All Forum Posts by: Tyreese Brown

@Kenny Kamdoum I am by no means an expert.  But it looks like you are about to make the mistake of buying the house at it’s full value with no equity to leverage in the near future. There is always room to negotiate depending on how motivated the seller is.  Based off your numbers, personally will not pay 90k, I would put my offer somewhere around 65-70k max.

But to your question, everyone will tell you over and over again that you need to physically go to the area you want to invest in order to get the most accurate assessment of that area. Baltimore is literally a block by block city. Just merely having a zip code and address won’t give you the best analysis. 

Also, when you do get to see the neighborhood, some people will tell you to use rules of thumbs like “would you let your wife jog around the neighborhood.”  This may be good for some, but myself, growing up in the Resevoir Hill/Penn North area of Baltimore in the 80s and 90s, that rule of thumb means very little to me. I personally am not afraid to live, jog, or invest in these areas. You just have to understand the community. But I won’t get on my soap box about that here. Set your criteria, stick to it. 

@Kyle Glasgow Nice rehab!  Was this a full gut?  I like the idea of pricing low to garner competing offers vs starting off with a big price bang.  I agree with @William C. on this one.  You know your bottom number, so maybe start slightly higher than that.  Pricing at 125K while other comps are 10K higher in that area will definitely get you more eyes and feet. 

@Stephen Ray, thanks for your feedback. My GC is a friend who is doing me a solid. I take him along because like I said before, I’m not confident in my rehab estimations yet. Plus we have the understanding that I’ll be using his services when I find the right house. 

You’re right, it seems like most of the good deals are off market deals or auctions.  I’m still navigating my way through finding a good one.  I was under the impression that when you ask for inspection contingencies on investments properties, that those almost always get thrown out because these properties won’t past inspection.  But that is something I’ll use for my next offer if needed.

@Theresa Harris, thanks! Yes, I brought my GC with me the second time. But his time is valuable, and I’m sure he won’t go to each one with me. I like the idea of the inspector and GC there at the same time. I actually think that’s probably ideal.  

@Ned Carey, thanks for the feedback! An offer with contingency, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that!  I probably could have done the same with the foreclosure. 

I’m not 100% sure on the second house being an auction from the beginning as it was listed as a foreclosure. But that may have very well been the case. 

I’m trying to target properties that have high DOM in order to get a deal.  I may need to adjust that thought as to not wait too long and the seller thinks it’s a wash and pulls it. 

@Russell Brazil, thanks for the feedback.  I read J. Scott's book on estimating rehabs, and I'm still not confident in my ability to do so.  I guess that comes with experience, but you're right I'm not going to be able to drag a GC all around Baltimore, at least not without compensation.  

Is it safe to say that these properties probably weren't that good of a deal if they had to be pulled for auction?  I assume no one else put an offer in for that to happen.

Hello BP! Fairly new investor here in the Baltimore, MD area. I'm looking to get a few BRRRR deals under my belt this year. I currently have one rental in the city, and I'm in search of my next property, but I'm having a hard time. Below are two scenarios that have happened to me within the past 30 days. I'm looking for feedback on where I can improve, or what I may be doing wrong.

1. I saw a property online, and sent the address to my realtor to get more information.  Two days later, he was able to secure a viewing time.  We looked at the property, and felt like I wanted to get my contractor to come in to estimate the rehab.  The very next day, I was able to view the house again with my contractor.  The only issue was we were unable to see the basement and the backyard of the house.  Unfortunately, the basement isn't accessible from inside the home, and the only entrance is a cellar door outside that was locked with a deadbolt.  The backyard isn't accessible from the outside, and the door leading out the back of the house was also locked with a deadbolt.  No keys for either in the lockbox.  I have no idea why the listing agent did not have these keys available.  I asked my realtor to see if he can coordinate with the listing agent again so that we can get to see these areas.  The listing agent became unresponsive for the next few days, and the next thing I know the house was put up for auction.  This may be no big deal to a seasoned investor, just purchase it from the auction right?  But since I'm a newbie, I would like to stay away from auctions until I know what I'm doing.

2. Saw a foreclosure online, and sent it over to my realtor. Last week Thursday, we were able to view the house. This time I had my contractor with me. After viewing the house, I decided that I wanted to move forward with the purchase. As a suggestion, my realtor thought it would be a benefit to get an inspector to see the property, before I place an offer, just to be sure there weren't any major issues. The following Tuesday (yesterday), I scheduled the inspection for Thursday. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning (Wednesday) to the news that the bank has taken the house off the MLS, and is putting it up for auction. NOT AGAIN! I have no idea why the listing agent let this happen, or even if it was in his control. I clearly displayed significant interest in the property since I was willing to pay for an inspector.

So BP, what can I do to not lose out again.  I plan to use hard money for financing, but at this point I feel like I should show up to each viewing with a brief case full of cash.  How can I cut down my "reaction" time when I find houses that I like?  

Any recommendations for a realtor in the Baltimore area.  Someone very responsive and investor friendly.  My current realtor takes days to get back to me on properties.  Sometimes with little to no explanation on why I should pass, often missing out.

Also, any recommendations for general contractors in the area?

Maurice, the group is very active. Just had a Meetup last week. Below is the web address:

http://bwimeetup.com/

Hello all. I’m fairly new to BP and this is my first post after lurking for a while. I’m a new investor in the Baltimore area looking for buy and hold rental properties with one property under my belt. I’m an active duty service member. I just went to my first BWI Meetup gathering where I took away some very good advice, and made a couple of connections.

A little about my first property:

Area: West Baltimore/ Midtown Edmondson

Purchase price: 134K

Rehab Cost: 0 -The property was a full gut renovation (someone else’s flip)

Mortgage/Tax: $1,050

Rent: $1,425

Now that I've done tons more research on BRRRR, I'm not too proud of my first property, especially since I used a lot of my own cash to purchase it. The house was listed for 145K, but appraised for 134K, and because I was anxious to get in a deal, I purchased it at that price. Never will I do that again!! Patience is a virtue.

So now I'm back at the drawing board, looking for other properties to utilize the BRRRR concept. Currently looking into properties around Penn North/Reservoir Hill (where I grew up), McCulloh/Druid Hill/Madison Park, and then Pigtown.

Anyone have any current (2018/2019) insight on these areas? I’m an avid listener to the BP podcast, so I have the basic understanding that almost anything can work if it’s a good deal and the numbers work.

Also, anyone have any insight on using a Hard Monday Lender for my next property? Pros/Cons specific to the area?

Lastly, with refinancing, does any bank do that? Or should I try to get ahead of myself and line up a bank to refi as part of the planning process before purchasing my next property?

Thanks in advance!