All Forum Posts by: Ian Barnes

First off, with the amount of Landlords in Baltimore, they chance of you getting shot/hurt is much less than you getting hit by lightening.  So if your scared, don't go outside. Second off, to limit yourself to a very small area because of crime is not very smart.  There is crime everywhere and neighborhoods change all the time in Baltimore.  Also, in order to attract ok Section 8 tenants, you will have to have a nice place and spend money on it, otherwise you will get terrible tenants that will rip your place apart.  You sound extremely naive, and with your thought process will probably lose quite a bit of money, but don't worry, when the market crashes, I will be right there ready to pick up your property for 50% less than you bought it for, if you don't take Baltimore real estate seriously.

I use the BRRR strategy and I look for areas with low taxes, and a lot of homeowners on the block cause they actually care. Baltimore is block by block. I bought a house 4 years ago for 15K, and literally 500 feet away houses were selling for 400K if that gives you perspectitve. As fare as where to look for houses, your out of luck, cause I don't need more competition, I need less.

You did everything you can legally do at this point.  Those people are the lowest of the low in my mind. They knew what they were doing when they broke in, and they know who owns what on that block. They are most likely dangerous people as almost 40% of people living in Baltimore City have convictions of some kind. Also, another way in the future to stop this is to get a coded deadbolt, something like thishttps://www.amazon.com/Codelocks-Digital-Mechanical-Pushbutton-Surface/dp/B00CM6NRLE/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1525292510&sr=8-18&keywords=coded+deadbolt and just take it out once someone moves in. 

Hi, I have friends that dealt with this before.  Cops will do nothing, if they have what looks like a signed lease and they have children, you will have to evict them through the courts, I forgot what its called, but something remainder, that will take 90 days and you will have to pay court costs, I would do cash for keys, offer them 500 dollars to leave, and then put metal gates on the front and back door, so they need two sets of keys to get in, also get simplisafe and install. Cut off power, there are other things you can shut off as well.  If they don't leave, then you have to evict.

Most "Turnkey" companies in Baltimore are just gonna sell you the crap all of us in the city don't want.  If you don't know baltimore block by block or have a good boots on the ground team, your screwed, as Joe said above.  

@David Fernandez, .  The only way to invest in Baltimore is to work with someone on the ground that is trustworthy, knows construction, and can manage properties for you. Most DC/NOVA investors I come across think its easy to make high returns and its not in Baltimore. Most of them will keep the houses for a few years and sell at a loss cause they paid too much or got cheap with construction and had serious maintenance issues.

Be sure to get your county rental inspection from a licensed inspector and file that and the few other forms with the county.  Also, be sure to get a garbage pail with an attached top. They cost about 50-60 dollars.  If the lid falls of a garbage can and an inspector sees it in the county its a $300 dollar fine.

type, where to invest in Baltimore in the search section of biggerpockets, there are about 100 threads that answer this question  already.

I have a bunch of MHIC contractors I've been working with for years, that have done a lot in Baltimore City and Balitmore county. PM me and I'd be more than happy to help. 

This is Baltimore City. It is always the owners fault. If they send you citations and you don't get them, you still have to pay for them. If the city places a stop word order and you have to pay the mandatory $1,000 dollar fine, good luck getting it from the contractor and complaining to the MHIC commission. If you don't pull permits and someone dies because of it, good luck not losing everything you have in a Baltimore City court when you get sued. If someone eats lead in your house, not only can your LLC be sued, but it can pierce the vail and you can be sued personally. Point is, if you use a contractor, make sure they know everything possible about Baltimore City, and pull every permit that should be pulled. If you need help, DM me. All I do is live, eat, sleep Baltimore.