All Forum Posts by: Sean McKenna

Lots of variables there, Jay. Chiefly build height (steel vs stick), location, prevailing wage, etc. Between $145-$175 is probably safe. 

@Phil Evans Ditto to what everyone else said above. Strong rental market. I live in Manayunk and have two projects running there. Parking is the biggest negative. Would add a point on the construction end: you'll find a more sloping/settling/structural issues in Manayunk than you will else where in the city because of the hills. Just something to pay attention to if you're flipping for high end. Won't matter much for rentals. Let me know if I can help!

Philly is great and if you have questions about areas/price points/construction costs/ARV/etc I'm happy to help. That said, my thought would be stick with what you know/can control easily especially starting out. That would be the "Starter home" house hack your way into some equity and you'll always have something to fall back on. If you do have to go out of state I'd pick an area you have friends/relatives who will have relationships with trustworthy realtors/property managers/contractors.
Best of Luck!

Just finished using them. Currently rehabbing a project and needed to pay my guys as the loan pays construction in arrears and is often late on draws. They apply for a bunch (12 in my case) of credit cards in a personal name. Had hoped/believed they would use my LLC to build business credit score. Spoke with Josh several times, was told based on their analysis of my financial profile I would qualify for $80-$120K in lines "guaranteed probably more". In writing they guarantee $50k and wanted to charge me $8,000 for the "services". They admittedly under delivered on their verbal commitment and issued a slight refund. Still fighting. Didn't take a credit score hit as I used cards sparingly as a means of last resort.

They advertise "Imagine Having $50K-$250K Cash In Your Checking Account For Anything Your Business Needs" Josh's response to that point when questioned was: "It's very complicated, uses balance transfers. (Employee name) will walk you through that down the road." Never mentioned it again (I came to my senses/left shortly thereafter) so I can't say that part actually exists.

Lastly, they were very pushy for payment in advance. As a contractor/investor, I get paid when the job is done or when I've provided enough services per draw schedule. So I offered to pay as value add services were provided but that was not an option. That was a red flag. 

In sum: Josh is a friendly hardworking guy (can't say the same for everyone I spoke to there) but the services rendered (opening up credit cards) are far from worthwhile. DIY if credit lines are what you seek. Unfortunately from my experience, that's all they do. Hope it helps, feel free to reach out with any questions. Cheers!

Hi @Sharon Tippett,
I've used them. What they do is apply for a bunch (12) of credit cards in a personal name. Had hoped/believed they would use my LLC to build business credit score. Spoke with Josh several times, was told based on their analysis of my financial profile I would qualify for $80-$120K in lines "guaranteed probably more". In writing they guarantee $50k and normally charge $8,000 for the "services". They admittedly under delivered on their verbal commitment and issued a slight refund. Still fighting for more.
They advertise "Imagine Having $50K-$250K Cash In Your Checking Account For Anything Your Business Needs" Josh's response to that point when questioned was: "It's very complicated, uses balance transfers. (Employee name) will walk you through that down the road." Never mentioned it again (I came to my senses/left shortly thereafter) so I can't say that part actually exists.
Lastly, they were very pushy for payment in advance. As a contractor/investor, I get paid when the job is done or when I've provided enough services per draw schedule. Offered to pay as value add services were provided but that was not an option. That was a red flag. 

In sum: Josh is a nice guy but the services rendered (opening up credit cards) are far from worthwhile. DIY if credit lines are what you seek. Unfortunately from my experience, that's all they do. Hope it helps!

@Aaron Osgood here's two articles you've probably seen
This one won't fix your issue but might shed some light on things...  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Point-Breeze-Phi...
This one might help fix the issue...
http://philly.curbed.com/2015/2/5/9995052/how-to-b...

My guess: take 10-20% off the ARV. We dock 10% for busy roads in the suburbs. I'll stress that the figure is a guess.
Best of luck!
-Sean

Hi @Roberto Pellecchia and welcome to BP!
MFH isn't my niche but if you have questions re: flipping or suburban neighborhoods let me know. Happy to help. DIG is a great meetup; meetup.com has some others like GPRIA and RING
All the best,
Sean

Hi @Elizabeth Moyer and welcome to BP!
There are few options to dodge a down pmt. Generally speaking, the less you put down the riskier/more complicated the endeavor. You might look for rent-to-own properties or owner financing, the latter will likely require something down. You might also try working your own network to see if someone will lend/"gift" you the down pmt money with the agreement that you will pay them back with the profit from rent or perhaps offer an ownership stake in the property. If you have any questions or I can help let me know!

All the best,
Sean

 @Carson Richter I can speak to Montgomery county being very hot. Our past 5 projects have had multiple offers within the first 48 hours.
19 E Waverly, Wyncote - 7 DOM - $1K over ask
23 Whitemarsh, Erdenheim - 4 DOM - $8K over ask
134 S Bethlehem, Ambler - 16 DOM - $30K over ask
2172 Old Skippack, Harleysville - 6 DOM - $5K over ask
6 North, Ambler - $199K - 2 DOM - Full ask

@Edward Rogan I think a microcosmic example is playing out in Manayunk. Similar to UCity in that it's largely a rental market by occupants but with lower ratio of rent:own because you don't have the high rises. Regardless, Brian O'Neill is opening his Royal Athena (600 units allegedly) in July. That's the project visible from I-76 and across the Schuylkill from Manayunk (Development closer to the city). The other development, The Isle Apartments by Realen, will add 156 units to the Manayunk side of the Schuylkill (Development further from city).
By means of comparison there were 256 SFH sold in the past 365 days in the Main St/Ridge Ave/Parker Ave Triangle (TrendMLS).
Long story short, I too am curious to see what happens to values in the areas that surrounding these projects. We'll know what happens in Manayunk sooner than UCity.
My bet: values go up. For a multitude of reasons largely unrelated to Schuylkill Yards.
As to whether or not Philly can remain an attractive destination for investment projects of this scale... That's another thread.

All the best!

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