All Forum Posts by: Eric Greenberg

As someone who knows the area but doesn't invest in West Chester, are there a large pool of folks spending +$4k on rentals in the area? 

I think you have some legit concerns. As stated above we also do major renovations before leasing units to try and get all the mechanicals dialed in. I wouldnt buy new construction in Philly unless I knew the builder. Most are very poorly built with water intrusion issues. 

Pests are a tough one and really depends on your neighbors if in a typical rowhome. One way to not worry about it is to add pest control in as a monthly cost when you run your numbers. Sometimes you may even have to pay for a pest service at your neighbors (if they’ll allow it) to get the problem resolved.

Taxes are very low but do know there was a city wise reassessment going into effect for 2023 and many of our properties went up significantly. Just something to look at when running numbers. 

Hi Robert,

I would be very very cautious abput targeting distressed areas in Philly. There certainly is money to be made in those areas but its not what I would tell a first time landlord who doesn't actually know the area. 

Since you live close, drive by some of the areas you have targeted and see for yourself if you truly want to be in these areas. Again you can make it work but like Kevin said above, make sure you have an amazing PM that works heavily in the area you plan to buy in. 

Ive talked to a handful of folks who are out of state investors who have done a good amount of homework but end up in areas in and around Philadelphia that I wouldn't touch without either living here or really understanding the area/tenants/PMs. I think all the advice of out of state investing is great but that coupled with a first time landlord plus certain areas of Philly usually equate to potential heartache. 

If it were me, Id get in contact with a RE agent that knows Frankford and find out what they could realistically sell it for. Then crunch some numbers. Maybe you were very unlucky but Id venture to guess this wont be your only time dealing with similar situations in that area of the city at your rent price. 

Happy to talk in more detail via DM. 

Awesome work! Did you go under contract to sell this property recently or before interest rates went up? 

Thanks Yuriy! 

Are folks giving investment property loans on 20% DPs right now? 

My rough illustration of those numbers is a way to use the MLS to find areas in the city that have turn key properties for $300k and below. Then using Zillow/Rentometer/etc look if that type of property yields the type of rent you need to meet your investing goals.

When I look at point breeze everything thats $3k+ rents are newer construction or new rehabs, 3+ bedroom, and over 1750sqft (ie a good buy box for that area). The downside I see is the handful of properties I looked at were all up for sale prior to being listed for rent and were well over $500k, ie not that close to the $300k that makes sense with the rough numbers to get to your goals.

This is just a quick example of how you can look in areas to see if they make sense. On top of that like you said use a crime map to understand that for example you may be able to crush your $$ goals in lets say Kensington, but youll be in a C/D location and will have to deal with everything good and bad that goes along with that.  

And the plan would be for a long term buy and hold with long term renters? Would you be putting 25% down and leaving it in the deal? 

At $300k purchase and 25% down ($75k) your monthly payment at 7% is roughly $1900/mo with taxes and insurance. That would mean you would need to charge about $3k in rent to end up with about $200 in monthly profit after PM/vacancy/CapEX/maintenance/etc. 

I think there is some good advice here but you said your wife and you are looking to move to South America in the next few years. That would have me hesitant to buy 4 different SFHs unless you already have a really really strong team already. Do you plan to keep these rentals once you move? Any thoughts of buying into a fund instead to be more passive? 

Hi Riccardo,

Choosing a neighborhood can be challenging. Id ask what your goals are, type & class of property you are looking for, budget, and if you plan to hire a PM or do it on your own with your local friends/family.