All Forum Posts by: Chris Zwakenberg

Hi Vallory! Welcome to the site and the business. I'm an investor-minded real estate agent in Delaware County, PA. I'm actually from Claymont, DE and have one property in North Wilmington. I'm pretty familiar with the area and could show properties if you needed it. Feel free to connect, and good luck!

Chris

Welcome to the site and to the area! I'm an agent in Delaware County, PA. If you see a property you want to look at out this way, feel free to be in touch!

I think it would be very difficult to find in Delaware & Montgomery Counties. After hearing the "% rules" at BP I got pretty discouraged since it doesn't seem like they exist in decent neighborhoods around here. But then it's made me re-evaluate my strategy - sometimes the lack of vacancies and repairs that need to be done in nicer neighborhoods are worth the lower % rule.

Checking Delaware (the state) is worthwhile too, generally lower taxes for similar neighborhoods in PA.

Welcome to the site! Check out the podcasts if you haven't yet - they're great

Hey Alex - I have limited experience in rehabbing myself, but for what it's worth, I'd say get it done right the first time, especially if you are expecting to keep the house for the long term. I know people that only buy rentals built after 1970 or 80 to keep maintenance costs down. So I would imagine your maintenance costs on a 100+ yr old home are going to be higher. Tearing out floors, ceilings, or walls and removing junk while tenants are occupying the place is going to be a hassle. You could perhaps do the work during a vacancy later too, but you risk the smell or grime seeping through in areas and getting complaints from the tenants. It's a gamble, I guess. I think you need to weigh the anticipated future maintenance costs vs. the current repair costs.

Now if you're flipping the property - that could be a different story...

Welcome to the site! I recently got my real estate license and started working for a broker. It's been incredibly helpful to learn the market in my area. Also, with a license, you can go look at houses on MLS on your own which is nice. Best of luck!

Hi Dineo,

I'm not sure how different it is investing in S. Africa vs. here in the states, but student accommodations probably refers to purchasing real estate in college and university areas. I think the pros are high demand and low vacancies, but the cons are that you have high turnover and risk party animals who might trash the house! You can mitigate that risk by having a strict screening process and eliminating those who you think will not take care of the property.

As for wholesaling - you basically have to be a master marketer to make it profitable. You need to be able to find great deals (that aren't listed publicly), then get them under contract and sell them to an investor or other buyer at a higher price. The difference in price is basically your "finders fee." It works by making the offer, getting it accepted, then assigning the contract to another buyer at a higher price. You shouldn't have to actually purchase the property, you're just assigning the contract.

I hope that helps! Best of luck

Hey Bryon, a few good websites to check out would be www.homepath.com or www.hudhomes.com. These are two sites for government/bank foreclosures. It's always good if you can buy cash! Make sure you are familiar with the area and market too before buying. I think it's good to connect with a realtor in the area who specializes in foreclosures. Good luck!

I second @Michael Noto - I've noticed a lot of new bank owned homes come on the market, or prices reduced, in December. Seems like a good time to make offers if you have the cash!

Hey everyone! I created my bigger pockets account a while ago, but since then I moved from Washington DC to the Philadelphia area and got my real estate license in Pennsylvania. I'd love to help investors in the suburban Philadelphia region (my office is in Havertown). I'm also kind of a BP podcast junkie.