Philadelphia Rowhouse Renovation

[Stephanie Baron]

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $220,000
Cash invested: $51,000

A 1920 brick rowhouse with original hardwood features (flooring, princess archways).

I originally purchased this house as my primary residence during the pandemic with the goal of renovating it while keeping the charm of the original features. I custom designed all the windows and exterior doors. They are energy efficient and help reduce the monthly heating bills. In an effort to further increase the energy efficiency of the property, I had 12 solar panels and a new roof installed. Additionally, I added a new boiler, installed air conditioning mini splits, and refinished the original hardwood flooring throughout the house.

The last two projects I completed were remodeling the backyard and a gut renovation of the bathroom. The backyard was mostly broken cement and terrible metal fencing. I added pet safe artificial turf, a wooden fence and a pergola. The bathroom was originally a third bedroom in 1920 and over time became a bathroom. I raised the lowered ceiling, leveled the sloping floor, added under the floor heating, a soaking tub and separate shower as well as high quality quartz tiling and glass shower with brass fixtures and double sink.

How did you finance this deal?

I received a windfall during 2020 and decided to purchase this property and make it my pandemic project. It has a conventional 30 year loan.

What was the outcome?

A beautifully charming rental where the electric bill is included in the rent (thanks to the solar panels)!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Never go with the cheapest contractor and make sure to do background checks (in case they have a history of ripping off clients).