fliprent

I like to get at least three proposals for all my trades.  Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC are usually referred to as the trades.  Although I have specific subcontractors that I like to use, they are not all built the same.  Some are good for small jobs that don’t require permits.  Some are good for my large scale rehabs, which require new installation of pipes, duct-work, and electrical wiring.  Some subcontractors show up when they say they will, take pride in their work, and finish quickly.  Others will drag your job out, ask for more money, and drag it out some more.  When it comes to price and reliability, all contractors generally fit into three categories.  Fast and expensive, slow and cheap, or what I like to call buyer beware.  There is a gray area in each of the categories, but that’s generally what you get.  Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things that attracted me to this house was that it has a full basement with approximately 90 inches of clearance to the floor joists of the first floor.  Why you ask?  Many Baltimore City row homes were built in the early 1900’s and they did not use the basement for living space back then.  In fact many of them are not tall enough for a normal adult to walk through without ducking down. Read the rest of this entry »

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.  Read the rest of this entry »