All Forum Posts by: Joe Norman

This sounds like a good opportunity. Does it cashflow at the current rent? If so I'd strongly consider locking it up and then deciding what to do with the current tenants. Good luck!

Have you considered building out something to meet your needs using Podio? Its free/inexpensive (depending on your usage) and extremely flexible.

This is your answer. Putting a home under contract when without the intention to close on it is misleading and unethical, full stop. Its even more egregious as a Realtor who is supposed to be adhering to the Realtors Code of Ethics. A few examples of the many lines that would be crossed by doing this (I stopped looking for examples after around Article 10, I'm sure there are my others):

Article 1: When serving a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant or other party in a non-agency capacity, REALTORS® remain obligated to treat all parties honestly.

Article 2: REALTORS® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction.

Article 4: REALTORS® shall not acquire an interest in or buy or present offers from themselves, any member of their immediate families, their firms or any member thereof, or any entities in which they have any ownership interest, any real property without making their true position known to the owner or the owner’s agent or broker.

Article 5: REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide professional services concerning a property or its value where they have a present or contemplated interest unless such interest is specifically disclosed to all affected parties.

Article 7: In a transaction, REALTORS® shall not accept compensation from more than one party, even if permitted by law, without disclosure to all parties and the informed consent of the REALTOR®’s client or clients.

Close on the deal yourself or broker it to someone else who can. Leave the shady "I'll buy your house even though I don't have the means or intention to" to the unlicensed and unregulated real estate "investors" out there.

That “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant" series looks great, can't wait to dig into it!

Nothing at all that I'm aware of that would prevent you from doing this. Just make sure to save up that DP money!

You'll likely need to apply for a zoning variance to permit the non-conforming use. Some on the forums have done this on their own, and in the past I have hired a lawyer to manage this process for me. Good luck!

I've seen a few comments about waiting for the market to "slow" and IMO that is foolish. I haven't ready one prediction from a serious economist that housing values will actually decrease, but rather that the rate of appreciation will slow as interest rate hikes take effect. That is to say, there should still be solid appreciation over the next 3-5 years, just not at the astronomical rates we've seen in the past 18 months. Therefor, if you have a 3-5 year timeline, I would absolutely buy and capture that appreciation.

Good luck and let me know if you have Baltimore questions!

Good morning Beau, I have recently launched Blue Door Residential Property Management here in Baltimore. I'd love to connect!

I second @Jonathan Greene - a fast closing isn't always what the seller wants. My clients have offered gratis post settlement occupancies as a way to sweeten their offer (if thats what the seller needs).

My advice is to call the listing agent and ask them how to get the seller's attention. If you have a buyers agent and they haven't already made that call then I also suggest getting yourself a more proactive agent.

Great man, glad to hear it!