All Forum Posts by: Lewis Colon

The meeting with the agent went ok. She did not have the experience I was looking for as she had only been an agent for a year. There were also certain things I knew more about than her and my experience is about three months of BP, some books and a ton of podcasts, so that did not seem very appealing. So I am going to keep looking for another agent but want to keep you all posted. 

Thank you both for the information. I really feel this has been helpful to get an idea of what I need from a solid Real Estate agent! Will provide updates after my meeting this evening!

As a new investor in Philadelphia I keep hearing your team is very important to help leverage your time and skills. Therefore, this evening I have my first meeting with my first Real Estate agent. It got bumped uo due to an opening in my schedule. I live in an apartment myself so I have not even used one to purchase a personal home yet. I know the basics of what to ask them such as the types of properties, locations I have deemed as my market and my financial limits, but I am not sure of the meat and potatoes of what to ask them. I've come up with a few more questions but would appreciate some feedback to make this a valuable meeting.

Additional Questions:

1) There experience working with other investors (How long and if the find it valuable)

2) Recommendations for other team members (contractors, lenders ,ect)

3) Market information such as ARVs, average rents, growing/declining markets

4) How available are they (ie. Are the hungry?)

Any other questions you had or how to tweak the ones I came up with would be appreciated. 

Thanks BP Family!

@Ethan Giller thank you for the advice. I knew it was going to be a challenge but that is a much better strategy. It would be better to get my head around the process with a property that won't have those complex issues before diving in to deeper waters. I am meeting up with a wholesaler in about two weeks. So we'll see what comes out of it.

@Paulette Midgette you make a really good point. I will continue to do my research and see if I can connect with someone locally who has some rentals and talk through the requirements. Maybe just even go to a lawyer to make sure all my ducks are in a row. I don't want to create unnecessary holding costs without being able to fully utilize the property. It could also have a negative impact on the people living there if the property isn't vacant. Thank you!

@Mike McCarthy Thanks for the insight. That makes a lot of sense. 

@Brendan Markle Thanks for that. Yes there is so much information out there that it almost seems like the learning never ends. And that is likely because it doesn't. Right now I have my eyes on a few properties. My goal is to rent them out. As I have never done this before I am unsure of the process of getting started. I know Philadelphia County requires some licensing, but I don't know if I can complete this before I buy the property or after I purchase it. Also if it's already being rented and I don't have the license because I need to wait, would I need to have the current tenants move out?

In relation to financing I was also unsure that if I buy this property with hard money and then refinance to a conventional loan after some repairs, if I do not live in the property, will I still qualify for an FHA loan in the future for my first personal property?

@Scott Morris That's a great point. I am looking into that group as well. They seem to have a lot of great resources available and a local subgroup right in my area of West Philadelphia. Thanks for the advise and I look forward to posting updates as I get focused on closing a deal!

@Justin McElroy great question! I am looking at properties now with the goal or house hacking or doing a BRRRR withing the next the months. The responses here have been quite helpful.

I am looking into my first property in Philadelphia. It's a duplex being auctioned at a Sheriff Sale. Its in foreclosure and starting at a great price. I know it can get bid up and have worked on calculations to see how much it would be worth to spend on it.

That being said in relation to paying for the property. They want 10% down and 30 days to pay the rest. If I cannot find full private funding by the auction date. Would a hard money lender lend on a property of that nature? (I have not reached out to one yet as I am looking to raise the capital in another way.)

Nonetheless I have a goal of renting the place and the county has requirements that need to be completed before being allowed to rent it out.

For example: "Housing Rental Licenses are required for any type of housing rentals. Prior to getting this license, applicants should obtain a Commercial Activity License, Business Tax Account Number, Federal Tax Identification Number or Social Security Number (for individuals), and Zoning Approval (for two or more units). Licenses cost $50/unit and must be renewed annually."

Source: https://www.phila.gov/li/pages/tenantlandlord.aspx

As this will be my first rental I am unsure when I need to complete the paperwork. Would I need to wait until I own the property or is this something that I can do ahead of time. I was thinking of whether I should create an LLC first and have that own the property. That being said I will need to research whether the LLC can buy properties at auction or if I need to do that in my name.

So I’m looking to hit the ground running and finding out there are still a lot of things I do not know. Any advise BP community would be appreciated!