All Forum Posts by: Mark Moyer

Hey Jonathan--I'm not a contractor but I buy and rehab properties in those specific areas (depending on the blocks!).  If you need to connect with a responsible owner that would be good for a block, hit me up.  I'd like to buy 1-2 more homes in the near future.  If you need help with a complete flip, Bedrock Construction works a lot locally and does good work.  

BGE handles everything outside of your house to your meter.  Your responsibility is from the meter to the rest of the house.  Although if they bust up your sidewalk you might have to repair that.  Keep going up the chain until you get someone on the phone that can help you.  

Are they asking you to get a permit for your house?  If so, you'd likely need to pass a pressure test by a licensed plumber.  After passing, you can apply for the permit.  I had issues with BGE installing new gas lines back in 2016.  They had "retired" the old gas line at the street and never bothered to tell me.  Because of the season, you should move to the top of their list.  Keep using the word Emergency every time you talk to them on the phone.  

Ned had good points about 200k investments and still cash flowing.  There's plenty of neighborhoods in the city that could cash flow better at lower purchase price points.  It's up to you if you want to work in such neighborhoods.  

I live in that neighborhood.  Please be kind and ensure your properties are a positive for the neighborhood and not a negative!  Too many bad landlords around here weighing down this city.  

There's lots of conversations about Pigtown in previous threads too.  Use the search bar in the forum and you'll find lots of results.  I own several houses in Pigtown and it's been a good experience.  I've lived in the neighborhood for many years.  Do your due diligence and you'll find a good fit either there or in another neighborhood.  

It's nice when a client comes with some area of focus to begin your search.  It's a good list of starting points.  Some of those neighborhoods like Pigtown or Oliver don't have the housing stock that offers more than 2-3 bedroom homes.  You'd need to expand your search to areas with larger homes like Reservoir Hill, Bolton Hill, Marble Hill or the squares in West Baltimore.  

@Ian Barnes the neighborhood was heavily invested in by speculators before the last recession.  A lot of the false "growth" fueled by investors leading up to the last housing bust made for a spectacular fall when the market collapsed.    Other speculative markets around the country saw the same collapse.  I'm hoping now that the growth we're seeing in the Pigtown neighborhood and other similar neighborhoods is more sustainable as housing prices have risen slowly and mortgages are harder to obtain.

Hopefully irresponsible investors stay away.  Get some landlords who actually care about screening their tenants and making the world better for their neighbors.  

As a person who was an owner occupant in the neighborhood, living there was a good experience.  But everyone has a different level of comfort.  I personally choose to live where we do in the city because of the downtown amenities.    

Nice Ryan!  I went to Towson just a few years ahead of you.  

It's awesome to connect with area couples who share similar goals.  My wife and I have been doing this for about 5 years now and it's been a great experience.  Having 2 kids in the last 3 years has slowed us down a bit but once we stop paying for child care things will start to really really click.  Best wishes to you!  

What questions would you ask a CPA to gauge their level of expertise regarding real estate investing and taxes?  How do you screen the professionals you use?