SF Row Home West Philly

[Samantha Miller]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $145,000

This is a 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath row home in West Philadelphia. It was built in 1925. It has been well-maintained overall, but has not been updated (knob and tube wiring, radiator heat, no central air, plaster walls). It has a finished basement, open front porch, and small back patio.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I was originally interested in "house hacking" by renting out my spare bedrooms. I also learned about the real estate trends in the surrounding neighborhood and saw an overall upward movement as the local universities continues to develop in the area. Lastly, I saw the potential to add sweat equity by updating and remodeling.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this house on Zillow, and used a traditional purchasing process with a local real estate agent. The asking price was $149,900. I countered and ultimately purchased for $145,000.

How did you finance this deal?

I used conventional bank financing and some supplemental financing through an employee benefits program. The down payment was $10,000.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I ran into many challenges with non-rental language in my mortgage documents. The most important lessons I learned were 1) read EVERYTHING yourself 2) don't be afraid to question things 3) avoid making decisions under pressure whenever possible.