All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Runion

I never had flood insurance needed on 4th St.  My prior house on Seneca St. was not requiring either. I'm guessing front street (along the river) and parts of 2nd Street may require. 

I think a post had not let me put address but the number is 2611 and it on the north block of 4th.  

just realized I said the comp was $97k but I was incorrect after looking up property at 2601 which sold for $95k. my property is at 2611

I have off market lead on a property in Harrisburg, PA if any investor is looking to get in under the 1% rule. I will sell for $95k and this 2bed 1ba townhome has market rent of $1295 after new carpet/paint/kitchen floor and bath vanity. vs Section 8 at $1300/mo. Tenant just out and cleaning finished today 2/19 so I'm ready to get it gone. I live in SC and don't want out of state property anymore plus need to cash out to invest in another venture. 

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $73,000
Cash invested: $25,000

Current market rent $1295 vs $1300 for Section 8. House clean completed 2/19/25 and will sell ASAP for $95k. The comparable is house a few doors down in Uptown Harrisburg- N 4th St. that sold 1/31/35 for $97k. Consulted a PA Realtor- says renovated could sell for $130k. I renovated in late 2009 when I moved in for 6mo after separation. I worked at hospital diagonally across street so very convenient and at the time this 2bed 1bath was all I needed. I'm a landlord/realtor living in SC now.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Buying after separation was cheaper than renting. When I moved out I kept as rental. Went on to purchase additional rentals so tenants can pay down the loan and I build equity

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It was on the MLS. Now I'm selling using word of mouth as there is a network of investors friends/family are spreading the word to.

How did you finance this deal?

regular mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

Hired hourly handyman and friends to assist me in upgrades of windows, door, cabinets, basically all new fixtures in 12/2009. So it was clean and ready for my move in. Now after long term tenant it needs new carpet/flooring, paint, bath vanity.

What was the outcome?

Over the years some exterior maintenance needed, soffit/facia repair/paint, rubber roof on porches, new boiler, new breaker, new washer/dryer/microwave, tree removed, porch rail replaced.... Ultimately after 15 yrs the mortgage has been paid down so cannot complain much.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned about PA landlord tenant law. can only collect one month rent value as security deposit or else judge makes you give it back. So make sure if you also want to collect last month's rent up front to not get burned, document that! do not list as 2 months worth of rent as the security deposit!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I'm working with Michael White, Real Estate Sales with Midtown Property Management in Harrisburg, PA. He knows local investors to bring me bids now that property is cleaned out and cleaned up. My sister works with him much as part of her midtown business. my property is a few blocks up in Uptown Harrisburg.

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $73,000
Cash invested: $25,000

I was charitable landlord renting to single mom below market rents. Well now it's empty and market rent is $1295 vs $1300 for Section 8/ HUD program. I live out of state and need to cash out to use sale proceeds for another property. House clean just completed 2/19/25 and will sell ASAP for $95k. The comparable is house in Uptown Harrisburg on N 4th St. a few doors down that just sold for $97k on 1/31/25. I feel a good rent and hold property. Realtor says renovated could sell for $130k. I renovated in late 2009 when I moved in for 6mo after separation. I worked at hospital diagonally across street so very convenient and at the time this 2bed 1bath was all I needed. I privacy fenced in back yard and -All new windows, cabinets, etc 12/2009. Needs carpet and paint and such after last tenant was there 6+ yrs.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Buying after separation was cheaper than renting. When I moved out I kept as rental. Went on to purchase additional rentals so tenants can pay down the loan and I build equity

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It was on the MLS. Now I'm selling using word of mouth as there is a network of investors friends/family are spreading the word to.

How did you finance this deal?

regular mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

Hired hourly handyman and friends to assist me in upgrades of windows, door, cabinets, basically all new fixtures in 12/2009. So it was clean and ready for my move in.

What was the outcome?

Over the years some maintenance needed, new boiler, new breaker, new washer/dryer/microwave. Ultimately after 15 yrs the mortgage has been paid down so cannot complain much.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned about PA landlord tenant law. can only collect one month rent value as security deposit or else judge makes you give it back. So make sure if you also want to collect last month's rent up front to not get burned, document that! do not list as 2 months worth of rent as the security deposit!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I'm working with Michael White, Real Estate Sales with Midtown Property Management in Harrisburg, PA. He knows local investors to bring me bids now that property is cleaned out and cleaned up. My sister works with him much as part of her midtown business. my property is a few blocks up in Uptown Harrisburg.

it could be that the loan officer projected rents to be higher than reality. In my recent purchase, the rents appraisal came back $350 less then what I am charging. Luckily my DTI wasn't an issue. It was cutting it close though, and they asked the appraiser to come up with an additional comp, but unfortunately he could not find one. Luckily Closing still went through just a week late after some fussy underwriting Requests at the end.

Also I went conventional with 20% down on a new build townhome. There were other investment loan options I was offered with other lenders for 6%. To further clarify, I'm doing loan in just my name and then a week after closing change title to LLC. I have yet to get a loan as LLC so not sure if that affects interest rate.

the builders preferred Lender offered $$$ help to buy down my rate to 4.875% but other lenders were quoting 5.5-6% without buying any points. And that is with excellent credit btw

I always thought it was 1% but I'm closing this week and all my quotes were 1.5% higher unless I wanted to pay $$$ to buy down.