All Forum Posts by: Paulette Midgette

Hi @Ashley Wilson,  my strategy is flipping exclusively in the suburbs and I have completed a few flips in Telford, Collegeville, and Souderton.  I don't know your acquestion preferences are but if you are looking for an agent who specializes in foreclosure (they have traditional properties as well), then I have an agency that I believe will work for you.  They are very investor friendly and really understand the market in the burbs. 

Please IM me and I would be happy to share name and a strategy that has work for me, that allowed me to get the jump on other buyers and secure the property.

Paulette

Hello, @Eli M. have you attended the free Section 8 seminar and the subsequent Section 8 certification course for landlords?  I am attending the Section 8 seminar this week, but it is my understanding from the PHA rep I spoke with about the seminar and course that all the questions you are asking is covered through these two events.

Hi @Account Closed,

I am a Philadelphian born and raised.  I have lived, played, and invested in many, many neighborhoods in this city.  I must echo what others have said and add, once you have your investment goal for the area set, you need to spend some time getting to know the neighborhood.  I mean really getting to know the neighborhood demographics, what draws people to the area, jobs, transportation, family members, etc.  Rent analysis is vital in choosing an area but the type of person you want as a tenant is as equally important. 

There is a myriad of investment opportunities in Philadelphia.  I personally run from the hot neighborhoods or up-and-coming.  By the time a neighborhood is hot, or looks like it is the next hot neighborhood the purchase price is over priced. 

Lastly, if you are considering the hot neighbors, the hottest neighborhood right now is the Center City district.  These neighborhoods are very actively developing high end condos to attract the New York buyers who have been priced out of their city. 

Question, have you considered condo investment.  The rents in the city on average is around $1200 for a studio and rising.  Philadelphia is experiencing a boom of millennials moving into the city and they all want to be in the middle of the action, and you don't get any closer than Center City.

Hello All,

I want to stress that Philadelphia is a major city and like most major cities there will be crime.  I think one must define what is meant by 'safe neighborhood'. I am sure this is an individual thing but if you are looking for a neighborhood where tires don't get slashed, where neighbors don't have disagreements, where stores aren't robbed, well good luck. There isn't one neighborhood in this city or any other major city where crime doesn't touch every neighborhood.

I ran a crime report for  East and West Mount Airy.  I found no homicides, no rapes.  There were 9 robberies, 3 aggravates assaults, 9 burglaries and 23 thefts.  All crimes were over the East and West sides of Mount Airy between Johnson Ave and E. Mt. Airy/Allens lane. 

I highly suggest that you spend some time in these neighborhoods to really understand what is going on there and who lives there.  Chestnut Hill/Mount Airy will never see an influx of young people like Center City.  It is a very affluent neighborhood and the young (who don't have access to daddy's millions) won't be able to move here for years into their careers...they simply can't afford it.  West Mount Airy is very similar to Chestnut Hill.  The homes in this area are cheaper than Chestnut Hill but not by much.  East Mount Airy is the same, a little cheaper than Chestnut Hill and West but a very solid middle/upper middle class neighborhood.  This is an area of stone and brick singles, twins, and some rows.  The area has a suburban feel with tree line streets, lawns, and garages.  Very little of this area resembles the more concrete jungle feel  of the areas closer to Center City.

Hi @Joshua G.,

I currently live in East Mount Airy.  In fact I have lived here for 26 years.  I find that West Mt. Airy is very safe as well as Chestnut Hill.  Check out the safety reports on the Philadelphia Police Department website.  Now, there are some pockets of not so nice areas on the east side of Mount Airy close to the West that I would stay away from, but you a not looking in this area. 

The homes in this area are mostly twins and single homes.  It is an expensive area with very few multifamily units.  You will find some duplexes and even triplexes in the are but they will be closer to Washington Ave.  Multifamily units coming onto the market is rare in West Mt. Airy and eve rarer in the area around Allens Lane.

