Deal ANALYSIS in Philadelphia - Finding ARV without MLS

[Tracy Ellison - Bey]

Hello BiggerPockets Family,

This is my first time posting on the forums but would love to hear any advice at all regarding this deal analysis.

Since Im new to BP and real estate investing, I'll give a quick background about myself and the deal in question...

I currently reside in Marietta, GA. I'm a licensed Agent here in GA but over the last 60 days my fiance and I have been totally committed to succeeding together as real estate investors. We have done some marketing and networking in the Atlanta area but have not locked in our first deal as of yet.

My mother, who still lives in Philadelphia, informed me of 3 properties that have recently become vacant on her street. She knows the owners and the history of the homes very well, and would like to help me to wholesale the properties virtually. But before she sits down with the owners to get the properties under contract, she wants re assurance that a buyer will actually be willing to buy the homes, and also at what price.

Since I don't have MLS access for PA, I used Redfin, findcompsnow, and homesnap, to get a feel for home prices. Boy was I surprises that homes are going for so cheap in the area. I was born and raised on the street and had no idea about real estate prices in my neighborhood.

It seems that the ARV for homes in the area are about 60k. And Investors are buying distressed properties for 10-20k. There aren't many families looking to buy a home in this area, so the homes would probably be best for a "buy and hold" investor.

I don't have access to inside pictures for most comps to adjust for condition, and for some Im not able to tell if they are cash sales or retail so Im somewhat limited when it comes down to coming up with a solid number.

I also called 5 wholesalers whose ads I found on craigslist. I posed as the owner of one of the homes just to gauge interest and get a round about offer from other wholesalers. Spoke with 2 who seemed pretty interested after I threw out an offer of 20k, and they will be calling me back tomorrow after they run more numbers.

I wanted to make sure I did some due diligence before asking for help, and wanted to give you guys as much background as possible to help me come up with a MAO and sale price.

Here is the breakdown of the 3 homes... They are all on the 1500 block of South Wilton St 19143 in Southwest Philadelphia. 

15XX South Wilton St Philadelphia PA 19143

Townhome

3 Bed / 1 Bath

Sq/ft 1080

Condition: Currently vacant for a little over 1 year, windows boarded, has fire damage in one bedroom but the rest of the house is fine cosmetic repairs.

No Liens

15XX South Wilton St Philadelphia PA 19143

Townhome

3 Bed / 1 Bath

Sq/ft 1080

Condition: Currently vacant for under 1 year, was inherited and occupied by daughter after Mom died but now the daughter has moved away. Home hasn't been update in about 15 years. No structural damages.

No Liens

15XX South Wilton St Philadelphia, PA 19143

Townhome

3 Bed / 1 Bath

Sq/ft 1080

Condition: Currently vacant for about a year. Was owned by a sweet old lady. She moved out and now lives with her daughter who takes care of her. Needs updating.

No Liens

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

[Josh Caldwell]

Ok Tracey

Let me help you from the other side of the state. How about you have your mother use an option contract and market the rights to that contract. In PA we release our rights to the contract and get paid a "release fee" on the HUD 1.

Tell you mother to be honest about her intentions with your former neighbor's homes, and explain to them that she will work hard to get them their asking price, followed by the question "what is the least you will take for the property" 

do it that way and the MAO is irrelevant. You cant go wrong, if she cant find a buyer then she doesnt have to close on the deal.

Since you mother has been honest with the sellers, then there should be no hard feelings if she cant find a buyer at their best price. 

Best of all, there are buyers for Philly, she should be able to do a few deals and maybe even launch herself into a new career.

To your success

Josh

PS feel free to connect with me on BP