New to self managing in Philly. Any pointers?

[Mayer M.]

Hey all,

So I have a few projects that are at the finishing stages in Philadelphia, for those who are familiar they’re right by Girard College. While I’m not new to real estate, I’m not too familiar with self managing properties.

I have three side-by-side triplexes, two will be completed in about four weeks and the other in the summer. Each building has a bilevel 3/3 with private backyard, and two 1/1s with balconies.

I have other projects in the works and my accountant is advising me that the best direction for me to go is to self manage these properties and designate myself as a real estate professional.

I’m looking for general advice on self managing properties in Philadelphia from specific types of leases, marketing for rent, rental concessions, property management software, and general do’s and dont’s.

My original plan was to hire a management company, but with the tax benefits of REPS and the savings from self managing coupled with the fact that I have over 30 units in the pipeline and only live 15 minutes away I figured I should seriously consider self managing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Keywords: Philly, Philadelphia, property management, self managing, rentals, reps, Brewerytown, sharswood, Germantown, west Kensington

[Kevin M.]

Congrats on your projects finishing up. A few things;

1) Make sure you can meet the qualifications of a "real estate professional" under the eyes of the IRS. If you have a full-time job with W2 income you might not be able to do it. I'm sure your accountant is giving good advice but just google it quickly because there are hour/income requirements.

2) Familiarize yourself with Philly-specific regulations. There are about a dozen little laws/regs in Philly that can trip up a self-manager. Our municipal court system is set up in a way where if you do not comply with these laws, you won't be able to evict, and in some cases collect rent. Lead testing, rental license, CRS, bed bugs, smoking policy, fair housing, property maintenance code, etc.

3) The most important part of managing is tenant-selection. Make sure you have tools in place to market your properties to as many potential tenants as possible, so you can screen from the largest pool available and select responsible, respectful, paying tenants. Properties with great tenants manage themselves.