All Forum Posts by: Martin Willard

There are only a few neighborhoods that have duplexes.  There are plenty of single family row-homes, and there are plenty of multi-unit properties, but not a duplex per se. 

The first thing I would do is look at the neighborhoods that actually have those types of buildings; earlier town houses are usually split into 3 units if they're 3 stories, while row homes are almost always 2 bedroom 1 bath if they're unrenovated.  

You can find some decent tenants in west philly past the universities starting around 40th street and going west (but not too far west).  you can probably also find a deal in port richmond and farther up in the north east.  most of south philly is also either 1 family row house or a bigger split.

good luck!

I'm in Philly and the budget here is way lower than NY or North Jersey.  Let me know. 

Cash flow is the only thing that matters IMO.  If you re-invest all the extra money you will come out more than 1.1% over time.  Plus putting the money into improving the rental will allow you to leverage it for more in the future.  

The original deal between the two people should have a provision for payoff terms.  As long as the person you are buying from meets those criteria, its fine.  Your offer just has to allow them to sell the property to meet those terms.  

The amount on the closing disclosure cannot differ by more than 10% than the amount you close for so go back and look at the paperwork they sent you.  Also, if you're still within 3 days of closing you can tell them you want to back out.  I would probably do both- double check the numbers and if they're jerks about helping you through it, threaten to pull the deal. 

Condo buildings generally will have to have any financing situations approved by the HOA/co-op board. This can sometimes take a few months to get on the agenda. Some buildings have this green-lighted in advance. If you want me to check send me the address or DM me or whatever? I'm new on this website.

I would just tell the current attorney there is a possible "conflict of interest" between "the parties" and you have to find someone else.  Ask the seller's agent for a list of 4 or so she would accept and then decide which one you like best.  

If you're not planning on spending the 10-20k down payment from your tenant, just keep it in a high yield savings account or something. if you are planning on spending it, do what's called an "equity gift" where you essentially give a discount to the buyer in the sale price when you write up the contract. Ex- dude needs a 95% LTV to make the deal happen, so he gave you $20,000 last year, you sell him the place for $570,000 this year (instead of 600).

Depending on what state you're in, just get a standard contract of sale (usually from the state realtor website) and hire an appraiser.  a lender will only lend on the appraised value, so that is probably the best way to start the process.  

Hi Noam- I'm a mortgage broker in PA and if you've owned the SFR's for 2 years worth of tax returns, you very likely don't need this deal. It seems very expensive for what is is. -Marty