All Forum Posts by: Phillip S.

@Tyreese Brown Thanks.  The answer to this question seems to depend on who you ask.  Some say the room has to be a certain size, some say it needs a closet, etc.  I'm just curious if there is any official guidance to be found on this.

Apologies if this question has already been answered elsewhere in the forum (probably has just can't find it).  Does anyone know what qualifies a room as a "bedroom" in Maryland and more specifically Baltimore City?  Does the room have to be completely closed off and separated from other rooms, and does it need to have a closet with a door?   Thanks for the help.

@Joseph ODonovan Because both units were tenant occupied at the time I was only able to conduct a visual inspection of the exterior of the property (which unfortunately didn't include the roof).  Aside from some minor cosmetic issues I didn't notice any major defects.  This was my first time purchasing property in Baltimore City.  I have two other rentals located outside of Baltimore.

@Ronald Davis I hope you can understand my reluctance to reveal the auction company.  It is not my intention to stir up trouble.  

@Solomon Morris Thank you Solomon.  

@Tanner Marsey Because I was naive, and placed too much trust in the description that was given for the property.   Also I never thought it would get bid up like it did.  Clearly somebody else besides me wanted it, whether that was an actual third party buyer or the auctioneer placing bids up to the reserve price, I'll never know.  

@Ian Barnes You are correct - these auction sales are "as-is" and the seller is not required to disclose a darn thing.  However does that give them a license to flat out conceal and defraud?  The advertisement was misleading at best, and clearly meant to entice people into bidding on the property.

@Aaron Hollingshead Thanks, actually I wouldn't call my upgrades "major".  I did upgrade the flooring to something a lot more durable than what the previous owners put in, a lot of drywall replacement and patch work, paint, molding, added a closet to the downstairs bedroom, etc.  Also repainted the kitchen cabinets downstairs and put in a new laminate counter top.  I didn't want to go too overboard as it just didn't make sense for the neighborhood. 

@Tony Mai Thank you for the reply.  I have no choice but to stick it out and try to recoup some of my losses.  If I sold it today I would be in the red by at least $40K after selling costs.  If I can keep both units rented I should be able to recoup most of that within 5 years.  

@Ian Barnes Yes, this is my first property in Baltimore City so in that sense I am an amateur.  What surprises me is how easy it is for scammers to do it legally and get away with it.  In retrospect what I should have done was withhold payment of the auction deposit until I was able to inspect the inside.  One piece of the story that I left out was the fact that the seller told me after the auction that the upstairs unit had passed a section 8 inspection, which gave me no reason to suspect anything was wrong.  He probably told me that so I wouldn't go in and inspect, knowing full well what the situation was.  I have obtained copies of failed inspection reports dating back months prior to the auction, proving the sellers knew or should have known about the problem.