All Forum Posts by: Steve Babiak

For Philadelphia, a call to the 311 line might be able to get this done. The commercial activity license (formerly known as the business privilege license) is the number attached to the rental license; you don’t want that CAL to be discontinued just in case you get a property there in the future. If you wish to call the Philadelphia 311 line from outside of the city, the number to use is 

(215) 686-8686

Note to moderators: the above phone number is a Philadelphia government phone number that should be allowed to remain in place.

@Daniel Fisher is not too far from there, so maybe he can offer you some information.

It’s been a while since I looked at anything there, but it seemed like a decent location then.

You are at the beginning of the tenant selection process every time you buy a property. The demographics of the area surrounding the property are going to be very similar to the demographics of the tenant pool.

If you don’t find the surrounding area attractive, then your tenant candidates coming from that area will be mostly just like that - not attractive. But if that is the kind of tenant that you are prepared to deal with, then you know what to expect.

Regarding 3.5 hours distance. I just returned from a funeral that was 3.25 hours drive one way; that’s a big chunk of the day to spend driving, leaving not so much time to perform any real work there. If you own the place, you will want to get there periodically to inspect things, to make certain that things are going as you expect; so you should have a plan for how you will be performing such inspection visits.

 Jimmy, although this is a tricky situation, in the BP forums a sticky thread is one that gets pinned close to the top of that forum, so that it’s easy to find. If you go to the BP Philadelphia forum: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/742-philadelphia-real-estate-forum , you’ll see the sticky threads near the top, and they stay near the top even as new or updated threads come along.

Finding a USDA eligible property is another alternative, but that’s not happening inside the City of Philadelphia.

 It only matters during the first twelve months. Last month’s rent will have to be used to pay month number twelve if it was collected. Only one month of security deposit is allowed in the second year, so you have to return that second month of security deposit after month twelve.

The benefit comes if you never get to month twelve, because you had to get the tenant out or tenant did a midnight move out. You can use both months of security deposit to cover damages.

 In PA, the escrow account does not have to be opened during the first twelve months of tenancy, only after that. But you can open it in month number one if you so choose.

@Conor Brennan - good job there, that was correct. There is even a court ruling from a few years ago to confirm that.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/pa-superior-court/1879684.html

 Who did that job in Lansdale? What approach was used?

Best Choice will dig for much less than that number you posted, that's why I recommended them. Some sewer line repairs aren't suited to the re-lining or pipe bursting approaches, but when you can get the job done for less it makes sense to use those alternatives. 

One other thing I noticed in the photo was that there did not seem to be a "Philadelphia style" sidewalk sewer vent, and that the water seemed to possibly originate from the water shut-off box. If there is no sewer vent there, that will require digging. If the leak is from the water shut-off, that's probably also going to require digging.

Best Choice Plumbing for sewer line replacement in Philadelphia.

And the water line will likely be above the sewer line, so they will probably replace that too.