All Forum Posts by: Brendan Markle

Welcome to BP!  I am an agent/investor in Philadelphia, and have worked with many other investors.  My advice initlaly would be to pick a path and stick with it-  there are a ton of different ways to make money through Real Estate, and it is easy to get lost when trying to pick one.  If you have any questions feel free to reach out!  

@Thomas Alessandrello I'll start with your last question first, as long as you told the realtor up front that you were planning on moving next summer than yes, it definitely sounds like there putting a little too much pressure on you to get this done now.  That being said, Realtors don't get paid until settlement, so it might make sense to hold off on doing too many showings with them until your a little bit closer to ready to make a move. Remember that Realtors aren't public servants.

Your first question- I have a couple duplexes in Kensington, and have never had a problem finding decent renters by just posting on Zillow and Trulia.  I always get a ton of responses to my listings so I can be fairly selective about what tenants I put in.  

Hey Thomas !  I am an agent in Philadelphia and have been investing myself for about four years now.  I can definitely take a shot at some of your questions.  

SF VS MF-  Personally I would always opt for a MF house over single family, for a couple reasons.  One, they generally cashflow better than single families you could get in the same area/price range.  Also, if one unit is vacant the other unit can usually still pay off the mortgage.  In a single family, having a vacancy means you are paying everything until it is filled.  With MF you also have the option to live in one of the units, which as you know can lead to better financing rates and a lower down payment initially.  

If you can swing it, I would forgo the partnership and go solo.  Going solo means you have full autonomy to make decisions regarding the property, and wouldn't have to share the profits.  You also never know if the partnership might take a turn for the worse.  

You don't need and agent to get pre approved, you can get a pre approval from a loan officer pretty easily.  

Definitely feel free to reach out if you have any other questions 
 

Hey Isabel!  Welcome to BP.  I am an agent/investor in Philadelphia, and have helped many our of state investors start investing here.  It is a great city, as it is currently on the rise, but it is still fairly easy to find good deals.  Definitely feel free to reach out.  

I grew up in Newtown and live in the area now, what specifically do you want to know 

Hey, I have a couple people I could recommend if you want to shoot me a message.  

Hey Kevin, welcome to BP!  I am an agent/investor in Philadelphia.  You are definitely doing the right thing by listening to all of the podcasts, reading forum posts etc.  I'm more than happy to answer any questions you might have.  I would definitely figure out which niche you want to get into-  there are a lot of ways to start investing in real estate.   ( Buy and Hold, Wholesaling, Flipping).  I would narrow down where you want to start, you don't want to try and do everything. Anyway,  good luck with everything!  

As an agent, and an investor who has properties in Frankford and Kensington, I would definitely think Kensington is a way better bet for appreciation, given how close it is to fishtown and construction.  You can find places in Frankford with great cashflow, I don't epect the area to appreciate anytime soon though.  

@Mary M. given that it is his first deal, I was thinking that what she meant by multi family was 1-4 units, which would still classify as residential.  I don't believe she is talking about a commercial building, although I could be wrong.  I don't see any part of the post that would suggest she was looking into commercial property, but hey, who knows lol.  

@Mary M. what part are you referring to?