This is my first post, so I thought I would start by giving a summary of what my wife and I have done to date:
We pretty much got started investing by accident. I am from Philadelphia and my wife is from Northern NJ, but we were living in central Connecticut with no real intent on staying there long-term, so we decided to buy a rental Single Family Residence in the Port Richmond neighborhood in Philadelphia.
The year was 2013, a unknowingly great market for investing, and a little nerve-racking for the both of us. However, once the first deal was done, it quickly became our passion. Feel free to punch holes in my story, attack/praise the deals, ask questions, connect, etc...
2013:
Port Richmond SFH 3bdrm 1 bath:
Listed: at 130k
Offered: 100k
Settled: 105k
Tenants: Property management filled the unit wtih great tenants @1100/month.
Financing: Traditional 30yr, 25% down
Current Assessment:
Tenants - Same tenants. 1150/month
Appraised value - 160k
2014:
Northern Liberties SFR 3bdrm 1.5bath: our primary house with ajacent lot.
Financing: Traditional 30yr, 5% down (RISK!!! We were hoping to get rid of PMI after a reappraisal, from local bank within a year, but this proved to be faulty strategy at the time...)
Listed at 400k.
Offered: 320k
Settled: 350k.
Tenants: They're amazing!
Potential Rent: 2k - 2200k/month
Current Assessment:
Tenants: US
Appraised Value: Pretty stagnant. However, we are using a buildable lot; which retails for 100-125k adjacent to the property, but as is the appraised value has remained the same...
2015:
Fishtown SFR 3drm 1.5 bath: Sold my wife's condo in scottsdale, az for 125 with 60k in equity and put into the a SFR in a hot neighborhood.
Financing: Trad 30yr 25% down.
Listed 250k
Offered: 215k
Settled: 223k
Tenants: Started at 1500/month with crappy tenant; currently at 1600/month 1yr Lease.
Appraised Value: 240-250k
2016:
Port Richmond Duplex: 1 floor commercial, 1 floor 1 bdrom
off-market deal: 100k purchase
Financing: 20yr commercial; 25% down
Appraised value: Unknown... prob 110k or more...
Tenants:
Commercial tenant under market for 575/month
Residential Tenant: 650/month
Fishtown Duplex: First floor commercial second floor 3 bedroom unit
off-market deal: 450 ask; settled at 422k
Financing: 20yr commercial; 25% down
Appraised value: Under contract.
Tenants:
Commercial tenant: 1450k/month w/ 5yr lease with 5% increases y/o
Residential Tenant: 1900k/month
Some other items to summarize:
- We have management companies managing each property at 7% because our primary goal is to generate passive income and we need the numbers to work at that level to achieve this.
- We both have full-time jobs that generate a healthy income where we can save roughly 5k per month without giving up too much of what we enjoy (eating, drinking, travelling)
- I am a mason by trade and have run a general contracting business, so I have done all work to-date; however, its taxing if not full-time.
- We have not raised capital, but we understand that this is the only way to accelerate our goals, so we are now looking into this approach as well.
Anyway - i tried to include all the information that I felt would be helpful from other newbie investors on here and I actually learned a lot about our portfolio by typing things out. Again feel free to reply if you want more specific info about the deal or if you're in the philly area.
Best,
Joe Duff
