All Forum Posts by: Dan Barth

@Luciano A.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Wound up having a phone conversation with the tenant and talked her out of looking into the mold. Just really explained how those Petri dish tests being up mold anywhere and explained how mold is in the air everywhere and that I can’t have a test done without visible evidence of mold growth.

She understood where I was coming from.

Hey Guys,

I have a tenant in Philadelphia who a few months back mentioned that she feels more tired than usual and wanted to test for mold. It was very vague/general request, in which I gave her the okay to purchase test kits online and do her own test. She put 3 test kits throughout the place this past week and each one had a few specs of mold - see pictures below/attached. Since specs of mold showed up, she wants me to have a professional inspect for mold.

back story on the unit - This tenant (1 of 2 girls) is moving out end of july and the other tenants boyfriend will be taking her place until the end of the lease (end of August). The building is 60+ years old, in which there is no evidence of visible mold, no mildew smell.

I was going to offer to have the testing done but tell the tenant that if the results show no harmful mold, the cost would come out of her security deposit.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how this should be handled?

Thanks so much Hubert!  Much appreciated!!  

Hi BP Community,

I have a rental in Philadelphia with 2 tenants that are both on the annual lease that goes until the end of Sept.  One of the two tenants recently got a job out of state, in which they want to sublet and has a candidate that meets all of screening requirements.  If I move forward with this candidate and allow the sublet, how should I proceed in updating the lease/ creating a new lease with the new tenant?  What options do I have? 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I appreciate the tips!   

I know the triplex I looked at was not zoned properly from what the agent was telling me - as a first-time investor, I thought it would be too much of a headache to deal with, so I passed in that property.  

If I run into that in the future, I'll definitely use your advice!

Hey Martin - I am curious to see if you came up with a solution to your question? I am running into the same situation with a property in Phila - Commercial on the first floor with 2 units above. I am looking to do an FHA and live in one of the units but was curious to see what kind of obstacles I could face with the commercial unit at ground level.

Thanks for the advise everyone! I think my plan is to start small- duplex/triplex.  Looking for places in N. Liberties, Fishtown, Port Richmond, and potentially Kensington to potentially househack.  My goal is to purchase a property this year and get started now that I've sat down and figured some things out.  

@Joseph Scorese  Thanks for the welcoming!  I would be open to either option to see what works best.  I'm going to get pre-qualified soon, as my next step. 

I would like to try out the House Hacking route, which seems to be the best option when starting out.  

 I see that you do the local meetings, in which I'd like to join in on one in the next coming weekends.  

Thanks for tips!

Thank you for the advice everyone! Maybe I will start small, such as a duplex/ triplex and owner occupy to work my way up. I'm currently living in Northern Liberties and work in Southampton, PA. Should I look on the MLS or what would you recommend for finding the first deal?

Hello Everyone,

I am new to RE and am looking for my first deal, but am really looking for advice.  I live in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia and have not done my first deal yet.  I have recently become a big listener of Grant Cardone, in which his method for starting out is to wait until you have $100k min in savings, then invest it into a 16+ unit deal.  I would love to go this route, but am curious as to how to get started and find a deal that large?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!