All Forum Posts by: Alex Uman

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment in Crum Lynne.

Purchase price: $105,000
Cash invested: $100,000
Sale price: $320,000

NOTE- this is an ongoing rehab in lovely Crum Lynne, PA. This large 1900 sqft single detached home needed a full remodel to achieve a solid ARV for this area. My investor is currently adding HVAC and upgrading to modern finishes throughout. With smaller single detached comps from $300k-$330k I'm excited to see the finished product. After photos coming soon!

Evictions in the city can be tough but I wouldn't let that scare you off from the Philly market. There is a process in place to evict tenants in every market. Additionally, as Eric said, Fishtown is not an area in which you should be very worried about evictions.

All of those areas you mentioned are very solid. I would recommend coming here and doing a half day in each area to decide where you'd like to live for the next year before diving deeper into the numbers. While you may cashflow more in Brewerytown than in Fairmount, you may be more inclined to live in one neighborhood over the other. It really all comes down to what sort of deal you're looking to buy and how much cash you have to invest. Good luck in your investing!

Welcome to Bigger Pockets Alicia! PA is a solid market for investing. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to discuss the market/varying strategies here.

Personally I would stray away from new construction as an individual investor looking to purchase your first 5-10 single family rentals. Aside from the inability to add value, I've also heard the lower maintenance level tends to wear off rather quickly, especially once builder warranties expire. A few people I know have dealt with quite a bit of leaking and flooding in new construction homes they either own or are renting, especially in those that were built 3-5 years ago. Though, if you're simply looking to park money and cashflow off of it without adding any value, new construction can be a solid investment if you buy in the right area from the right builder.

If you are friends with a ton of millionaires who are looking to buy and list multi million dollar properties, sure you could, as long as they're comfortable listing and buying with a new agent who only works part time. If not then probably not likely working part time... Google statistics on what most new agents make on average in their first 1-2 and 2-4 years.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $165,000
Cash invested: $75,000
Sale price: $315,000

NOTE- this is an ongoing rehab in Gray's Ferry! This property came with a good amount of work already completed including clean-out, demo, some drywall and rough plumbing. My investor is currently finishing out the job to quickly resell this one for $315k+. After pics coming soon!

@Buyan Thyagarajan all depends on how risky you're willing to play it... Highest rent compared to lowest taxes by a mile would be Chester City where I've seen property taxes as low as $60/year, oftentimes hovering in the $100s. You can rent for anywhere from $1000/mo up to $1600/mo depending on the square footage, bedroom/bathroom, attached vs semi-detached, level of finishes and whether or not you rent to Section 8 tenants. Other similar areas in the city of Philadelphia can have similar rents with somewhat higher property taxes ($300-$700/year) with key locations having higher section 8 rent compared to market rent.

Other areas of Delaware County will get you with higher property taxes ($2000-$5000/year) due to nicer school districts though the rent is not significantly higher. Higher property taxes generally tend toward safer investments with overall better tenants but if you're willing to take the risk you can cashflow much more in said lower end areas.

Good luck in all your future investing!

@Charles H. @Eddie Shumulinskiy I agree that North Philly is likely the best area for rentals right now, especially with price increases throughout West Philly. Strawberry Mansion and even Allegheny West provide low cost inventory with solid market and section 8 rent rates in relation to the ARVs. That being said, I still see certain pockets of West Philly as solid for rentals with the available prices, especially for off market deals. Cobb's Creek and the northern areas of Kingsessing are seeing the majority of the value increases past U City. I see Mill Creek, Haddington, Carroll Park and Elmwood Park as likely the next best areas to start picking up rentals with the current prices though some deals in Cobb's Creek still do make sense as rentals depending on the block.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Chester.

Purchase price: $45,000
Cash invested: $40,000

This Chester rental came in moderate condition needing minor upgrades throughout to refinance all invested money out of the deal. Will rent for $1300/mo to experience significant cash-flow in one of PA's best rental markets!