All Forum Posts by: Zachary Paul

Like many have posted above, Chester County as a whole is a very large and densely populated county that has a various degree of towns and areas and as a result varying pricing and quality in its real estate. 

School District ratings does seem to drive a lot of the pricing for areas as well as total SF and quality of construction - West Chester has its fair share of $1mm+ homes versus Chester averaging under $300k. 

My biggest piece of advice is to really dig into the comparables when it comes to rents and multi sales in a tight .25 or .5 mile radius. Also chat with a local property manager or landlord who has dealt in the specific market to see their good, bad, and ugly. 

I think talking the Philadelphia market, when you leave Center City and look at Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties there continues to be very little new construction (high land costs, inflated construction materials, delivery delays, etc.) and as a result there is not a lot of new inventory. 

The lack of inventory as well as the stalling of people moving up the property ladder has maintained the competitive market. Very few people are moving from their $600k home to a $1mm property as before due to the shift in interest rates. 

I think outside of Philly we will continue to see this plateauing of the market in favor of the seller especially when the home is priced right and more importantly in turnkey condition. 

Prosperity Abstract located on N 3rd Street. 

Feel free to reach out if you need additional recommendations. 

Here are some nearby options in and around NJ depending on your location:

Trenton - there are some areas that should be able to cash flow and are still under $500k.

Philadelphia - again, neighborhood specific, but there are a lot of great neighborhoods that are continuing to see cash flow (ie. Southwest Philly, Fishtown, Kensington)

What is your criteria when looking for single family homes aside from cash flow?

@Joswaldys Morales - we cover North Philadelphia for sure. Admittedly, I am personally not the most knowledgeable on the trends, sales, and comps in neighborhoods north of Port Richmond / Kensington, but more than happy to help any overall questions you might have. 

@Joswaldys Morales - this would be an easy conversation with any lender. They should be able to understand the scenario and given your other moving pieces see if this is a feasible plan. 

If you have any questions about the Philadelphia market, pricing, comps, etc. feel free to reach out. 

Good luck! Are you looking in any specific neighborhood or market?

Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions about Philadelphia. 

My reply would be to focus on 1 project initially at a time; given the market conditions, ongoing construction delays, etc - I would go with the multifamily buy & hold. I have been in the position and know many other investors who have done multiple strategies at once with varying degrees of success. 

With that being said, if a 'good' deal presents itself and you have the capacity - both from a time and money standpoint to do both a multifamily purchase and rehab project - do it. 

Like many others have stated above, make sure to do your due diligence and ensure that all units are approved for occupancy. Also be extremely critical and conservative of your numbers - Philadelphia is a great market and will most likely not have huge % decreases in rent and home values in the next 2 years as opposed to other markets. 

Biggest thing that appraisers look at to determine value is the total square footage, number of bedroom/bathrooms, and finding similar homes (typically under .5 miles away) that have sold in the last 180 days (or less) with similar finishes. 

To increase the value of your property (other than adding square footage), my recommendation is to really analyze (and tour if possible), what your potential comparable homes look like. Cosmetic value add is typically done in kitchens and bathrooms, however, especially in a dense area like West Philly, look at what your comparable properties look like....example - unsure Viking Appliances and marble flooring are common. 

Hope this helps, best of luck!  

Another resource is to go to Philadelphia's City website directly. They have a really thorough Zoning Code Quick Reference Guide for 2020 (simple google search to find). When it comes to the current zoning in place for a parcel either your real estate agent can procure or you could find by going to the Philadelphia County tax records directly to see the Zoning Code. 

Hope this helps; best of luck!