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All Forum Posts by: Charles Wu

Charles Wu has started 5 posts and replied 17 times.

Post: Did you ever hear of this turn key group?

Charles WuPosted
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 3

I'm not familiar with all those streets, but I know north 50's is not someplace I personally would live, but it's not the most terrible. I guess that's what they call B neighborhoods. However, they can be good places to invest in terms of cash flow.

Post: Did you ever hear of this turn key group?

Charles WuPosted
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 3

Just listened to their Philadelphia webinar.  It definitely piqued my interest.

What specific neighborhoods were these units in?

I will be there, although may be a little late, as I'm coming straight from work in Jersey.

Post: Greetings from a Newbie Investor in Philly

Charles WuPosted
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 3

@aloma

Yup! I was at last weeks webinar.

Post: Greetings from a Newbie Investor in Philly

Charles WuPosted
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 3

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

how do i get a person's name to come up highlighted?

Type the @ symbol, but the list of names don't show up like i read somewhere that it would.  Is it because i'm missing a plugin or something?

Post: Greetings from a Newbie Investor in Philly

Charles WuPosted
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 3

Hello BP community,

I figure it's about time I introduce myself after a week of lurking.  I'm a 40 year old healthcare professional, currently living and working in South Jersey, but would like to live in Philly, I like the urban lifestyle. Single, no kids, I like hiking, fine dining and music.  I am an intermediate level amateur guitar player, always willing to talk shop about that.

I am interested in getting into REI, and for the past month have been attending various REIA and DIG networking events around philadelphia, as well as learning from all the resources that BP has to offer. The webinars, podcasts and forum posts are amazing.

I have a condo in south jersey that I live in now, and another condo in north jersey that I used to live in, but have been renting out for the past 3 years to cover carrying costs.  I certainly didn't set out to buy that one as an investment property, I just couldn't sell it at the time.  I now realize that it does not cashflow well as an investment, so I'll probably try to sell both and pull some equity out.

As far as my investment strategy, I'm leaning toward buy and hold rentals. I would consider commercial properties as well. I plan for my first acquisition to be a 3-4 unit MFH house hack through the FHA loan program, preferably turnkey or with very minimal renovations needed. My goal is to build my portfolio year by year. When I get to the point of having say $3000 per month in net REI income, I would probably cut back to working part-time. Then, from there, who knows?

Areas of interest: Brewerytown, Fishtown, Point Breeze, Bella Vista, Francisville, Fairmount, Passyunk, Mananyunk, Northern Liberties, West Philly, University City, Mantua, Powellton.   I am also open to other suggestions.  I am still gaining familiarity with the different neighborhoods.

Look forward to meeting everyone.

Originally posted by @Sam Desai:

I just finished graduate school and am looking for a rental property to invest in long-term and sell the property after it has appreciated ~20% in 10-15 years.

My budget is around 250-300K and I'm looking for properties (with little to no repair work needed) in up and coming areas of the city as well as in established areas where I can reach my investment goal of a ~20% appreciation in 10-15 years OR have positive cash flow from rent. I've found a handful of properties but would like some additional suggestions with regards to what neighborhoods I should focus my efforts in. I'd also like to know if my goals are realistic given the market in Philadelphia.

I've checked on redfin and zillow and noticed that property tax values are much lower than what is posted on the government tax website for the city of philadelphia (1.2% vs. 9.2%).

What is the actual property tax rate I will be incurring? Is it worth buying an apartment in the Center City Philadelphia area?

I'd appreciate it if anyone have has experience with Philadelphia rental properties and can shed some light onto property tax problem I am facing. Thanks!

Best,


Sam

I am in the same boat. New investor looking to buys my first MFH in the up and coming areas of philly. Hoping to go through the FHA program. My range is 200-300k, I care about lont-term holding and cash flow. I've already learned a lot from BP in the past week or two since I joined, looking forward to the journey.