All Forum Posts by: Dan Powers

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $155,000
Cash invested: $85,000
Sale price: $325,000

This property I would describe as a "grandma home" it's beautifully maintained, but everything is outdated and needs to go. My investor is going to gut this home and turn it into a nice, clean, and modern home. In a great location, this property sold extremely fast and is going to make my investor a good return in a hot pocket of Fishtown.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

What made my investor interested in this property was the location. Being in such a great neighborhood, and a great block made this a no brainer for him to scoop up quickly.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This deal was a first come first serve deal, my investor had money put away in escrow with me so all I had to do was send him the contract and he was able to beat out many other competitors.

How did you finance this deal?

This deal was done using a hard money loan with Sherman Bridge lending. They financed 90% of the purchase price and 100% of rehab costs. My investor ended up bringing very little money to the closing table.

How did you add value to the deal?

Value is going to be added by completely transforming this property into a house any young professional would love to live in. Open floorplan, stainless steel appliances, the whole 9 yards.

What was the outcome?

Rehab has just begun, and will certainly take some time as this is no small project, but the return is going to be well worth the squeeze.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

One challenge I would recommend to any investors looking to get into this pocket is beware of center stairs. It is a complicated process to move the stairs to the side of the house. Some investors don't mind it, but the majority I have found don't want to deal with it. Just know what you're getting yourself into.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Dan Powers - New Western Acquisitions

Hey, @Joseph Barthelemy welcome to the community! You're definitely looking in the right direction, but you can expand your search around the areas of Point Breeze and Fishtown. I would also consider Grays Ferry, Girard Estates, and Passyunk Square for South Philly because there isn't THAT much of a difference between them. Passyunk is definitely a higher price point than the rest, but the strategy is the same. 

For areas around Fishtown, I would consider looking into Northern Liberties, Olde Kensington, and the blocks above Cecil B. Moore pushing towards Norris Square. There has been a ton of development and rehabs going on in that pocket as a result of money pushing up from Fishtown and Northern Liberties. 

I hope this helps you in your search, please reach out if you have any more questions.

Dan Powers - Real Estate Agent

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Marcus Hook.

Purchase price: $80,000
Cash invested: $10,000

This property is a simple small 3 bed 1.5 bath with very little renovations needed. A simple cosmetic job, some paint/carpets, and maybe stainless steel apps are going to make this property a very nice rental for years to come.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

What made my investor interested in this property was the low purchase price relative to the rent in the area.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

My team and I move 40-50 properties a month from various off-market avenues, this property was on a first come first serve basis.

How did you finance this deal?

This was a cash purchase.

How did you add value to the deal?

The rehab that my investor is going to be is very basic as the property doesn't need too much. Paint, carpets, stainless steel appliances, maybe fresh up the bathroom.

What was the outcome?

The outcome will be a very nice, low maintenance rental property.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Dan Powers - New Western Acquisitions

@Troy Sheets Oh man hahaha, just one of those sad days

During the last 6 months, I have seen a massive increase of people and companies leaving California and making the transition to Austin. As this article states: https://santaritaranchaustin.c...

The main reasons for companies moving to Austin are the lower cost of living which, in turn, means they can pay the employees less, as well as the business-friendly tax laws + incentives. We will continue to see massive relocation efforts by bigger companies who are betting big on saving money due to these aspects.

Hey @Jonathan E Francois, upper Kensington is not a typical term that is used, but pretty much the beginning of Kensington is Frankfort Ave, which runs NE to SW and Leigh. Where you're starting to see gentrification is along the blocks just north of Frankfort like Orleans and Birch. There have been 8 new build permits pulled in that area within the last year by big developers like V2 properties. There are plenty of new builds to the SW of Orleans and Birch, and its evident that the money is coming up from port richmond and east kensington. 

I also agree with @Eric Greenberg if you travel any further north you in the drug capital of philly, specifically McPherson Square, I wouldn't travel up that way, just take my word for it.

Dan Powers - Real Estate Agent

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $140,000
Cash invested: $75,000

This property is currently set up as a duplex, but my investor is going to convert this to a triplex because the lot sqft. and zoning in in line to do so. It certainly is going to be a big undertaking but this will cashflow for many yrs to come.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

What really sold this property was the potential to add more units. Currently set up as a duplex, but with the lot size and zoning to enable to buyer to convert to either triplex or even 4 unit.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

He worked with Dan Powers @New Western Acquisitions. This was a highest and best deal and he was the winning bid.

How did you finance this deal?

This was a cash transaction

How did you add value to the deal?

With a 75k+ rehab budget and a purchase price of a mere 140k, he is looking at a refi value close to 300k.

What was the outcome?

The outcome is going to be a fully rehabbed triplex.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was definitely a large project, took some guts to be able to pull the trigger on such a project but my investor was comfortable enough without even stepping into the property.

Hey @Tarpan Patel welcome to the community. I agree with @Troy Sheets in terms of the location, the hard border for Brewerytown is normally Cecil B. Moore. But the area you are referring to is sometimes called the "golden triangle" because that is an area that I have seen has been experiencing money from Brewerytown push into it and development begin to turn over the area. 

Now finding a triplex in that area is a whole other challenge, who doesn't want a multi in the city these days. I would expend your search to other parts of the city like west philly where its experiencing similar signs of up and coming development.

Hi welcome to the community. You definitely should look at off market inventory, currently all around philly and the surrounding counties there are very little good deals still left on the MLS and the good deals don't make it to market. I would focus on Delco + Montco county for flips and rentals. Both areas have pockets that are great for both.

Norristown is an interesting area, its very block by block, and the values show that. But I will say that Norristown is very up and coming with a ton of money being pumped into the area. They are trying to make it what phoenixville is like now, an artsy district kind of vibe. Here is an article describing the planned development, https://www.norristown.org/424...

I hope this can shed some light on Norristown, but also Delco is a fantastic area to get into.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $150,000
Cash invested: $30,000

This property had great bones as is, with mechanicals in great shape and working order. While it is going to need a full cosmetic overhaul, the juice is well worth the squeeze as Manayunk is a rapidly appreciating area and will be worth a vast amount in the future. I can't wait for my investor to dive into this project, as this will be a great long term rental for him

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The area of manayunk is a rapidly appreciating area. It's very hard to pick up inventory in this pocket so when it does come around it sells within hrs.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this property for a client of mine, we had gone back and forth on some other properties but when this one came up I knew it was the right one for him. I called him, and within 15 mins he was ready to pick it up.

How did you finance this deal?

He bought with cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

He is going to do a complete cosmetic overhaul, the mechanicals are in good shape so don't need to be touched.

What was the outcome?

This is going to be a great long term rental property as well as a vastly appreciating area.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was his first investment property, and after our we met up for him to sign the contract he said to me "As a new investor there's always going to be a way I could say no on a deal, but at the end of the day the reason I'm here is to get into the real estate game, and I gotta take the jump at some point." This is something I want all new investors to hopefully understand.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Dan Powers - New Western Acquisitions