All Forum Posts by: Sheryl Sitman

Hey there @Fendy Jn pierre  you should definitely talk to the agent I connected you to to help you refine your search according to your criteria :-)  But also I would ask what you are trying to achieve when you say you want to focus on "safe" neighborhoods. Investors would classify neighborhoods as A B C D with A usually being VERY safe and B being acceptably safe and C with variety of levels of crime and D would  be "don't come unless you are armed".  But your numbers are not going to work in A and unlikely to work in B. So work with someone who can guide you through the maze of neighborhoods, numbers, types of properties, trends . . . :-)

@Mark C. I have been investing in Philly since 2016 and quite happy with my PM but why are you looking to talk with PMs before you have purchased properties?  My guy handles Baltimore as well but a PM who performs well in one market is not necessarily going to be the best choice for every market. I worked with companies that try to provide management solutions across the country and I can tell you that no one has figured out how to do that well because each market is so unique.  It is a pain to have multiple PMs with different software and company personalities  but it is crucial to have someone who is really good for a particular local market - or you can get really beat up on your investment.

Stop beating yourself up and focus on moving forward. You will need different agents for each market.  DM me if you need a Philly investor friendly energetic agent. That is not me - I can connect you :-)   And maybe focus on just one market or you will spread yourself too thin - I can not imagine analyzing deals for multiple states all at once. Maybe you need to hammer down your strategy.

@Gladys Cepeda  There are so many ways to invest in RE and there is no best or right way. People find their niche based on the resources they have, where they live or have connections, their stage in life, goals, risk tolerance, personality . . . Some of the books from just a few years ago or courses that are based on market conditions pre-COVID are mostly irrelevant I believe. I do not have specific recommendations and never did a course. I might suggest listening to LOTS of podcasts and finding the content or people you connect with - that make sense and sound to you like they are preaching the truth/sound advice. Listen every day while you are driving, working out . . . Participate here in BP, on Facebook groups, and go to local meetups. Meet with agents in the markets you want to explore. You need a strategy that suits you.  You will come across people who buy distressed property in the the roughest neighborhoods and and build portfolios, those who focus on small multifamily, large multifamily, some who buy turn key rentals or even new construction -- it ALL can work. I think if I was just starting out, I would avoid the expensive courses (I never did one but am thoroughly not impressed with folks who tell me about their experiences) and find someone who could do some 1-1 training and orientation to set me in the right direction and make order out of the abundance of options and strategies.

@Matthew Dekker  that is a very broad question.  Philly can be a good market to get into because of the low barrier to entry price wise - but you can fall hard if you buy wrong... (and that is true anywhere of course). There is quite a bit to learn so I would say get moving - read, go to meetings, consider working with someone who can help you jump the learning curve, set meetings with potential team members. I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect group and the range of challenges that investors face is significant. So the best first steps you can take is to educate yourself -- you need to know how to invest smartly AND how to be a landlord.

@Sino U.  FYI - Philly and PA are not the same when it comes to L-T regulations. Philly has its own unique regulations that make it one of the most tenant friendly markets I know of. If you understand the laws, know how to be landlord from A to Z, and work in decent markets, you will be fine. If you enter it naively without fully understanding the business and the requirements, you can get hurt badly. I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect group on FB, and we have constant discussions between seasoned landlords and newbies that got caught with their pants down. So do not get into it without learning what you need to know -- it is not an intuitive business. Suburbs are easier -- but each locale will have its own requirements and quirks. And multifamily as opposed to SF will always have the additional challenges of playing foster parent to tenants - managing conflicts, etc.   

@Nick Askew I invest in SFH in Philly, other areas of PA and additional markets as well. The Philly market is slow moving right now. A combination of a lot of factors that are impacting all RE and Philly specific issues as well. THen there is the whole impact of interest rates on the multifamily market and the coming fire sale you might be able to take advantage of. Philly has has lots of inventory come onto the market lately and more coming. Philly suburbs on the other hand are some of the hottest markets in the country right now. I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect group on FB and we have lots of small MF investors there. People talk about needing to add incentives to get their apartments filled -- but it is also the slowest time of year of course. Be careful when developing your strategy to be considering TODAY's market and not the strategies that worked so well for the market pre-COVID.

@Sunny A. when a gas bill is in tenant's name, the landlord does not have access to the account. But regardless, the way it works in Philadelphia is that water and gas are lienable items -- so if a tenant does not pay, the utility will come after the owner, not the tenant whose name is on the bill. In the case of gas, the gas company offers a landlord cooperation program in which the LL is protected from being liable for delinquent gas bills. For water, there is nothing a landlord can do. Any unpaid water bills will always be the owner responsibility. So we keep water in our name and bill our tenants. May not make sense that this happens, but it is the way it works. Inexperienced LLs sometimes get caught by this with unpleasant surprises.

I run a group of over 2,000 Philadelphia area landlords and almost a day does not go buy where someone asks a question or shares an experience that makes you realize just how much you need to know in order to be a successful landlord.  Not everything is intuitive or about being a smart investor or manager. I invest in multiple markets and each one has its own quirks - things that you would never think to ask or check into. Here is an example.  In Philly, the majority of homes use gas for heat and hot water. So you may think that when your tenant moves in and shows you that he has placed the gas in his name, that is the end of story. But guess what, if you leave it at that and your tenant fails to pay their gas bills, when he eventually leaves the property, you will not know that there are unpaid bills, but you will be responsible to pay them. Sounds unfair right? So there is a Landlord Cooperation program that you need to sign up for with the gas company and once you do that, you eliminate that risk, as long as you remain compliant (by having a valid rental license).    The lesson is that when you go into a new market, do not assume anything. Join groups, use property management companies, research on your own -- and make sure you have a full understanding of the requirements for being a landlord.