All Forum Posts by: Jon Lafferty

I don't want to speak for @Terrell Brown but i know I began my search into other markets because my local NJ and Philly markets had a much greater barrier to entry. At my initial glance it seems like there may be a greater value for an equal cash on cash ROI in the Cleveland market as opposed to Philadelphia. What this means to me is I can get an x% CoC ROI for $35000 in Cleveland as opposed to $60000 in Philly. Hopefully that all made sense :)

I've been keeping an eye on Cleveland as well. I think the diverse economy, on paper, seems to be on the rise albeit slowly. The amount of hotels going up in the downtown area is great. These major companies have deeper pockets than we do for researching a marketplace and are making a bet on something. Let's not forget the Cleveland clinic either. I think you may be on to something @?Terrell Brown

@Francis A.

I have purchased and gone through 90% of the material @Ben Leybovich offers via CFFU. In my opinion what Ben offers is a great foundation of general real estate investment knowledge at a great value (price). The first part of his course covers basic concepts like cash flow, appreciation, value and how to valuate a property. While the other part of the course covers different financing techniques as well as running through the mechanics of several purchases each employing different investing techniques.

I personally had already had my first rental so I had a decent understanding of the fundamentals however where I really saw value in Ben's course was the information about creative financing and the actual mechanics of a real estate transaction. This information was a real eye opener for me. I hadn't even considered the idea of creative financing. Since reading Ben's material every property I analyze I consider creative financing as an option. I think this will be a game changer for me as a newer investor.

To sum it all up I think Ben's material is not a magic bullet to force a successful real estate career but it will offer some great foundational understanding as well as some of the more creative aspects of real estate investing.

For me it was money well spent.

@Ana Nomys I am actually working my first sub2 financing project now. It sounds like it will be an easy transaction. Essentially we are getting a contract created by a local REI attorney and then closing as typical at the title company. I'll keep you posted as things progress.Ben Leybovich has some great material out there regarding creative financing and different strategies that I have found useful, of course there is a ton of expertise on BP as well. Here is a recent podcast that talks about sub2 quite a bit. Podcast 70

@Chris Hanratty welcome to the site. I am also in South Jersey and always searching for properties in both philly and NJ. I think your lack of funds is a very common problem. I purchased my first rental with funds from my 401k. I'd either look into a multi family that you can live in as @Jaren Barnes states or something I've been really working on the idea of creative financing. It is amazing how many people have as is properties that they will hold financing on. This can either be a short term balloon style loan that you will pay off once you have rehabbed the home and get traditional long term financing. You can also do subject to financing. This is when you assume the mortgage with all current terms in place. Do some research on creative financing. I have learned a ton from reading on bigger pockets.

welcome to BP @Malcolm Hill . I believe there is a local REIA meeting in Cherry Hill tomorrow night. It is focused on landlording however there is always a great time of networking before and after the speaker.

@Account Closed I guess sometimes there is a fine line between war zone's and excellent 'local' cash flow. Are you thinking Cobbs Creek is on the outskirts of that SW Philly war zone?

@Jill Dunscomb welcome to BP. You will find a wealth of information here.

Hello all, I have been investing in the South Jersey market but am finding the high taxes to be a real challenge in finding good cash flowing properties. My loose requirements are I would like to make a minimum of $100 per door with debt service. So in an effort to search for better local cash flowing properties I have been looking in the Philadelphia markets. I’ve been examining a lot of the neighborhoods and seem to be settling on southwest philly specifically the areas between Cobbs Creek and Overbrook. My high level perception is that the closer one gets to Overbrook the higher the appreciation and lower cash flow. The closer one is to Cobbs Creek the lower the appreciation and greater the cash flow.

A typical South Jersey deal may be a 65k purchase 20 - 30k rehab. This may or may not return cash flow as taxes could easily be 5-6000 for a SFR.

A typical Cobbs Creek deal may be a 35k purchase price with a 20-30k rehab. This would return around $250 in cashflow after debt service and all expenses.

An Overbrook deal would typically be 50k purchase price with a 20-30k rehab. This would return around $100 in cashflow after debt service and all expenses.

My questions are generally do locals with experience in these areas consider them a ‘war zone’ area? I personally believe them to be C to B- areas in relation to the city. I am trying very hard to not look through my NJ glasses while gauging these properties.

What am I missing in my general strategy?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Great job on the rehab it really looks quality from the pictures accept the landscaping. I'm sure @Account Closed was just trying to show that the property has a great potential for a fenced in yard but in doing so it just looks like a mess. The pitbull next door is a nice touch too. I think I would just remove those pictures then rake, mow and clean the back yard and snap so better pics.