All Forum Posts by: Joe P.

 What's FTI? :)

 If I knew the answer to that, I'd be far more ahead than I am now. :)

I think it comes down to four things -- proximity to Center City, tracking pricing over time, tracking building permits, and tracking inventory/rents. If all four conditions are well met, e.g. its close to Center City with good transportation (public or otherwise), pricing is steady or rising, permits are constant/persistent (indicating still room to grow), and rents are solid, if improving, and the inventory moves quickly -- you have a good neighborhood with long term growth.

Would love to hear other investors thoughts on this -- these are just my very inexperienced thoughts.

Very hot and very saturated area. If you got into it 10 years ago when it was essentially a dump, you would be a very happy and rich REI.

Rents are very high per square footage; if you buy a condo, you're buying it at a premium most likely. I would suggest looking at neighborhoods around that area -- for instance, Port Richmond is a NL/F "lite" area a bit north, but rents are up and home prices are not (non-new construction). Kensington is starting to explode as well -- never thought I would see the day -- but if you can find a decent block with fair pricing, go for it.

@Zack Murphy good luck to you in your new endeavor! Just curious -- why are you looking for a property management company for only one property? I would imagine the cost of managing that property would diminish your returns greatly...

Thanks @David Halprin and @Kristina Heimstaedt - would you recommend quickcrete to try and level off as a DIY or perhaps some other option including bringing in a professional?

Hi BP -- so I'm actually asking for my current property which has a basement. Here's the skinny:

• We just had someone come and rip out all the flooring (carpet/carpet pad)
• We ripped out the carpet because our cats I think were marking territory (likely from the previous owner's dog marking his), and it grew to a point where we needed to remove the carpet.
• I'm not entirely sure what the ground is under -- clearly its concrete, but with some painting veneer on top (see pictures)?
• I think I would want to put something on top of the concrete, its uneven in some spots, has some weird bubbles/ridges on it
• Total space size is ~350 sq feet, but its not a perfect square or rectangle. Lots of right angles, unfortunately.

Also, the max height of the basement right now is ~75 inches (6'3") and I don't want to lose more height if I can help it.

I'm looking for flooring options based upon budget, and knowing we will continue to have cats. The concrete definitely has some odor to it which I would also like to clean and I am looking for thoughts around landlords who have had to deal with that as well.

Appreciate your insights and thoughts!

Depends on your budget.

It's in South Philly by the Italian Market.

For the law-knowledgeable; if the tenant does not move out by the 31st but DOES pay the rent, can I still go to court on the 11th of September because they're now staying past the lease end date?

Is there a proper way? I wonder if that could be used against me in court, if I asked them? I suppose not, but I figured I would ask.

Bottom line is I cannot trust this tenant, even one iota, so cash-for-keys entered my mind but I'm not sure what the correct way would be to execute, and I don't want it to come back to bite me.

Hi all, so I posted awhile ago about a tenant simply not responding to me/unpaid rent earlier in the month. Still unpaid.

We made contact on the 20th (I filed the Philadelphia landlord-tenant complaint on the 17th, court date in September, and they finally contacted me back) and they said they're on hard times, etc. Promised to pay but didn't have the money. Their lease also ends on the 31st and they said they would move by then, but I doubt it.

Just trying to a get a sense of options. I was thinking of stopping by on the 31st to "check on the move out" but I don't know what my rights/what is correct in this case. I don't think they're going to be moving out and are just waiting until the court date on the 11th.

Would appreciate any advice or thoughts on how to play the remainder of this out -- personally I want to just let the court do its thing, but this issue has stopped me from starting my plan (sell, use proceeds for next 2 properties) with them in it.