What about Kensington in Philadelphia?

[Mike Girard]

Philadelphia is proving to be a tougher nut to crack than anticipated.  Everything desirable is too high for me, since I would like to pay cash (max 250k)  (bad credit risk due to no income) Kensington seems to have some good deals. Is proximity to Fishtown making the area a good investment? What are some other neighborhoods adjacent to mostly played out hot areas that might start spilling over? 

[Paulette Midgette]

Hi @Mike Girard

I know Philadelphia very well.  I was born and raised here.  I spent the fist 6 years of my life living in the what is now Fairmount/Broad Girard area.  I then moved with my parents to what is now called Allegheny West in North Philadelphia.  I went to high school and worked for a number of years after college in the University City area of Philadelphia.  I have owned or still own property in the Center City, University City, West Philadelphia, and Northeast Philadelphia.  I knew this city like the back of my hand.  I write all this to say  that when I give you information about the city you can trust that I know what I am talking about.  I am not just someone on the outside looking in.

So here goes.  Firstly, if you are interested in buying and holding, whether single family or multifamily, Philadelphia is the place for you not the suburbs.  By the way, the areas mentioned by @Joe Cummings are not suburbs of Philadelphia.  They are towns, cities that are outside of Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs.  Approximately 48% of the people living within Philadelphia city limits are renters.  The makeup of the surrounding suburbs is family oriented.  You won't find many renters here and even fewer small (duplex/triplex) rental units here.  I know because I developed my flip/buy and hold strategies based on my experience of investing in the surrounding suburbs.

Fishtown and Northern Liberties are areas as you have learned and heard from others that are well developed and this translate into pricy.  These areas have spilled into New Kensington (just north of Fishtown) and I see a lot of movement in the greater area of Kensington.  I would suggest that you keep the greater Kensington area on your list and maybe concentrate your search to the neighborhoods closer to New Kensington.  There are deals to be had here, but it will take vigilance.  Point Breeze is also an up and coming area.  They have a great Community Development Corporation that is focused on revitalization.   As a side note, I was in the area this past Friday helping to build raised gardening boxes on a one time vacant lot for a community garden that will allow area neighbors to grow there own fruits and vegetables.  You will be able to find some good deals here (closer to the Schuylkill river) in this area.  A word of caution, all these areas mentioned by me and others are areas that have risen up out of the ashes for the most part, so great deals will be hard to come by...be prepared to pay a lot more than say a comparable house lesser developed area of  Philadelphia.

Lastly, I would suggest you not rule out areas that was mentioned by @John Matthews. I live in East Mt. Airy and it is a well established family area with SFH as well as multi. Because of the close proximity to Chestnut Hill, Germantown, and Montgomery county (surrounding suburb with a great of employment opportunities) this area is very desired so when good deals pop up here they don't hang around for long. There is also a lot of things with respect to development and the call for redevelopment/revitalization in the Germantown area. This area as multiple organizations focused on turning the area around. It is one of the most historic neighborhoods in the country, so preserving it has become a focus as of late.

I know I rattled on here, but I wanted to give a perspective from someone who truly knows the city.  Also, I have posted in the past a number links that will help you learn a little more about the neighborhoods in Philly.  A search on my name should bring them up.

Please feel free to inbox me if you have  any additional questions you don't want to post here.