Beginner:Real Estate Investing in Philadelphia -Finding property

[Ivan He]

Hi BP community,

I'm new to real estate investing and live in the NY area. Some friends and I are looking to invest in the Philadelphia area. Specifically West Passyunk. We are looking to flip and think this area still has potential. I've been looking around for 3 beds and 1 bath over 1K sq ft houses for around 115K. Been having a hard time finding anything on Redfin, Zillow, etc. 

I have a couple of question and would love to get everyones thoughts

1. Do you think West Passyunk is still a profitable area? (Note that I visited the neighborhood and it still looks a little rough but is close to restaurants and downtown which is a selling point)

2. Other than looking for property on our own, should we connect with a real estate agent? I believe the would have access to MLS, which could have listing that are not on these public sites.

Thanks in advance for any comments that can help.

Regards,

IH