All Forum Posts by: Jimmy O'Connor

@Christian Roberts I’ve always said that @Rich O'Neill is the guy to go to! Straightforward dude, knows the market and gives you an autonomous experience

@Al Diaz glad it helped! Always feel free to reach out with any further questions!

Hey @Ankan Basak! It's been a while! Just seeing this post but most of the information you need can be found here:Philadelphia Zoning Guide. This break-down all of the structure/land requirements you need for each individual zoning. The pages you want to pay attention to is 12,13, 40, and 42 when you are specifically referencing Duplexes and Triplexes with RM1. Another zoning outside of RM1 is RTA-1 which also allows duplex conversions. 

Its important to note that zoning is not the only important thing. For 1-4 units, you need at least 360sf of lot per unit (720 sf lot for duplex, 1080 for tri, 1440 for quad) after that you need 480sf for additional unit (1920 for 5 unit so forth and so on.) 

@Steve Babiak is right, this is a sticky thread because it has a lot of nuance to it. Be careful as you are navigating different neighborhoods, some of them have specific overlays when it comes to population density that alters the lot size requirments, often at the detriment of the investors. That is why you always check https://atlas.phila.gov/ which has all of the most up to date info. I ran into an issue with overlays for a Temple Property I assigned that altered certain pockets to be SF use even in an RM1 zone (click on me for the specific overlay). 

Hope all this helps!

Hey All!

This question is geared towards the marketing/data driven nerds out there in the BP ethos. What are the best API's for property listings? I know Zillow has an API that you can subscribe to but is there an API that exists that pulls directly from the MLS (specifically Bright.MLS over in the Philly region.) Looking to automate some of my processes and have found the this platform helpful

As of the last years podcasts, Brendan turner has made a huge emphasis on what keeps one sane (for him it's weekly massages) while hustling for the never ending hunt for financial freedom. As someone who has seen a positive turn in their career, I look to maintain a positive outlook on this grind while my pipeline increases and not take for granted the freedom that REI has to offer. For the players out there with not just success stories, but with longevity, 1)what are key disciplines you practice to prevent burnout and 2) in hindsight, what would you tell an up and coming investor with a similar hunger for success to help them stay in it for the long haul ?

@Steven Wilson

400 per door is super dependent on area, sometimes rent does not scale with property value in rapidly appreciating areas where your debt service on the Refi is high relative to your revenue. I would be curious to see what area he is in. That being said, 150 seems preeeeety light

@David Lee Hall, III @dwayne Gilbert the double transfer on wholesale and assignment deals is actually a title company by title company thing. There are several title companies, both nationwide companies and in local markets, that do not wack assignments when circumventing transfer tax which over here in philly is a killer 4.28%. Usually the way that it works is that the actual contract price is what the transfer tax is based on unless there is an insane fee tacked on a low purchase price in which case it could be based on the assessed amount of property. Lenders vary on how friendly they are with assignments and how big the assignment fee is relative to original contract price. That’s usually important as it throws off the appraisers “as-is” evaluation of a property. since the appraisal report do not have a check box for how distressed a seller is, they often put the original contract price as the as-is value even when it is discounted heavily relative to similar on market properties.

@Sarah Lindberg The PA market at a glance is easier to make the numbers work versus the NJ market, namely due to property taxes. As a Jersey boy turned PA wholesaler and investor, I favor this market for a reason. Philly, specifically, is a great market for the detailed oriented to compete in since the property values change on a block by block basis. This is great if you know what you are looking at but terrible if you are uninformed. As a newbie, I always offer the same advice- do not get hung up on the "this is what you should do" rules of thumb.  The classic "rules" like "invest in your own area" or the "1% rule" or "70% rule" are really just catchy pieces of advice but not universal nor appropriate depending on your goals. The question really stands- what do you define as the "bang for your buck?" Invest in your area if your area matches your investing goals. If it is cashflow, the low property taxes in inner city Philly looks amazing on paper for your cashflow, but without the proper property management systems, that can result in chaos. If your goal is stability, higher property taxes can often mean more desirable school districts which attracts an easier tenant pool. If your goal is appreciation, the key identifiers you want to look into is the absorption rate of a given area (ratio of actives versus closed properties), if the area has seen a higher appreciation rate (look for numbers significantly over the national average of inflation). There are a TON of helpful people on this platform, most of which are right in their advice if your goals are similar to theirs. The best piece of advise I give new investors is to figure out what you want to achieve within the next year and start backwards planning on what areas and metrics fit those goals.

Hey @Kevin Dickson ! I know you posted this a while ago, are you still doing business with this company?

@Kimia Dargahi when it comes to contractor / rehab opinions please look no further than @Rich O'Neill. Getting into this market and trouble shooting the weird varieties and niches of the market I would look to his expertise. All of the following conversation comes down to what you’re looking to do. In today’s lumber market, the difference between cosmetic and not touching the framing versus a full gut can be rather stark. I’ve used rich a number of times with happy clients who want to focus more time on finding opportunity and less on managing subs