All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Honestly, getting to know all your neighbors is probably the best way to be safe. Once everyone knows you, those in the vicinity know not to cause you harm. My wife and I have lived here since 2013 and have never had issues with safety. Some things have happened around us, but because we know everyone on our street, I am sure we have avoided things than if we just kept to ourselves. 

People are people. They want the same things we do - safe neighborhoods, economic opportunities, healthy food, a safe place for children to play, good schools, respect, etc. People here won't bite. You may just have to make some cookies or something and introduce yourself, say you're thinking of moving into the area, and get to know folks. Yes Philadelphians have thick skin, blunt answers to your questions, but you have to get past that and really show interest in getting to know people for who they are. Then you can start earning trust. And once you earn trust, people will be friendly and loyal to you. You have to be genuine and get to know everyone by name.

Also understand that this was a very dangerous area in the past that has been "cleaned up" and people will feel differently about what's going on around them. I think developers have a responsibility to be respectful in the midst of what many see as gentrification. I think most developers are, but some have caused harm by not being respectful and truthful. And some people here have no recourse to combat that because of their socioeconomic situation. Ok, stepping off my soapbox.

Best regards,

Jake

@Michael Campbell Great advice, I will reach out to some hard money lenders. I have enough cash roughly for a shell, so a bank should cover the construction cost if it's a smaller size project, right? If you feel comfortable, would you message me the bank you use? If not, no worries.

Great advice also, I will check out the local REIA here. Thanks for your help!

Hi Everyone,

I am reaching out to see if anyone knows of a lender for home construction projects in the greater Philadelphia area. I am looking to start small on a flip and I have cash for a house/shell. I would need 100% financing for the construction, which I can pay back once the house sells. 

I am calling one lender tomorrow, recommended to me by a realtor I have worked with before who does investing. Does anyone know another lender that does 100% financing of the construction? I'm still very new to real estate investing, so any tips on the financing part would be helpful. I already have a developer in mind who I can pay to obtain plans, oversee construction, pull permits, etc. Of course I would need a partnership agreement also, correct?

Any other tips would be helpful, this would be my first flip project.

Best regards,

Jake

My wife and I have done Airbnb in Brewerytown in Philly for a couple years now. Some tenants have stayed up to six months so it's nice to have the steady income while being able to accept tenants after they leave. 

I think seasonality is a potential issue, sometimes we're only booked on weekends. But we've also gotten a lot of requests for longer term stays. Things pick up towards summer for us and you can strategically up the price to make more during that time. Shorter stays are more lucrative but more work so you have to pick what you prefer there. 

We did very well for a single family home, about $20,000 in 2016 for 290 nights. But remember you'll pay about 28% in taxes, at least we did. Check out some of the other Airbnb posts on BP as well I think they'd be helpful. 

@Igor L. Passyunk is definitely very developed already and more so than some of the other neighborhoods listed, but I think the rental returns would be great there also. If you can find a good deal there, then by all means, I think it's a very popular area with good rents.

By Southwest Philly, what do you mean? Baltimore Ave is a great area along with Walnut Hill and Spruce Street. There's a great mix of young families, professionals, university students, and people from the community. If you can find a great deal there, too, I think the rents would be high.

@Matt Burns I've lived in Brewerytown for more than 3 years and so far had no issues with safety. I know all my neighbors and they are great people. There is a ton of new construction on my block and it's moving east and north very rapidly. It's hard to find a rehab or new construction home now for under $200K, but you can live in it and rent it out. 

My wife and I did very well with Airbnb last year while we lived in another home. Girard Ave is a bit stymied in terms of shops and restaurants, a few cool places have come and gone, so I think it will take time, but it's moving in that direction.

I commute to center city every day by bike and it takes just 15-20 minutes and there are 3 bus lines that take you downtown also. The trolley runs east and west all the way to Fishtown and to the Broad Street Line, so I think it's one of the more accessible parts of the city that is also affordable to live in. 

I have a great GC - IM me. He does a ton of work in Brewerytown, both new construction and rehab from the bottom up, inside, and out. His work is great, my wife and I bought our 2nd home from him and are now using that home as an airbnb rental. I can send you photos of his work and other current listings/addresses you can see on zillow/trulia of the quality of work.

 I personally wouldn't recommend Temple University. For one, the university and other major developers have built a lot of student housing near the campus and there are a lot of owners of rental homes that are unloading their properties now. Although the area has improved, there may be more vacant homes than usual unless Temple gets more students in the area. They built a highrise a couple years ago and there's another highrise just a couple blocks east of campus. Just my 2 cents, but look into home prices on Zillow/Trulia to see the trends.

Brewerytown is very fast improving. The same home my wife and I bought in December 2016 for $145K is now selling for $200K. 19121 is the zip code. In Brewerytown the development is moving north to the 13, 14, 1500 blocks as well as Thompson, Master, Jefferson, and even Oxford. 

Also fast improving is Fishtown, Kensington, Port Richmond, Moyamensing, Point Breeze, Graduate Hospital, and others.

I have a couple great agents/brokers who work in Brewerytown and other areas of Philadelphia. One is a developer who manages a lot of construction in Brewerytown who works as an agent with Coldwell Banker, the other is a real estate agent of a smaller broker who does investing as well.

My wife and I rented out our primary residence for 290 nights in 2016 and we made about $20,000 from it gross. We have another property in my wife's name that we lived in for a year that we are now renting out for $1,200 a month, both these are in Philly. While it's lucrative make sure you budget taxes. Ours were about 28% of the gross. Our area is in high demand which means we get a lot of bookings but you'll also have to factor in cleaning, furnishing, etc. 

I've had great experiences in Airbnb nothing really negative. Airbnb makes it very easy in my opinion. Just factor in vacancy and be OK with having irregular schedules sometimes.