All Forum Posts by: John Matthews

@Takeya Hill

 I use redfin for philly. I understand none of them are great, but at the end of the day, I need something close enough to start, so the ability to pick my own properties as comps (from a list that they provide, which admittedly, is probably not the full/best list) is good for me.

@Curtis Wortham

Welcome to BP. As a suggestion: dont start out asking for a mentor on your 4th post on the site, most of the others simply asking for help. Many people see that as signs of being a tire kicker. My suggestion is to connect with people in the area thru REIA meetings, become active on BP, and find people in your area doing what you're interested in (thru bp search tool) and take them out to lunch.

If you want a mentor, ask yourself what you can offer to them. Otherwise what incentive do they have to take time out of their busy schedule to help a most - likely - time - kicker?

I dont mean to be harsh, just trying to be honest with you.

@Troy Sheets

 Awesome! I'd love to be there but I've got an event in Delaware all day Saturday. Great call on inviting BPers though, I hope it catches on!

So I had a bit more to add after thinking it over while walking my dog (some of my best real estate thinking time...)

The way I see it, there's two ways to make this work:

• You could convince the seller to do some kind of tiered seller finance option. You pay whatever you'd like up front (ideally nothing, if possible), then for the first year you pay a discounted rate for the first year, so give yourself a cushion, then meter it up as time goes on. As the market corrects, you're less vulnerable, since you can turn around and sell it. If it doesn't correct, then you move out, and you didn't lose all that much.
• The other thing you could do is say fine, I'll pay the full $250k, I'll give you $30k down, but I'll pay you principal only payments for 300 months (or whatever the time frame is). You can sweeten the deal for him by using the 3 option letter of intent, or another similar strategy. Basically "I'm prepared to buy this property in one of 3 ways, 1: cash at $150k each (just about 65% of market), 2: seller financing at 4.5% for say $200k or 3: principal only payments for 300 months at $250k each. 

I still don't like the idea of buying for appreciation, but you do hedge your bets a little with either of those two strategies. Though, for my two cents, it's not an A neighborhood just yet...

@Levi T.

 Welcome! You wouldn't happen to be a real estate CPA, would you? I've been looking for one of those for a while now...

Anyway, mobile home parks around Philly? I would have had no idea those exist in this area...who knew. I love the idea though, it's basically like a NNN lease in commercial real estate, but a bit less scary IMO (since if one tenant leaves, you still have another 50 and there's not too much for them to destroy should they get angry at you).

Anyway, see you around BP

Man - I was this close to pulling you into this @Ben Leybovich but it seems you beat me to it. But like he said, don't get a bad deal because there's seller financing, it's still a bad deal. You may not be paying money on the front end, but if you're paying it on the back end, what's the point? I guess you could hope for appreciation, then refinance at the new dollar amount...but then you're losing even more money. To me, this is still a bad deal - yes the area will likely appreciate (I actually live in Bella Vista), but what if it doesn't? Or what if you lose your job and can't make payments on the place? But I guess that's why I don't invest for appreciation, it's not a risk I'm willing to take. But if you do end up going this route (or even if you don't), let me know when you're in the area and let's grab a bite @Lucas Pfaff

@Joshua Dorkin - What's the deal with @ tagging people being wonky lately? It takes forever for the person's name to show up once you start typing.

@Charles Rodman

Welcome to BP! I recommend you do a search for Philly investors and see who's active and connect with them either through BP or in person.

What exactly are you looking for? Turnkey properties in Philly? An agent/wholesaler to help you find properties of your own, to help build your team in the area? What kind of properties are you looking to get into? SFR, MFR, Commercial?

@Victoria DeCristoforo

Welcome, Victoria!

To add to @Troy Sheets's comment about shared water, in the city, you can actually separately meter your water - just call the meter shop for installation of separate meters. But the issue with this is that if the tenant(s) don't pay, you're ultimately still responsible for the bill, and you won't see it until the shut off notice goes out - a lien will still be placed on the unit. 

See you around the site!

@Rob Beland

Thanks for the feedback. Is there typically a cost associated with releasing one property from the loan?

Essentially the seller is looking to defer their taxes by selling individual properties several per year. I'm trying to get the seller to consider some sort of seller finance situation to minimize their taxes, but they obviously still have the blanket loan. Any other suggestions there?

Welcome, @Christian Beyer!

I work out in Audubon - do you happen to be in the phoenixville area during the day? If so we should grab lunch sometime. Always looking to meet local investors!

See you around the site.