New investor looking to focus

[Joseph Notte]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community!

I’m making this post to introduce and give a little bit of information about myself, try to refine my goals with real estate investing and hopefully get a little bit of insight from you all on which path(s) might make sense for me.

My name is Joe Notte. I own a house with my wife in the northwest Philadelphia suburbs — we are about 5 years into our mortgage. We don’t have any children and most likely won’t in our lifetime. My wife works a full time job which is (or can be) largely remote, while my job is very much tied to this general area.

I work in the HVAC industry in a project management role with partial ownership at a small/medium-sized company. My job is demanding in many ways, but ultimately I do have a fair amount of flexibility.

I have a decent skill set within construction as a whole. Outside of HVAC, I can do some plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc. I almost exclusively do any necessary and desired work/repairs on my own house, and am a fairly quick and enthusiastic learner with new projects.

My big overarching main goal is achieve a different lifestyle and not necessarily be tied to this specific area.

My more granular goals right now are somewhat fuzzy. I am hoping to clarify and refine as I research and learn more. I really would like to just get started on something. I am bordering on if not fully analysis paralysis, or the trap of “waiting for the right time.”

My thought is to attempt a BRRR with multi family property local to where I live and manage it myself. I would plan to offset construction costs as much as is feasible with my own labor.

Given my skillset and general enjoyment of most construction, I figure I could be well-suited to do this. Because I plan to be hands on with the work at the property, my initial thought is to stay local.

I see a lot of recommendations for out of state investing, but I do think a major part of why this could work for me is that I will be doing as much maintenance and value-add as possible myself.

By “local” I really mean within an hour or so of where I live. I’ve read a lot of advice that is to be familiar with the area in which you’re investing. I am very familiar with Delaware county having grown up there, as well as many neighborhoods of the city. From the last 10 years living here, I am very familiar with Chestnut Hill, Ambler, Glenside, etc.

Although I know the area well, I am equally naive as it pertains to real estate across all of these areas. I am really trying to hone in on a few areas to start analyzing deals and seeing what could make sense, but I think my area of interest is too big to feel focused.

I have a somewhat unique situation re: capital as I have a potential investment from a family member. This could look a lot of different ways, and I would like to have some sort of business plan to help me set some parameters with budget.

Is there a sweet spot in terms of upfront capital to cash flow ratio? There is a pretty wide range of home prices in the area.

Is the Philadelphia area a feasible place to get started in real estate in 2026?

Any benefits or drawbacks to city vs surrounding suburbs?

Right now I am in a research phase, but feel like I’ve been in it for too long and would like to take some sort of action step. I haven’t spoken to any lenders or agents yet, as I’m trying to get some sort of focus and budget set and not waste anyone’s time.

I greatly appreciate any insight you all may have on my particular situation and look forward to learning more and connecting!