not. I suggest either 1) a cosmetic rehab to bring all of the rooms up to meet this lux price, or drop the price to better match the home.

Good luck!

I converted a single family to a duplex a few years ago and I don't recall doing anything special. I just put two mailboxes out front and labeled one 3807-A and the other 3807-B.

I suppose your best bet would be to check with USPS though to see if they need to do anything "official"