All Forum Posts by: Amia Jackson

I'm so down! I have a copy of CashFlow for a board game night!

I used to live in the area 17th and Colorado, right next to the old slave plantation.From a pure property prospective. The house are large with a lot of charm. The blocks aren't missing teeth like they are in most of North Philly, and there are a lot of green spaces, 

From a population perspective well, let just say screen your tenants well. 

http://property.phila.gov/ has pretty much the same info. It also has links to info on back taxes and zoning on the side bar. 

edit, there's also a parcel map. There's a bit of a learning curve but it's great if you are more visual http://gsg.phila.gov/map#dept=pcpc

Hold a contractors day. Post on Craigslist for certified contractors. Also google and find some local contractors in your area. schedules mins-hr apart. Ask them to bring proof of insurance and certification. We did this with our 203k and found a contractor we're very happy with. 

Hi @Account Closed,

For the closest neighborhoods to Camden, you going to look at South Philly. However South Philly has become pretty expensive over the years. I was raised and Point Breeze and used to step on crack vials as I walked to school. Now there are three new construction condos on my old block selling in the high 3's. Life is crazy. 

Theoretically there are a lot of neighborhoods that can fit your need but it's going to depend on what you want. 

1. How much are you trying to invest

2. How comfortable are you with living around a lot of mostly low income Black people. (seriously)

3.  What are your goals with the property (live free, make cash flow, lower living expenses.

There are plenty of places to walk your dog, but the nicer parks are in predominately white areas because that's where the city puts its money. Conversely, predominately white areas are a lot more pricey. Low income POC areas especially in gentrifying areas, are the best deal but a lot of White folk don't want to live there and the City pretty much ignores the ares until there are enough new moneyed residents to make it worthwhile. 

Hi Joseph,

If you have a family member with a credit card, especially one they've had for awhile, ask to be an authorized user.  Make sure its a real credit card and not a store card. Also make sure it has a low balance and they pay it on time. Most companies will back date you account to when the account was first opened. So if your mom has had a Visa for the last 10 years, and you're added to her card. It will show your account being 10 years old. It's the easiest and fastest way to build credit. 

http://data.philly.com/philly/property/

hands down the best site I've found for property data in Philly. You can click the neighborhood and click tax delinquents and they'll show you everything. Be forewarned that its a LOT of data and can get overwhelming. 

Frankford is a declining area. My sister lives a few blocks from Arrott Transportation Center. She bought her house about 10 years ago and the neighborhood has gone way down since then.  There's a lot of drug activity  near the terminal both buying and selling.  As Kensington get gentrified a lot of the heroin addicts are starting to move further north. 

I completely agree with @Marcus Auerbach, I feel like you 1910 house will be around longer that a lot of new construction in Philly. As long as those home are well maintained they can last for centuries, Look to our cousins across the pond. They have houses for sell that were built in the 1600's!

Our foreparents didn't understand things like "usable life" and "planned obsolescence" when the built a house, they built them to last. The idea of knocking down a house and rebuilding would have seem completely crazy. And their material were different. They didn't have plastic or even steel. They had to build homes with the toughest stuff they had. In Germantown Philadelphia, the house are built with stone dragged from the Wissahickon. Thick heavy stone that would cost a small fortune to replace. Luckily they stay put. 

As for worrying about appeal to buyers. These homes have had occupants for 100 years. They don't seem hard up for new occupants. Meanwhile new construction luxury homes have exteriors that are rotting. 

http://6abc.com/home/troubleshooters-uncovering-co...

We Just bought a triplex in Germantown that was built in 1917. There were definitely issues but it had more to due with improper maintenance than age. The house is a stone face with red brick. It's SOLID. You couldn't afford to have a new home built like they were in the early 1900's It would cost way to much because of the superior quality and skill necessary to build that way.