Flipping Houses - The rehab located in Johns Hopkins Biotech.
The property is located directly across from the Johns Hopkins Biotechnology Hospital. The draw is the planned multi-billion dollar Hopkins Biotech project of East Baltimore city. Can you say location, location, location? This house was purchased through a more conventional method. The seller advertised a “for sale by owner” sign from the window. After several weeks of researching the project area, meeting with the development corporation responsible for managing the project, I decided to make an offer. I did my due diligence, including a title search, attempted to verify that this property was not on the list to be acquired by the city, cash flow analysis, plus more. There was a previously accepted offer but the financing fell through. I used a rehab loan from a local bank that I have a long standing relationship with. For privacy reasons, I won’t provide the exact purchase price at this time. I negotiated approximately a 30% discount from the market price in the area. Most of the three story shells in the area were selling for 80k -130k depending upon the square footage.
Investors are scrambling to get into this area but the closest most can get is two blocks outside of the planned project area. There are a lot of risks associated with this property, which I was not fully aware of at the time of purchase. It has not been a “fun” project so far. I’ve recently been able to overcome some building permit issues that were not entirely my error. I may go into more detail in another thread but for now just know that the permit office can create problems if they so choose. There are many situations that home owners and investors have endured when the local government is involved in a “revitalization project”. The three story homes in this area have sold for as much as 320k, but the market is changing everyday. Rental prices are increasing in the area due to so much construction.
In the house flipping world there are many types of projects. This one is considered a rehab because it will require a partial gut and reframing. I will have a new floor plan designed to maximize space and create a modern look. The house will feature a Master Suite with a garden tub, separate shower and two walk in closets. It will take up the entire top floor of the house. I will post the floor plan on a separate thread.
Please ask any questions that you may have about this project in the comments section. I will try to answer most of them. Make sure to follow along, in the Hopkins Project category, to stay up to speed. I don’t have much time to blog about every project, but this one will be very interesting to follow.
