All Forum Posts by: Nancy Roth

So sorry to burst the bubble of encouragement people from other parts of the country are floating, @Shaniqua Dupree, but Baltimore doesn't work the way most other places do. Baltimore was severely depopulated over several decades in the last half of the 20th century. It used to have about a million people when I was growing up there, but that is down to like, 600,000. 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-insta...

Think what that means for the housing market. Lots and lots of surplus units. Drive east on Biddle Street sometime and count the board-ups if you want to get depressed.

So except for in a few neighborhoods near the water, like Canton, Federal Hill and Fells Point (and you can be sure that Habitat for Humanity isn't rehabbing anywhere near there!) you just aren't going to get appreciation in Baltimore. Too much inventory holding down the prices. Save your money and time until you get a better feel for the values. Go to Baltimore REIA and BWI Meetup and Real Deal and talk and listen, and listen and talk with people who are out there doing deals.

Best of luck,

Nancy Roth

Washington, DC

@Seth Sherman

So forgive me for probing, I'm trying to understand. The tenant was in the unit 6 months and had 3 judgments for nonpayment? Or the tenant was in the unit 12 months and had 3 judgments?

If the tenant was only in the unit 6 months, with 3 judgments, obviously a rent escrow would NOT be upheld. If the tenant was in the unit 12 months, sounds like the rent escrow would be upheld. Did the judge get the two mixed up? Ruling as if the tenant had 12 months in the unit when in fact it was only 6 months?

If so, that is a miscarriage. Isn't there some path to appeal it? 

Sounds like your tenant is a player, friend. I guess that's not news to you.

@Seth Sherman

@Scott Lavin

I don't know what the case is here but I do know Seth a little, and I can tell you neither he nor any other landlord I know goes into that court system frivolously, including the slumlords (I don't know any personally, I admit). The judge always presumes that the landlord is wrong, and a lot of player tenants take advantage of that. It's really not a good use of time for a business owner.

Wish you would elaborate a little, Seth. Some of us are still pretty new at this.

Best,

Nancy Roth

@Shannon Frog

I'm delivering this comment from the perspective of a working realtor, and am NOT IN ANY WAY promoting myself to you as a realtor. You may however, look up many great investor-realtors at BP who know Baltimore very well, such as Tyrus Shivers, Anil Samuel and Christina Ramirez. 

So here's something to think about when you approach a realtor. A new buyer who needs a lot of coaching and handholding to buy that first $30K house to turn into a rental requires as much time and effort as (if not more than) an experienced and well-funded buyer who is looking for a house to rehab/resell. 

You see, in Baltimore the agent helping a buy and hold investor is working almost pro bono. What will the realtor earn on a $30K property? In the case of the brokerage with 1200 properties, the agents are probably working on putting together packages of several properties instead of selling one. 

So maybe this is what's tripping you up--the disparity between what you are asking for from the agent vs. what you have offered to pay for that service. Agents are in business, and they need to get paid, just like everyone else.

So maybe think through the nature of the business partnership you want. Start the relationship with a little respect. When you approach a realtor you want to work with you might say something like: "I know this represents next to no pay for you, and I want to be sure you are fairly compensated for your service. I will pay you the difference between the commission the seller will pay and a commission minimum we agree to. So you will get paid every time we close a deal together if the seller's commission is inadequate. What is the minimum commission that would work for you to support me through this process?"

That amount then gets written into your buyer-agency agreement. This is perfectly legit, but a lot of agents don't get taught to think about investors differently from how they think about owner-occupants. You may have to help them with it, i.e., show you can be a good partner to them.  

Good luck with your investing.

Nancy Roth

@Seth Sherman, what are you talking about? What law? What happened?

Best,

Nancy Roth

@Kyle Gregg is pretty awesome himself: motivated, smart, fast study, decisive, and also a really nice guy. Live long and prosper, Kyle!

Best,

Nancy 

@SethSherman

 Great story and you definitely should hit the local press with it. Include photographs, of course. 

So why didn't you have a lawyer represent you in court, and instead choose to face them down yourself? I don't know if I would have the stamina to pull that off. 

I don't know if everyone in Baltimore City government is irredeemable, but a lot of decisions made by city make no sense at all. seem to have . I'm about to file a case in rent court for the first time, (my ex-property manager handled the filings in the past) and am blown away to find out I can't download a form from their website and send in a copy. Instead I have to physically pick up this triplicate carbon copy thing down at the courthouse. Like, should I buy a typewriter or something? I mean, who in business still uses carbon copy documents? It's ludicrous. 

@LarryGraham

Hello, and welcome. 

It's not too far to go to Baltimore for RE investing purposes. I live in DC but invest in Baltimore--and so do tons of others. The real estate market in the DC area is very inflated and out of reach of many beginning investors. Baltimore's rental numbers are among the best in the country, and b/c of the lower prices, if you make a mistake (and you will, count on it!) it won't kill you. People from all over Maryland, plus from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Virginia invest in Baltimore.

You should pay attention to Ned Carey's advice and attend the BWI Meetup. There is another group that meets the last Saturday morning of each month, called the Real Deal Meetup, which many of my colleagues recommend (although I have a conflict on Saturday mornings so have not gone). Another REI group I have found particularly helpful is the Baltimore REIA, which has several events per month, including one on landlording.

But one of the most helpful and informative groups I've found has no name but consists of a buncha guys that meet for lunch at noon every Monday at the same restaurant in southwest Baltimore. Ding me with a colleague request, if you like, and I can help you connect up with them. If you have a W-2 job and can't get out on Mondays, try to go on a Monday holiday, they will be there.

There are some subtleties about investing in rentals in Baltimore, and I would suggest that you get out and listen and talk to people who are doing it before jumping in with both feet. One common mistake for Washington-area investors is they think everything in Baltimore is a great deal because the price tag is sooooo much lower than we are used to in DC. That is what I did, and let me tell you, it simply isn't so. 

I wish you good luck as you find your path. BP is a wonderful place to begin. Let me know if I can be of help.

Nancy Roth

 Sure, open to everyone, Kelly. You should RSVP at the link if possible. --N. 

@Mayank Saxena:

My apologies. The meeting of Capitol Investors Meetup is a week from Thursday, not this Wednesday as I was mistakenly told. 

Here is the link sent out by one of the organizers with the update:

http://www.meetup.com/Capitol-Investors/events/219172134/

Try to drop in if you can. I've met some interesting investors there, beginning and seasoned. 

Nancy Roth