My first legal duplex

[Anthony Zayas]

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Philadelphia.

Purchase price: $150,000
Cash invested: $32,000

My first legal duplex near Temple University! This marks both my 3rd property and both my 5&6th units!

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

My goal for the year was to purchase two units. This satisfied that goal and was within a market I am very familiar with.

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

I found this deal on MLS. It was relisted and I put in an offer within 5 days of the listing being up. I offered 20k less but was willing to beat any other offers with proof. Another offer came in as cash, but mine was higher. However, after inspections I was able to renegotiate a drop of 35k from listed price.

How did you finance this deal?

The deal was financed with a conventional loan and 15% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

My knowledge of the area helped me realize this property was a good deal. If offers both positive cash flow and appreciation potential.

What was the outcome?

Now I have my first legal duplex and I have the rest of the year to work on other goals!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Have a structural engineer on hand. I was lucky enough to get a structural engineer to come within 3 days of our counter offer to be due. Simply because they were already in the area. Their report allowed me to renegotiate my offer with the seller.

[Alex Uman]

@Anthony Zayas Great work negotiating the deal down to a better price for the work needed. Found this one on the MLS and I can tell appreciation and proximity to Temple will make this one a slam dunk of a longterm hold for you. Good luck on the rehab and I wish you nothing but success on this one. Multis near Temple can definitely be tougher to find but getting in at the right price makes them a no brainer.

@Alexandru Nedelcu rents in that area vary depending on the condition of the property and whether or not students are renting them out. His duplex is one 2bd/1bth unit and a 1bd/1bth unit. I see recent rental comps for 1bds at $600/mo and $1295/mo and 2bds at $1350 and $1550. The goal would be to maximize these and rent for a total of $2700+. Obviously COVID has affected the student rental market making this a great long term hold for the growing Temple area. Would love to see your target rent for these units/what rehab you plan to do to get them up. Philly is definitely a hot market for investment and I have seen many investors pick up properties in the area remotely from the West Coast.