All Forum Posts by: Sheryl Sitman

Hey @Ben Chung  I may be able to help you out. Will reach out privately.

@Ned Carey and @Eric Greenberg  make excellent points.  I don't agree that you decrease your returns when you invest outside of your home market. I am living proof of that  :-)  We started our investing before moving to the US and then moved and became full time 7 years ago. I live close to Philly and I run the largest group of Philadelphia Landlords on FB  - Philadelphia Landlords Connect.  But my portfolio is very diverse across multiple states. I can not understand any small investor who focuses on one market - it would be like only buying one type of stock - and we actually started to guide people to use our approach which  led to our financial freedom and the ability to have a lot of flexibility (and fun) while building wealth - in a safe, gradual approach. You will hear over and over that Philly is block by block and it is very true so you need to fully understand what you are buying - or you can mistakenly buy a bottomless hole as opposed to an investment. Your decision should be based on a mix of budget, risk tolerance, goals and resources. For example - are you capable of buying a full gut rehab and hiring contractors while living a few hours away?  Feel free to reach out. 

@Ryan Arbeiter  A lot of property owners need lawncare in Philly. Could be a good way to connect and network.  Can you provide that service?

@Ahmad Mian I agree with @Eric Greenberg . The Philly market is VERY diverse and "safe" is a relative term in big US cities. You have areas that incur high levels of violence and areas that have less violence but still are not as safe as a quiet small town in the middle of Kansas. I invest in a variety of neighborhoods. I feel comfortable to be in them during the day and would not walk around at night alone.   For best cashflow with better level of safety, you probably want to steer towards C neighborhoods. By law, agents are not supposed to give you an indication about whether a neighborhood is safe, the demographics --  and basically all of the info you need to know in order to make an investment.  M advice is that you yourself need to define what your goals are and what you are looking to accomplish in Philly. A lot of new investors end up buying problems and not investment - because they did not do their homework. Every week I receive a call for help from someone who got in over his head because he did not understand what he purchased.

@Ram there are quite a few meetups and events in the region. We  have a group called Philadelphia Landlords Connect on FB for the Philly metro region that is highly active. No lack of fantastic people to learn from and connect with here and elsewhere. Good for you for getting out there and networking! @Greg Kasmer  @Jim Rivell you may be interested in the group as well if you are active landlords. Good conversations, info and we have a network of reliable contractors.

I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect FB group. If you are asking for a property manager to manage your property, happy to connect you to the company I use - after trying 3 others over the years.  If you are self managing and need that local name/address in the city, I am not sure who offers that service. Even local people that live just out of the city are trying to figure out how to handle that one.

My tip as a long term investor in Philly, Bucks County, Lehigh Valley (but not Allentown)  -- work with local people who know the areas you are looking at really well and work on defining what you want to accomplish. For example, I do not see the optimism in Allentown that you are mentioning. It's been talked about as up and coming for years and it is not taking off. Lots of investors go there because it is cheap. We got into Bethlehem and Easton years ago because we did see the real signs of change -- and now only wishing I had bought more . . .

When you choose right today, the bonus in 5-10 years can be incredible.

Philly suburbs are one of the hottest markets now. Philly not so.

Hey @Alex Kolstoe   You are sooo right to be checking in depth about rehab costs. I keep seeing people acquiring properties, and then trying to figure out how to make the rehab work with a budget that is not really going to cut it. Prices have gone up and you must account for that.

I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect FB group and recently we started to offer owners access to reliable vetted contractors.  We have contractors that for a  nominal fee will accompany you to a property and give you rough estimates. It's a great way to learn how to price projects.

Welcome @Austin Krum . BP is a great place to learn and ask and start gathering information. I wish I knew bout it in 2009 when i got started. My husband and I started back then with the idea that we wanted to build generational wealth and be able to retire early. We can now say we have a solid low risk diversified portfolio that supports us and will provide nicely for the next generation. Along with building our own portfolio, we have been helping others get invested in our local markets Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley as well as some of the other markets that we invest in - SC, FL . . . We are quite adapt at getting folks focused on matching up their resources, tolerance for risk and current market conditions and jumping the learning curve.  I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect Project - a podcast, FB group and ProLink, for helping owners get connected to reliable contractors. Feel free to reach out!