All Forum Posts by: Austin Craven

I am just starting out seeking a Realtor for my first investment property. I identified a Realtor two weeks ago who seems credible and 'investor friendly.' I am motivated to get a deal done by the end of the second Quarter this year. During email correspondence with this Realtor, there's been frequent 2-3 day delay in response to my questions and inquiries. Is this amount of delay in correspondence normal? Am I being impatient? Or would this be considered a Red Flag from the start? Thank you for any amount of feedback!

@Jimmy O'Connor

Thank you very much for the insight!

1) By Opportunity Zones, I meant C/D class neighborhoods, although I can understand in these types of neighborhoods there could be some significant challenges with other extraneous circumstances.

2) That makes sense about the zoning and is very good input, thank you!

3) That's true, there are many college renters in that area, that would be something to consider.

4) That's very helpful information to break down Strawberry Mansion some. It seems cash flow could be nice in this area, however, I'm not sure as a first time investor I should wonder that way.

I appreciate your help! I feel I can certainly continue to study the Philly neighborhoods to extract where value might be.

@Jimmy O'Connor Thank you for the information, it's greatly appreciated! I could definitely see why Fishtown and Northern Liberties would be oversaturated, makes sense.

I think for me, I would prefer to find a cash flowing property rather than bet on appreciation, at least as a new investor. Would it be fair to assume most of the cash flowing properties in Philly are in opportunity zones?

Do you find that Multi-Family properties are few and far between in general in Philly? There's row homes all over the city, would it be unreasonable to convert a row home into a Multi-Family property in your experience?

Other areas of the city I'd consider would be Manayunk/Roxborough or East Falls. I would presume the climate would be similar in these areas as compared to Fishtown/Northern Liberties in regards to oversaturation.

Do you feel the areas towards Strawberry Mansion towards Kelly Drive are making a turn around at all? Even though Strawberry Mansion would likely represent the same issues with West Kensington.

Sorry for the bevy of questions, I appreciate your insight!

@Erin Crotty For right now, I think I might stick with a local investment first to get my feet wet. But I'm open to pursuing turn key in the future once I have more experience. Thanks for the recommendation!

@Sheryl Sitman Thank you for your input! I'm looking to buy and hold Multi-Family properties. I would like to House Hack my first property. In total, I would like to own 3 Multi-Family properties before purchasing a mixed use property in which I would like to use as a Physical Therapy cash practice space for outpatient orthopedics (I am a Physical Therapist as well). My ultimate goal is to use buy and hold REI to provide some semblance of passive income while funding my Physical Therapy practice. Many of my Physical Therapy colleagues seem to lease space for their practices, but I would prefer to purchase an asset to accumulate equity in a space rather than having the liability of paying rent each month, which would ultimately increase the overhead for the Physical Therapy practice.

Hello Bigger Pockets!

This is my first post on Bigger Pockets and I was looking to introduce myself. I am an aspiring Real Estate Investor who is looking to purchase a Multi-Family property to House Hack as a first time home buyer.

I am from the Philadelphia, PA area and am contemplating whether to get started in Philly or Wilmington, DE. In Philly it appears Fishtown, Northern Liberties, and perhaps even Kensington areas are beginning to gentrify a bit due to the new construction of I-95. Any other up and coming areas in Philadelphia to know about?

In regards to Wilmington, my girlfriend lives in Delaware and we've noticed the new construction along the River Front and some new restaurants/bars popping up in Trolley Square. I also noticed Wilmington has a comprehensive plan for 2028 city development regarding mild restructuring of public transportation that may enhance the city a bit.

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding which market might be better to tap into as a new investor? Does anyone on Bigger Pockets invest in both Wilmington and Philly? Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you!