Philadelphia Neighborhoods (to live in or house hack)

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Philadelphia Neighborhoods (to live in or house hack)

Ralph Patulot
Investor · Barrington, NJ · Member since 2020 · 25 posts · 6 votes

Hi, Im looking into house hacking in Philadelphia, Im not a local and Im limited to the information that I have about the neighborhoods in Philly. My plan of strategy is to buy a house live for about one to two years and then move out to the next hack.

What do you guys think about Whitman, Greys Ferry, Point Breeze or Port Richmond area?

thanks BP Fam

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Alex Uman
Investor · Montgomery County, PA · Member since 2020 · 255 posts · 238 votes
6y

Hey @Ralph Patulot if you're going to keep working in Barrington then I'd say start house hacking in South Philly as you'll be closest to the Walt Whitman Bridge.

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  • Slawek Jakubowski
    Bensalem, PA · Member since 2016 · 43 posts · 20 votes
    6y

    Port Richmond definitely. 

    1Reply
  • Erik Shingle
    Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    Depends on where you work. Do you need to be close to public transportation or to the highway?

    0Reply
  • Ralph Patulot
    OP
    Investor · Barrington, NJ · Member since 2020 · 25 posts · 6 votes
    6y
    1Reply
  • Alex Uman
    Investor · Montgomery County, PA · Member since 2020 · 255 posts · 238 votes
    6y

    Hey @Ralph Patulot if you're going to keep working in Barrington then I'd say start house hacking in South Philly as you'll be closest to the Walt Whitman Bridge.

    3Reply
  • Ralph Patulot
    OP
    Investor · Barrington, NJ · Member since 2020 · 25 posts · 6 votes
    6y

    thanks Alex! I was thinking about that too. what do you think about the rental market there? I see more ownership vs renters.

    0Reply
  • Alex Uman
    Investor · Montgomery County, PA · Member since 2020 · 255 posts · 238 votes
    6y

    South Philly is definitely a more popular area for flips as opposed to rentals due to the proclivity towards ownership. That doesn't necessarily exclude it from rentals just something to keep in mind if you are looking to house hack.

    0Reply
  • Joseph ScoreseBusiness Member
    Banker · Philadelphia · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 637 votes
    6y

    @Ralph Patulot what you are prequalified to purchase will dictate what neighborhood you can afford. 

    Regards

    Joe Scorese

    0Reply
  • Dan Powers
    Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 245 votes
    6y

    Hey @Ralph Patulot welcome to the Philly market, those areas you mentioned (Whitman, Greys Ferry, PB, and Port Richmond) are very nice areas and definitely great places to live. But in my opinion the house south philly market has really hit the ceiling in terms on near future appreciation. Obviously the popularity of the area will cause constant annual appreciation, but the boom in that area peaked 3 years ago. On top of that, like @Alex Uman said its more of a flip market as opposed to rentals due to the high entry price. You could look in areas like Fishtown and olde kensington but has already happened and now inventory is extremely limited. Philly is in a weird stage right now where its waiting to see which area pops off next. If your looking to house hack I would say go to a nicer section in brewerytown. Your getting wealth pushing up from the south and it's trickling over and it's evident by the new construction in the area.

    2Reply
  • Brendan McAllister
    Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia · Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 28 votes
    6y

    I would agree with @Alex Uman that South Philly is a great place to live in/invest. For house hacking purposes, it is also tough to find a good multi because the majority of homes are single family zoned. If you can find a duplex+ in that area, pick it up ASAP. For a turnkey multi in South Philly, they will probably be selling for 300k+, but you could pick up a rehab property at a reasonable price. As he said, being close to the bridge and major highways are a huge plus. 

    To echo @Slawek Jakubowski, Port Richmond is a great spot for a house hack. The price points are very affordable and the area is no where near its peak when it comes to value. Appreciation is really just getting started in some pockets. In addition to that, the better areas up there are closer to the highway as well, which is beneficial to you and any other tenants as well. When it comes to price points, it's much cheaper than South Philly. In reality both of those spots are good for you. But Port Richmond definitely has a larger supply of multi families, which may make it easier to find you a good one. 

    Someone else from NY had a similar question to you about house hacking, so I figured I'd post that thread in here as well @Ralph Patulot

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

    1Reply
  • Franky Aikens
    Wholesaler · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 124 posts · 81 votes
    6y

    @Brendan McAllister What are your thoughts on West Philly (Cobb Creek and surrounding areas)?

    0Reply
  • Brendan McAllister
    Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia · Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 28 votes
    6y

    What's up @Franky Aikens, I personally love Cobbs Creek. It's a great pocket for both flippers and landlords, since it has a relatively low initial purchase/all in price, and it is appreciating as well. 19143 overall is seeing a good amount of gentrification stemming form university city. Obviously, you see that a lot in Cedar Park/Garden Hill, which is well ahead of Cobbs Creek when it comes to home value. As of now, it's still block by block, but if you take your time to review the comps well you can come out of it with great returns. Now I don't love zillow for pulling specific comps, but their overall market data isn't bad. When you look at this (https://www.zillow.com/cobbs-c...) it shows how much home values have been increasing in this area throughout the past couple years. Recently, I have been seeing a lot of flips sell for around 90k on the front, put like 50-60k of work into it, then sell it for somewhere in the low 200s. It's also a great rental market as well, with rents that will range from like 1000-1400, all the while the house will appreciate pretty well over the lifespan of the investment. Personally, I love it as a buy and hold neighborhood since there's a high probability that home values continue to rise. Here's a chart of all the residential leases that are currently active/have closed in the past year:

    Whether you plan on flipping or renting, this market can make you a lot of money. As always, you just have to make sure you play it right. 

    I hope that helped a little

    1Reply
  • Franky Aikens
    Wholesaler · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 124 posts · 81 votes
    6y

    Thank you @Brendan McAllister! I feel like I should be sending you a check for such incredible info! haha. You pretty much confirmed what what I've been thinking about that area. Those stats show incredible appreciation!

    0Reply
  • Brendan McAllister
    Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia · Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 28 votes
    6y

    @Franky Aikens Hey man I'd be more than happy to PM you with my wiring info, haha. But no problem glad I could help!

    0Reply
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