I’m relocating to Philly soon and wanted to introduce myself and connect with the local community. I’ve been investing from LA, mostly in turnkey rentals, so I’m excited to be more hands-on this time around.
My current goal is to grow my knowledge of the Philly market and build long-term working relationships with reliable local professionals. I’m aiming for a small, possibly live-in, flip-to-rent in a safe and up-and-coming area. I’m finalizing my buy box now and plan to start speaking with agents over the next few days.
If you have any tips or trusted team recommendations, I’d really appreciate it. Also happy to connect with other local investors — always open to exchanging ideas and experiences.
Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Hey Bo, Welcome to the Philly area! I’m an agent and investor here and would be happy to connect and chat about the market and your buy box.
I always emphasize the following to my clients:
Location – The number one rule in real estate. I always aim to buy in established neighborhoods. Since I’m not a gambler, I focus on reducing risk as much as possible. It’s well known that buying in the right location delivers the best long-term results.
Property type and age – Be careful not to fall for a home that looks good on the surface but is essentially “lipstick on a pig.” Older homes can be great, but if the layout, mechanicals, and capital expenditures haven’t been updated, you’re likely looking at a full gut rehab. By contrast, a poorly maintained home from the 1960s or newer often just needs major cosmetic updates, which are much easier to handle than full mechanical overhauls.
Who lives there? – This determines your rental audience. Over the past year, I’ve seen increasing demand for townhouses with 3+ bedrooms and 2+ bathrooms—more so than the traditional 2-bed, 1-bath setups.
@Stuart Udis Thanks! I don't have a set area right now, still working on learning more about areas. Seems like some parts of West Philly and Brewerytown are on the path of progress while still being relatively affordable. Please share your thoughts too!
Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Hey Bo, Welcome to the Philly area! I’m an agent and investor here and would be happy to connect and chat about the market and your buy box.
I always emphasize the following to my clients:
Location – The number one rule in real estate. I always aim to buy in established neighborhoods. Since I’m not a gambler, I focus on reducing risk as much as possible. It’s well known that buying in the right location delivers the best long-term results.
Property type and age – Be careful not to fall for a home that looks good on the surface but is essentially “lipstick on a pig.” Older homes can be great, but if the layout, mechanicals, and capital expenditures haven’t been updated, you’re likely looking at a full gut rehab. By contrast, a poorly maintained home from the 1960s or newer often just needs major cosmetic updates, which are much easier to handle than full mechanical overhauls.
Who lives there? – This determines your rental audience. Over the past year, I’ve seen increasing demand for townhouses with 3+ bedrooms and 2+ bathrooms—more so than the traditional 2-bed, 1-bath setups.
@Alan Asriants Hi Alan, thanks! I'll send you a message to connect. I may be open to a full gut renovation too, since my purpose is to learn as much as possible. It will depend on how the numbers look & what kind of team I am able to assemble to make the deal work.
Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia · Member since 2024 · 16 posts · 6 votes
1y
Hey Bo, welcome to Philly! Exciting time to jump into the market hands-on — sounds like you’ve got a great foundation already with your turnkey experience.
If you’re exploring BRRRRs, I’ve been working with a few investors on similar deals in and around the city — happy to share what’s been working and what areas have been popping up lately. Always down to connect and swap insights.
Let me know if you ever want to hop on a quick call 👊
@Mohamed Sylla In what capacity do you work with investors? Would love to see some real world deals to get an idea of what numbers are working right now locally. Thanks.
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 478 posts · 362 votes
1y
Welcome! Exciting journey you are on. I have developed some helpful resources that are 100% focused on Philly investors - podcasts, tax appeals, identifying reliable team members... Feel free to reach out
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2021 · 774 posts · 500 votes
1y
@Bo-Yu Chen - I've invested for the last decade or so in the Philadephia suburbs and can share my experience. I would definitely network in the area with local REIA groups (DIG, DPI, etc...) as well as some MeetUp groups locally to get a feel for the various markets for investing. Best of Luck!
Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Best of luck with your Philly BRRRRs! I'm an investment Realtor in Memphis, TN and we are seeing great BRRRR opportunities every day. My biggest tip as you get started is to build a solid team of property management, lender, Realtor/ wholesaler, and GC contacts as you get started.
Your GC will be especially vital with a BRRRR deal.
Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location/neighborhoods to invest in.
Why is Property Class so important for investors to understand and apply in their investing strategies?
Because the Property Class dictates the Class of the tenant pool that the property will attract.
The Tenant Class
greatly impacts rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.
Both Property Class
and Tenant Class affect what type of contractors, handymen and property management companies will work on a property.
If you buy & renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what Tenant Class will rent it?
Or, if you put several Class D tenants in a Class A four-plex, what do you think will happen to the property?
So, if you fail to apply the correct assumptions to a property, your expectations won’t be met and it may even be a financial disaster.
We use the following to rank Property Classes, in order of importance:
Property Tenant Pool: closely linked to location, but not always.
Property Location: closely linked to tenant pool, but not always.
Property Condition & Amenities: it’s important to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood.”
Key metrics for each Property Class:
Class A Properties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 680+, no convictions/evictions in last 7 years. Tenant Default: 0-5% probability of eviction or early lease termination. Section 8: Class A rents are too high and won’t be approved. Vacancies: 5-10%, depending on market conditions. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.
Class B Properties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 620-680, some blemishes, no convictions/evictions in last 5 years.
Tenant Default: 5-10% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
Vacancies: 10-15%, depending on market conditions. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 1-3 years for positive cashflow, balanced amounts of relative rent & value appreciation. Section 8: Class B rents are usually too high for the Section 8 program.
Class CProperties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 560-620, many blemishes, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 3 years. Verifying recent 2-years of rental history very important! Same for 2-years of job/income stability. Tenant Default: 10-20% probability of eviction or early lease termination. Section 8: Class C rents usually meet program requirements, proper screening still recommended. Vacancies: 10-20%, depending on market conditions and tenant screening. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Should cashflow immediately, at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.
Class DProperties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 12 months. Verifying last 2-years of rental history and income/employment extremely important to find the “best of the worst”. Tenant Default: 20-30% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
Section 8: Class D rents meet program requirements, often challenges to pass Section 8 inspection. Vacancies: 20%+, depending on market conditions and tenant screening. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciation.
Where did we get our FICO credit score information from?
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