All Forum Posts by: Murad Azimzada

I'm about to purchase my first rental property, which I also plan to live in initially. Currently, I’m renting elsewhere, but the property I’m looking at is just a couple of miles from where I live in Baltimore.

The house is being auctioned, and touring it in person doesn’t seem possible. That’s making me a bit nervous—especially since, as a first-time buyer, I haven’t seen the house inside and out beyond the listing photos (even though a few of my real estate entrepreneur friends are helping me).

I’ve noticed recent trends showing a ~0.5% dip in home prices and expect there might be more to come.

What’s one thing you’d absolutely make sure to check when buying an auctioned property—especially if you can’t tour it?

Appreciate any advice from experienced investors here.

Thanks!

Liens and back taxes are big items you want to spend some time on figuring out before bidding. Like Mohammed said, doing a drive by and peaking in the windows (if you can), will help determine the amount of work. If the roof has holes in it, just assume its a full gut with no salvage especially in the Baltimore area where we get all 4 seasons. Happy to chat more about it.

Thank you Brendan and Mohammed.

Here’s what I’ve done so far, based on some advice I received:

I did some digging and also drove by the property. I peeked through the windows and talked to two neighbors:

One middle-aged man told me there used to be a family living there, but they left the house because of electrical issues.
Then, an elderly (super nice) lady talked with me about the house for almost an hour. Here’s what she mentioned:
- The family left not because of the house itself, but because Baltimore’s public schools are bad.
- There were rats in the storage room, which used to be part of the backyard before it was closed off.
- The windows looked okay, but the roof seemed a bit off to me (I only saw it from the street/backyard).
- Inside looked a bit dim and seemed similar to the pictures online.
- She also said the house next door had electrical issues too and is also empty. (I tend to believe her since she said she’s been living here for over 60 years.)

She noted that someone was inside the house a few nights ago, which tells me the owner or a buyer may be visiting. That intrigues me—I might be able to get in somehow.

I snapped a picture to share here, but I just realized it doesn’t show anything useful.

What do you think?