All Forum Posts by: Dan Powers

@Jason Forman The biggest factor in this is going to be if they have an existing lease or not. If they do typically evictions take around 6 months with the way the city has been lately. It'll take much longer if they don't have a lease and thats called an ejection which can take upwards of a year.

@Tina Chau I would recommend the suburbs of Philadelphia, specifically Delaware + Montgomery counties. Curious if you would also be interested in package/portfolio deals, those are a lot more common in Philadelphia and the suburbs then stand alone 10-20 unit multis.

@Jason Forman I would recommend Sherman Bridge Lending, I've had many investors use them for projects with great success, I'll PM you the contact info.

@Lea Fein Just shot you a PM.

@Walter Dobbins Definitely recommend Philly and the surrounding suburbs like @Rob Lawrence said. There are a super wide range of possibilities based on your strategy and expected returns. Like @Jonathan Greene says Philly is extremely block by block with ARV values that can change by 20-30k within a few blocks of each other. I could give better recommendations if you expanded upon your strategy and criteria

@Eric Greenberg@Samantha Pancoast @Rich O'Neill, yeah super exciting stuff with the Amazon warehouse being the more immediate of the two projects. Southwest has traditionally been 2-3 years behind the values you typically see in West Philly from an ARV standpoint, but with this development coming it'll be quite interesting to see the acceleration in appreciation from this.

Southwest Philly is about to see a huge change occur immediately in the next 2-3 years and significantly in the next 5+ years with two major development plans in place and already starting to take form. The development of 6901 Elmwood Ave. which has been vacant for more than 20 years will soon be home to a 140,000 sqft. Amazon distribution warehouse. This will supply the area with tons of new jobs starting at $15/hr + benefits and surely increase demand for homes in the surrounding area.

Next is the massive redevelopment project by the Hilco Group known as "The Bellwether District". This project consists of 1300 acres being turned into a future hub for logistics, e-commerce and life sciences, set to generate as many as 19,000 jobs in Southwest Philadelphia over the next 15 years. With the site covering both sides of the lower Schuylkill River near Passyunk Ave.

With both of these projects soon coming to light its going to be interesting to see the demand increase throughout Southwest Philly. This area has already seen a huge appreciation spike over covid times, and with these projects in the works it certainly isn't going to slow down.

Here are links to the articles:

https://www.phillyvoice.com/am...

https://www.phillyvoice.com/ph...

I'll say right off the bat you're fishing in a very small pond, because who doesn't want a multi in Philly nowadays. The other challenge is using a conventional loan to pick up one. The majority of the multi inventory I come across in the city tends to be 4 walls and some joists, coming with a 6 figure acquisition and a 6 figure rehab cost. If you do come across a unicorn multi that isn't a complete gut most house hackers run into the issue with the standard of living for their investment property and their own house are drastically different.

I would suggest looking out in Delaware county for a multi, much higher inventory 3+ units, and a larger percentage of cleaner multis as well. 

Philly is pretty simple when it comes to adding more units, first you have to have the correct zoning (RM-1), if not you could apply for a variance, thought this is a long process. Next it comes down to the lot dimensions, 1-4 units need to have a minimum of 360 sqft. so multiply your lot dimensions if they come out to over 720 you can have 2 units, 1080 for 3 units, and 1440 for 4 units. Anything additional unit over 4 needs 480 sqft. You also have to watch out for specific zoning overlays, ie. around the temple area, you need 480 for sqft. for all units.

@Sheryl Sitman Very much agree. Honestly the best connections I've made have been through referrals and over time built my own relationships with them so they are a part of my team now. There is a lot of trial by fire when building relationships and a ton of scumbags in Philly, just be careful who you work with.