Philadelphia rehab loan questions

[Marc Oister]

I am currently interested in a property I have come across in the West Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. Its a 2300sq ft building. Has extensive mold damage. I was planning on doing most of the demolition and painting myself, and then hiring out for the rest of the work.

My plan is to buy the property cash, and then seek a loan for the rest. What type of options do i have for financing. After purchase i will have 20k left in reserves, and dont wish to touch that just in case of any unexpected costs.

Im hopong to convert the building into a true duplex and move in one while renting out the other. Since it would be owner occupied i dont know if that would exclude me from some hard money loans. Also I plan on keeping the property long term so i also think that would be a problem for many hard money loans. Any insight would be appreciated. 

[Paulette Midgette]

@Marc Oister,  Before you start down the road of financing you may want to consider if you may have some environmental issue that will prevent financing or would require a purchase/rehab loan (i.e., 203K).

You stated that the property has extensive mold.  Is this black mold.  If yes, then you will need to have the mold remediated by a professional.  If the mold is green, I believe that you can still remove this yourself, but I heard sometime back that you had to dispose of this type of moldy material outside of throwing it in the trash for pick (check with the city on this).  Also, know Philadelphia my guess is the house was built prior to 1978.  If I am right then you have to deal with the lead paint issue.  Again you will not be able to remove the building material yourself you will need to hire a professional. 

Think about doing some additional research on this one.  It may be a better wholesale deal for you than purchasing it yourself.