Outside of Center City, Chestnut Hill is the most expensive neighborhood in the Northwest section of the city.  Multi-millionaires call this neighborhood home.  I seen two or three multifamily units for sale here in the past 10 years.  The last time I saw a MFH here the asking was somewhere north of $300,000 dollars.

Consider East Mount Airy (very nice and safe for about 90% of the neighborhood...again there is a small not so nice pocket) and the Cedarbrook neighborhoods.  Both within minutes of Chestnut Hill and depending on where in buy in East Mount Airy you can still be within walking distance of Germantown Ave.

@Erod R.,  Before investing in any RE in Philadelphia I highly recommend that you take a look at phila.gov.  It is the official city government website and you can get information on all the fees here.  Your friend was incorrect about the $300.00 dollar garbage and sewer fee.  The $300.00 per year fee is a trash and trash only fee.  Water and sewer is a separate bill and is billed monthly.  Also take a look at the Philadelphia Gas Works website...there is a landlord program there you will need to educate yourself about.

Good luck.

@Eduardo Demming

There are 3 types of sheriff sales:  All sales are held once a month, with one exception noted below:

1.  Mortgage foreclosure - Tuesday

2.  Tax Delinquent - Wednesday

3.  Tax Collection - Tuesday (different Tuesday from the  mortgage foreclosure)

4.  Tax Collection - Thursday

5.  Tax Lien (Quarterly) - Thursday (different Thursday from the tax collection sale)

The Sheriff's office conducts a seminar each month on the what and how of sheriff sales.  There is also a video on the site but it only covers a portion of the information provided at the class.  I would highly recommend the class or checking out the video if interested in purchasing at the Philadelphia sale.

Good luck.

@Account Closed, part of my  buy and hold strategy with investing in Philadelphia is that I want a 20% return on investment.  However, I don't always stick with this rule.  I would be willing to take a little less in cash flow for a purchase in a neighborhood where the appreciation will rise at a good clip.  Point Breeze and Pennsport in South Philly are two neighborhoods that are appreciating.  So I might be willing to buy in at a higher purchase price (compared to other areas in the city) but with a lower rent because the neighborhood is still turning, knowing that in 5 years or so the house will be worth much more.

I believe that there are many neighborhoods in Philadelphia that are overlooked by investors because they are not in close proximity to Center City. One of the richest neighborhoods in the city is located as far Northwest as you can go and still be in the city - Chestnut Hill.  Great suburban like neighborhood, great schools, shopping, great restaurants,  safe and a wonderful sense of community.  For most investors this area is way to pricey, but right next to Chestnut Hill is Mt. Airy (east and west), a very stable middle to upper class neighborhood, sharing many of the qualities as Chestnut Hill.  Much more affordable for investors.  Right next to Mt. Airy is Germantown.  Being from Philly I don't need to tell you about the history of Germantown and the importance of it to this city.  This area has a number dynamic and hardworking civic groups focused on revitalizing the area.  The art community is growing here as well.  This is an area that in my opinion is ripe for  change.  Homes can be had here at good prices.  Appreciation here is slow, but rents are decent and if you buy in the right area you should cash flow. 

Google Jumpstart Germantown and take a ride through the area sometime soon.  I have not purchased in this area yet but I am looking.

@Philip Quinn, suggest you look into the licensing laws for Real Estate Property Managers in PA.  Depending on the extent of your management of the property you may be operating an illegal business.  In Philadelphia you are required to obtain a commercial activity license to conduct business within the city of Philadelphia.  Under certain circumstances you are also required to have a broker's license or be a licensed salesperson for a broker to manage RE in PA.  Again all of this depends on the extent of your property management responsibilities.

@Lucas Pfaff, @Ethan Giller is absolutely right about L&I.  You as the owner have a responsible to keep up the exterior maintanence on the property weather it is a shell or not.

In addition, depending on the neighborhood the house may be used as either a place to stash and sell drugs from or a drug house.  I would suggest you walk the neighborhood at various times during the day and over a period of time.  Talk to the neighbors as well if you can.  No matter how bad an area is, you will find a few house that show pride in ownership.  These are the doors you want to knock on.