All Forum Posts by: Eric Greenberg

Thanks for the info Yuriy!

Could you give some details on the borders of 'Upper Kensington'?

If you mean north of Lehigh, then yes there is plenty of drug activity. With that being said there is a ton of action happening that pushing north. But the area is vast and for example being on the east side of Kensington Ave is very different then the west side.

One option may be to give them some money to move out and potentially save yourself some money/headache in case you feel like they may damage the property before they leave.  Since who knows when Philly will actually start evictions again.

I don't think I'd consider Brewerytown and Point Breeze as A-class areas at the moment.

There are plenty of multifamily homes in Philadelphia that arent legal. You dont need a variance/ correct zoning for multiple electric/ gas meters.  I would look up your property at   https://atlas.phila.gov  and see if they have an active variance for a duplex. If not just know there is a good possibility itll take a lot of time/effort to hopefully appeal and get it zoned correctly. If you rent it incorrectly obviously there are city concerns, but also issues with insurance and if you have issues with tenants/evictions.

@Steve Babiak those are great points. I honestly hadnt thought about using one system for both units. Right now their are two forced heating systems in each basement. I dont love the size of the vents, some floors dont have returns, and im worried about mold being present so i felt like the old duct system would have to be replaced either way. Because of that I was leaning towards a mini split for each unit.

Thanks for the input!

I agree, I think there are certain people who would not consider renting a place with window units, similar to not having a w/d. 

Other downsides for the window units I see are interior water intrusion issues, exterior erosion issues, having to mount brackets and/or install/remove them each year or pay someone to do this, potential lawsuits if installed incorrectly, and issues with the windows they are installed on. 

For central air/mini split the biggest downside i see is the cost and maintenance.

Congrats on the work thus far! Can I ask what part of Kensington you are in? Recently passed on an RM-1 property close to Lehigh that I was planning to do the same thing.  

Also what was your experience with zoning? Did you do it all yourself since it was by right or did you invest in a RE lawyer? 

-Eric 

Looking for some folks feedback on adding or updating their rental to have central air / a mini split. 

I know its a tough question as its based on a few factors, but id be curious what other investors believe they get extra a month in rent due to A/C and what class property those are.

I have a B-class Duplex I'm working on now and leaning towards adding A/C but would love to get some local input.

Quick math: mini split cost per unit = $5000 / 15 years until replacement / 12 months per year => ~$28/month. Assuming no maintenance is needed in 15 years would say you need at least ~$56 extra a month to pay off the 1st unit and add CapEX for the next unit just to break even. 

Cheers,

Eric

Is the AirBnB play for a post COVID environment or do you think that business model would be successful in the state we are in? 

I have no short term rentals but when i took a look as a backup game plan for a duplex, the market to me seemed really over saturated at a low price point.