Looking for rehab manger and closing lawyer in Philadelphia

[Daniel Golub]

Hi guys.

I'm about to close on my first deal in real estate on monday. It's a townhouse in Philadelphia that needs some cosmetic work (floors, paint, kitchen) and minor utility upkeep. I'm a college student and want to be hands off, so I want to hire a project/rehab manager to take care of this for me so I don't have to be at the property on a daily basis. My timeframe for the rehab is under 30 days ideally. Anybody know someone who can do this for me?

Also, if anyone knows any good cheap lawyers I can take to closing let me know as well. Thanks a lot everyone! Message me if you can offer some referrals!

[Ethan Giller]

Daniel, congrats on your first purchase!

Generally in our market, there aren't many "project managers" who will monitor a renovation for you. I'm sure there are some out there but it's not a very common setup, because you are then hiring someone to manage construction for you and that's what a general contractor does anyway, so you are basically putting two levels of management in place. Your best bet if you're looking for that kind of thing is to find a property manager who offers renovation services and then they can also manage the rental for you, but they will likely charge a 10-20% premium for the renovation compared to just hiring a general contractor yourself.

In terms of lawyers to bring to closing, in PA we use title companies not attorneys for closing. Although the customer service of title companies varies significantly, the actual title premium is set by the state and is the same regardless of which title company you use (although some title companies do tack on 'junk fees' such as settlement fee, doc prep fee, etc.)

If you have specific questions I'm happy to help out where I can if you message me privately.