New investor looking for a duplex in Philly

[Stephen Gibson Jr]

Hi there, I'm interested in finding a turnkey duplex in the Philly to house hack, my price range is around 600k and I'm hoping to find something in a decent area that can rent for around 2k/unit. I'm interested in being in the city to be closer to work and take advantage of tax abatement. 

I've got a few questions I'm hoping I can find more clarity on. 

- Any specific neighborhoods to target/avoid?

Ideally I'd like to be in a decent area though it seems this might be tough at my price range. I'm looking for an area I'd feel comfortable walking my dog at night if I needed. I'm from south jersey but I am not too familiar with neighborhoods in the city, I've been driving around trying to get. a feel for it but still not quite sure where I should be targeting. Overall location wise I'm looking for areas that stand to appreciate over the next 5-15 years. Any thoughts on this?

- New construction vs down to studs remodel ? 

I'm leaning toward new construction bc at least theoretically it seems to have less risk with capex expense in the first year or two and I would shoot for some sort of builder warranty. So I'm also looking for any first hand feedback on experiences with new construction builders in philly. Though I'm not opposed to an older building that has been completely remodeled. Would love if people could share their experience and preference when it comes to this.

- Should I just wait the market out some?

I've noticed there is extremely low inventory on duplexes at my price point at the moment. And most of the properties that are available are in pretty rough areas. This market seems rough, there are very few duplexes on the market at my price range. There seems to be less than when I initially started browsing for properties roughly 2 months ago. So I've been thinking I should just take this time to make sure my finances are in order and my current primary is ready for rent and try to start making moves around Q1 2024 (depending on what the market is doing then) Any thoughts on this?

I'm also open to any and all general advice as well for a new investor looking to crack into the multi family space. 

I'm new to BP and really excited to keep learning and hopefully build a nice portfolio in the coming years. 

Thanks for reading