All Forum Posts by: Matthew Paul

 No thats against the law . 

I would send a service man out there , to look at the system , and then tell the tenant they have to order a part , you will let them know when the part arrives , but we will be over to collect the past due rent today .

 I have never been to Detroit , I have no reason or desire to visit there , so I cant compare . I grew up in Baltimore and have seen the downward trend . I am always on guard in the city , I drive a 2004 Ford truck when I do have to go in , and I dress like I dont have a dime to my name . Some areas are good .  But whats been happening the last year or two is the criminals are coming out into the counties and then returning to the city . It Makes it difficult for police when they have to stop at the city line 

RV park is a hands on business (Campers coming and going all the time )  A mobile home park has residents . Big difference between the 2 

The costs of land  , engineering , site work , permits , labor , and building materials make this virtually impossible . then there are zoning issues and the rest of the politics that go along with this .  Then factor in the amount that people can afford .  

Unless the government pays for it , it cant be done . And once the government gets involved it will cost even more 

https://bestdiplomats.org/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us/

As many investors know there are high crime areas in any city .  Baltimore being one of them , and there are investors making good money in Baltimore , and some not .

This weekend we went out with friends , dinner and some fun . While at dinner the women were talking and the guys were looking at some pictures of crime scenes . one of the guys is in law enforcement in Baltimore .  These were pictures that never make the news , sometimes the stories make the news , but not often .  I wont go into descriptions besides that the pictures were pretty gross , shockingly gross . Some were innocent victims , crime on average people , others were criminals on criminals .  

His advice was basically if you go into the city , know where you are going and know how to get out . 

For those out of state who want to invest in Baltimore , do yourself a favor research the area well , put your own eyes on it , run your numbers , then run them again .  Not all areas are bad , but that can be block by block . 

I am a contractor/investor , and live 30 minutes south of the city , I wont do work in the city , nor will I invest . 

I am not one to use a HELOC on my primary to invest . Risking my primary is out of the question . I know those that have done it , and 2 out of 5 have had problems when tenants didnt pay during covid . They both are still playing catch up . One of the five got in and out quick and made some decent money , the last two are doing OK .

Leverage can be a great thing but its a calculated risk , and a lot of people put too much faith on the upside and little consideration  for the downside .

No , not at all concerned .  I am more concerned with inflation , rising property taxes , increases with insurance , and going bald .  

 Thats why someone wouldnt buy your house and rent it back to you for less than they are paying for a mortgage .  And if your credit isnt good , why would they rent your old house to you ? 

I dont see how the numbers would work for an investor 

That is high pressure sales form a home improvement salesman . Unfortunatly its not illegal , unethical ? Yes , Illegal ? No . There are no price controls on home improvements . 

Here in Maryland , you have to follow the rules in sales and contract verbage and right of recision . As long as I follow the rules and do the work stated on the contract , I can charge what ever I can get . ( Not how I do things ) . But there are companies out there , they operate by quoting extreeeeeeemly high prices , their salesmens commission is based on the profit on the job . 

But contracting  is part of the real estate business , flippers are there to make as much profit as they can , agents want the highest commission they can get , landlords want the highest rent they can charge , and contractors want as much as they can get .  Its basic business 101 .