All Forum Posts by: Jason Woodford

@Mario Dattilo Hi Mario, I see that you’re a MHP investor. Would you be willing to connect? I guess my post should have been more broad to connect with anyone familiar with MHP investing that I can network and build relationships with (not just broker and attorney)!

Hi All, I’m new to MHP investing (own a couple single family rentals) but have found a couple parks that I’m interested in. I’m looking to connect with a broker and/or attorney familiar with the MHP buying process that I can work with, run questions by and pick their brain. I’m in Maryland but the parks I’m interested in are in NY state. Thanks in advance!

@Eric H. Sure, the unit brings in $1400 in rent and the expense are roughly $900 (PITI + budgeted maintenance + variable costs), so I net about $500 a month - financing was conventional 20% down loan. The house is in baltimore city near belvedere square.

I'm excited to announce that I locked up my first rental property in July! I'm a bit delayed with this post because I've had a lot going on over the past couple of months but still wanted to share my story. I was (and still am) new to real estate investing but it had always been a dream of mine to become a real estate investor so when I found BP earlier this year, it helped me to build my knowledge base and give me the confidence and resources to push forward and start my REI journey!

So, early in the year I began looking at properties, I probably looked at around 15 total. I live in Baltimore (county), MD so to find properties that were within my price range ($150K and below) I had to look mostly in the city or city/county line. I eventually came across a property that was tenant occupied, which was a bonus for me because I didn’t have to take the time to market and fill a vacancy. The tenant, though, was a section 8 tenant and this wasn’t something I had thought too much about previously. I met her a couple times and talked with the previous owner about the tenant to get additional information and do some indirect screening and I concluded that I was comfortable with the existing tenant, who was a very nice lady. Section 8 requires additional registration and paperwork but my overall experience has not been bad so far.

The property is older and needs some updates – I knew right off the bat it needed a new roof so I budgeted for that. After the initial look I went back a second time with a contractor (who is a friend of mine) to get his thoughts and he didn’t see anything that looked bad so I pushed forward. One issue that came up was when I was getting insurance quotes my agent mentioned that there was a large water claim put in about 4 years earlier – this was quite concerning for me. I teetered on what to do, continue with this property or start looking for others. The numbers were really good on this unit so I decided I would just do my due diligence, got all the paperwork from the previous owner to verify all the work was done and substantiate what the cost were actually for. It made me feel a bit more comfortable but in the back of my mind I was still quite nervous. The numbers were great on this property though so I didn’t want it to stop me – I just had to keep telling myself there is proof the work was done and the problem was fixed so it shouldn’t be an issue going forward. After overcoming that obstacle I continued forward and eventually closed on the house in early July. What I got to see first hand that I had heard from many of you out there in various posts, podcasts, etc. is that there are always challenges and unexpected issues that came up but don’t let it deter you from your end goal. Rather, use those circumstances to help build our foundation, enhance your problem solving skills and expand your knowledge to grow as an investor. That’s what I did and I feel more confident today having gone through this experience.

Sorry for the somewhat lengthy post but I wanted to share my story at a high level. This is just the beginning for me and I owe it to BiggerPockets and the BP community for providing a forum for new real estate investors to learn, network, and share resources. I surely would not be where I am right now if I hadn’t discovered this website several months ago. I’m very excited about what the future holds and can’t wait to get started on my next investment! Thanks everyone!

- Jason Woodford

The claim was due to a burst pipe and the insurance agent since it wasn't my loss that the claim only has a slightly impacts my rates.

Hi All, so I'm in the process of purchasing my first buy and hold rental property.  I've found a place that I like and the numbers play out very well but when I reached out to my insurance agent she notified me that four years ago there had been a large insurance claim for water loss on the property.  I have received paperwork from the current owner that substantiates a portion of the amount that the agent said the claim was for, but there is still a large amount that is not included in the repair work (I'm not sure what the rest of the money was for).  Two-fold question: 1) Is the water claim something I should be worried about from a liability standpoint or if it was fixed properly it shouldn't be an issue? and 2) What could be the reasons the insurance claim is significantly larger than the amount of repair work done?  Just to note there is an existing tenant that has been there for several years (after the water claim though).  

Thanks in advance for all feedback.

Jason

Merry Christmas everyone!  

Hi everyone, thanks for the warm welcome and for the helpful information.  

@Ned Carey  I have gone to BWI meetup and signed up, I'm looking forward to networking and meeting new people at my first event.  

@Jeff K.  My plan is to start in MD and expand outside as I gain experience.  I live only a couple miles from PA line (just south of York County, PA) so I have contemplated looking in that area as well.  I'm open to suggestions and/or to hear your thoughts on areas that offer good opportunities. 

@Paul Timmins Thanks for all the information, I will be sure to go through all the material.