South Jersey/Delaware county/Philadelphia - First Time Home Buyer

[Nicholas Nocella]

Hey all,

I’m currently spinning my wheels trying to lock in an investment strategy for my first home purchase. I’ve been pre-approved for $300K, and my goal is to find a property where I can add value cosmetically—think flooring, paint, cabinets, and other basic upgrades. I’m comfortable with this kind of work since I’ve spent a large chunk of my life working for contractors, so I’ve got some hands-on skills in the bag.

Ideally what I’d like to get out of this first purchase—is:

1. Immediate equity: I want the ability to add value right away and build equity quickly.

2. Cash flow: At worst, I’d like to break even on monthly expenses.

3. Location: I’m open to living anywhere within 50 miles of the South Philadelphia professional sports complex.

 I’m stuck between two paths (That I can currently see) :

• Buying a cheaper single-family home that needs heavier renovation, fixing it up, renting it out, and holding it.

• Finding a multifamily property to house hack—ideally 3 or 4 units—to generate stronger cash flow, though I realize these might be harder to find and could make it tougher to build enough equity to refinance or cash out in 1–2 years.
  
  

Ultimately, I want to be able to pull equity out of the property after that initial 1-2 year period so I can take a bigger step on the next deal. Would love to hear any feedback as I am open to any and all ideas. Cheers!

[Alan Asriants]

Hey Nicholas! Even at 300k you have the ability to buy a home in a fairly decent neighborhood. That is my #1 criteria for myself and any of my clients - LOCATION.

In most cases with the 300k and decent location you will find more single family opportunities than Mulit family ones. 

If you are handy, you can really leverage this and buy something that is ugly inside but still has stolid bones. Meaning that it might need minor electrical, minor plumbing, possible needs new HVAC. Cosmetically it sounds like you have experience there. This can look like buying a home for 250-290k and then having the ARV be 330k+.

Are you planning on living in the single family? Renting by the room?

Multi family under 300k is very tough to find, and if you do its likely in a C-/D neighborhood. Always try to buy the neighborhood. If you look hard enough you can buy some in the 290k range in solid area that need: new windows, roof, kitchen, flooring, basically a strong cosmetic rehab. All of this is doable though. That being said it will likely be a duplex. Triplexes are hard enough to find in this price point. FYI - if your pre-approval was for a single family home, they can use potential rents from the other unit to bring up your approval amount slightly. 

Reach out anytime if you want to talk strategy. Best of luck!