Anonymous wrote:Buy a 4-unit building in Deanwood, DC for 600k, within walking distance to metro.

And then buy a gun

Condo in newer building along the Orange Line in Arlington.

Note that condo fees are higher but you can deduct some of the maintenance costs from your Fed tax as well as depreciating the condo.

HOA fees are lower because you are responsible for exterior elements such as roofs.

For $600K you can get an okay 2 BR 2 Bath that will rent quickly for $2,500.

Anonymous wrote:DC.

DC is a nightmare for landlords. Run do not walk to Virginia a very landlord-friendly state.

Buy a Jiffy Lube. (Seriously).

Buy in an older building in Arlington orange line corridor, e.g. Ballston - you can charge $2000+ in rent for a one-bedroom covering your PITI and condo fees and turning a small profit.

Something like this:

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1045-N-Utah-St-22201/unit-311/home/11244563

You can rent it out for about $2000+ .

^
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Stock = stick.

probably the beach is your best option.

The beach is never your best option. Stock with within .75 mile of a Metro station, .5 if you can afford it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not going to get much for $200K. Do you have any other money to put in?

OP here. I should have clarified that I am going to get a mortgage and put $200k down so I figure I should be able to afford a property of around $600k.

That is easy.

You want to purchase a house in West Springfield/Burke, feeding into West Springfield Elementary, Hunt Valley, Keene Mill, Orange Hunt, Sangster, Cherry Run or the Kings Park/Glen elementary schools.

Pick a neighborhood that has quick access to one of these commuter options: Sydenstriker Rd. slug lot, Pentagon Express Bus, Burke VRE, or the Fairfax County Parkway/Ft. Belvoir.

Make sure the house is reasonably nice, has at least two bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, and is not on a main road.

Market it to military families.

The houses zoned for the schools listed above have multiple to dozens of very qualified rental applicants within hours to a day after listing. Most renters sign their leases sight unseen. The renters are exceptionally reliable, highly qualified, and excellent tenant who take care of the property like their own.

If you are willing to negotiate certain breeds of pets, then you will have many applicants to choose from.

Tie your rent to the 0-5 housing allowance.

Be an attentive and fair landlord. When the time comes for them to leave, the military tenants often help their landlord find other similar tenants by passing on availability of the house through their various networks, emails and friend circles.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I had 200k to invest, I sure as shit wouldn't put it in real estate. Are you that diversified in your portfolio already? If 200K is a small % of your overall portfolio - a good for you if it is - then maybe it makes sense. Otherwise, why not go with mutual funds and the like?

+1

+2

Anonymous wrote:Definitely Southeast DC, around the metro stations. Look into Benning Rd, Minnesota Ave, Anacostia and Congress Heights. You can buy several 1/2Br condos for $40-60K each, or buy a row house for $170K with some money to spare.

+1000

Anonymous wrote:If I had 200k to invest, I sure as shit wouldn't put it in real estate. Are you that diversified in your portfolio already? If 200K is a small % of your overall portfolio - a good for you if it is - then maybe it makes sense. Otherwise, why not go with mutual funds and the like?

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look into rental laws. DC is an awful place for landlords. probably the beach is your best option.

+1 it's hard to evict and very hard to sell rental properties due to tenant's rights in DC.

+2 plus lots of electricians and plumbers won't work in DC because the rules are awful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not going to get much for $200K. Do you have any other money to put in?

OP here. I should have clarified that I am going to get a mortgage and put $200k down so I figure I should be able to afford a property of around $600k.

Buy a house in Pimmit Hills in the low 500s and rent it. The property taxes will be 1/2 of MD, no MD income tax (also double VA), and, no problems evicting people like in DC. Everyone I know who is a landlord says never ever buy a DC rental. Anything you buy in Pimmit now will double or more in 10 years. We are on top of Tysons, and they have already planned and have funded several projects to make the area walkable with walking and biking paths. The area immediately adjacent to Pimmit along magarity will be retail, parks, fields for entertainment like possibly concerts or movies, and walking and biking paths to the rest of tysons. thats my opinion anyway.

Re: taxes
Property taxes are about the same in MD and VA. Although VA may be a bit cheaper in some areas, it is not material.
Income taxes are dependent on where the OP lives, as opposed to where the rental property is.

1) MD property taxes ARE higher than VA.

2) You DO have to file a nonresident MD tax return for rental properties in MD. The nexus is the property. And their income taxes are almost double VA too. I dont even know if VA would give a tax credit equal to the (higher) MD tax under 332 because it's not "earned" income. see this: http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Individual_Taxes/Individual_Tax_Types/Income_Tax/Filing_Information/Determine_Residency_Status/If_You_are_a_Nonresident_Filer.shtml

Definitely Southeast DC, around the metro stations. Look into Benning Rd, Minnesota Ave, Anacostia and Congress Heights. You can buy several 1/2Br condos for $40-60K each, or buy a row house for $170K with some money to spare.

If I had 200k to invest, I sure as shit wouldn't put it in real estate. Are you that diversified in your portfolio already? If 200K is a small % of your overall portfolio - a good for you if it is - then maybe it makes sense. Otherwise, why not go with mutual funds and the like?