All Forum Posts by: Janine Covello

Thanks Robert! I just reached out to Steve :) Really appreciate the recommendation, his work on FB and reviews look awesome!

On Frankford- maybe I am biased because I just bought a place there but there are some streets that definitely show signs of being "up and coming" although I will agree with the group consensus that it is on a block by block basis.

There seem to be signs of new constructions, parks and green spaces and a lot of families walking around the area, in SOME  parts of Frankford, and the average rents compared to the purchase price of some of the properties leave room for a higher vacancy rate in your budget, and for you to be more picky in finding the right tenants. 

A lot of older homes so definitely would suggest leaving room in your budget for improvements. It's too early for me to fully comment on cash flow but I definitely think the potential is there, looking at the numbers. 

Wow. This is pretty eye opening but as I go and look at more "fixer uppers" I am actually pretty surprised to see the conditions that some people choose to live. Combination of gross and also sad.

I am starting to see a correlation however between people who don't put a sheet on their bed...and the state of the unit following the individual who is sleeping without any sheets.  

Hi All!

I am a new investor who just bought her first property in Philadelphia! Very excited to close in just two weeks.

My place is going to need some work, nothing major just some plastering, baseboards, molding, fixture installation, a few rooms with some flooring updates- not too crazy but would love to find a great contractor in the area who I can work with to get this rent ready :) Does anyone have any advice for good contacts they have worked with? 

Any advice for me on screening contractors/life lessons from more experienced investors? 

Honestly- I am having an amazing experience so far working with Jim Luttrell- http://www.kw.com/kw/agent/jimluttrell and his staff. A few reasons why I have loved them so far-

1. Super responsive- they are always working and get back to me same day on all requests

2. They even worked through new years eve and new years day to get my offer in front of the seller

3. I am a new investor and they are super patient with me, provide me good research/contacts

4. They are experienced with investors, and understand what we are looking for- they asked me what my metrics were for determining success and helped me focus accordingly

5. The sellers agent missed some steps required along the way, and they caught all of these off the bat and re-mediated right away, they also helped make suggestions in the offer addendum to protect my interest

Hi William! First off- awesome that you are getting started young! I wish I had done the same :)

I am also new to investing in the Philadelphia area, and am in the process of buying my first place as well. From what I looked at with your numbers, it looks like it works out- although have you thought about looking at a duplex instead? Only because there are so many in Philadelphia in the 75k-100k range that could help improve your numbers to increase cash flow a bit!

Agreed with the others advice to make sure you plan for vacancy and capital expenditures (especially because so many of the properties that you see in Philadelphia have been built a long time ago...after inspection I found a ton of little issues in mine that are going to add up over time!)

Your insurance number looks spot on as I just finished getting a bunch of quotes.  Would love to stay in touch since it looks like we are both investing in the same market. Good luck!

I was a little hesitant to pull the trigger also, as I was researching and saving properties, but wasn't really sure how to take the next step. I researched some investor friendly real estate agents in the area where I was looking to invest, and luckily found someone great almost immediately. I am so glad I did because despite the fact that I thought I was going to be so picky, my agent actually helped me to find something that I liked so much, I made an offer within one week of working with said agent.  

A few things I had in place before I engaged-

1. An idea of my 3-5 top zip codes, and why I had selected them

2. A budget range, with details on how I would be financing my deal

3. Property criteria/ IE i was specifically looking for a 2-3 family that needed some work but didn't want to do a complete remodel 

4. My agent was able to put me in touch with an awesome home inspector, and actually had a list of different ones to choose from with information about each :)

Good luck! 

Could you  require or suggest the use of area rugs? My brother had a lease in the past that technically required 70% of the upstairs floor be covered by an area rug to minimize noise between neighbors.  

To be honest however, boys at that age are just so full of energy and there is likely little that can be done to minimize the amount of noise they will naturally make :(