All Forum Posts by: Paulette Midgette

Hello @Ayodeji Kuponiyi

I don't have any landlord experience in Delaware county, but I do have years of experience in Philly.  With 48% of the population in Philadelphia renting it is a great city to landlord. 

I have submitted a number of posts giving information/advice on the best neighbors, researching rents, and some of the look out when dealing with the city and the utilizes companies.

Try searching on my name to see if you can find my previous post...to much to repost hear.  If you can't find them here send a message to my inbox and I will provide you with details.

@Richard Renson,  I agree with @Irfan Raza

 you should be able to take care of the lien payoff at the settlement table. A title search by the title company who will insure you should uncover any additional clouds on the title.

 I have a really good and awesomely knowledgeable  title agent.  She would be able to answer all your questions.  Send a message to my inbox and I will pass her name along.

With respect to the purchase price. From what you have stated, ARV 125K, lien amount 6k, 42k in repairs with a purchase price of 115k seems way too high of a purchase price, but this depends what you are planning to do with the property.

Hi @Carolina E.

Thanks for the suggestions/ideas!  Carolina, I do belong to an investment group and I get a good discounts on certain things like kitchen cabinets and not so much on other things like hardwood floors.  Thanks for the reminder to put this on my list.

Verna, I never thought about Craigslist, silly me.  And I love the other tips as well!

Hello BP,

I am always looking for ways to save the most money on building materials for my rehabs.  I live in Philly (this is true of most places) and as folks who live in the area may know the Restore is a great place to pick up building supplies at deeply discounted prices.  In the past I have also purchased bathroom fixtures from a liquidation site online.  Great quality product and I purchased in bulk and still have a good inventory to use in the future. 

As great as the resources I mentioned are, the drawback is that the stock is limited and most of the time it is a one and done purchase.  So, I am constantly looking for other places to source materials.

Do any of you have a source(s) for getting good quality materials at discounted prices that you would be willing to share?   As I stated, I leave in Philly, so I am looking for resources in the area, but others would also benefit from hearing from folks around the country.

I am putting a list together so please send me as many resources/ideas as you have and any tips or advice you would like to share.

Thank you all in advance!

Paulette

@Raymond B.

Thank you so much for the instructions on the use of 'tags'.  This is what I love about the BP community, the willingness to help!

Hopefully, I am not instructions challenged and this works! :-)

Hi @Levi

Welcome to BP.  I know you will become addicted to information gathering on this site in not time. :-)

I am also interested in investing in mobile parks.  I haven't gotten around to really digging into mobile park/mobile home investing yet, but it is definitely an area that I have high interest in.  Please let's share information as we learn.

You may be surprised to know that there are a number of mobile parks with in a 50 mile radius of Philadelphia.  I have been to a number of these parks and they are not what one thinks of when you hear "trailer park."  These folks take pride in their homes.  I am talking landscaping, painting porches, adding decks, etc. 

Noah,

Let me throw one more thought into this mix. 

I would suggest you start by determining your short term and long term goals for investing.  Then determine how involved you want to be in your real estate business.  Are you the type that wants to park your money and let it work for you (passive income) without you having to put in the daily effort.  then a duplex or larger would probably be more to your liking.  If you purchase right, you will generate enough cash flow to pay all the expenses (including a management company) and net some cash for yourself. If you are more hands on, then maybe a single family house that you manage yourself will more to your for you. 

As a side note, if you ever consider Section 8 housing, a SFH in Philly will rent a like quicker than a multi-family unit. Simply because many Section 8 eligible tenants are families of 3 or more and are usually looking for 3 beds and up.

According to the recently released Nationwide Health of the Housing Market Report, Philadelphia follows Pittsburgh, PA and Cleveland, OH as the top housing markets in nation.

See links below for more information.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nationwide-unveils-broad-measure-of-us-housing-landscape-that-signals-healthiest-outlook-since-2001-2015-03-31

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/where-are-the-healthiest-us-housing-markets/vi-AAajaf4?ocid=U146DHP

Another thing to keep in mind with respect to tenants vs landlord paid utilities.  Philadelphia Gas Works is not requiring that landlords pay tenants unpaid gas bills.  Yes, this is required even if the gas bill is in the tenants name.

However, you can enroll in PGW's Landlord Cooperation Program.  By signing up, you give PGW the right to access your property when necessary to disconnect the service.  In this way you avoid liens being placed on the property and avoid have a bills in the thousands of dollars.

Here is a link for more information:

http://www.pgworks.com/index.php/residential/contact-us/frequently-asked-questions

Hello All,

@Garrett M., I would be more than happy to share a few of my ideas.  Garrett your recommendation was on the money and I totally agree with setting expectations and your image when working with investors, or anyone for that fact.

My ideas are along the lines of partnerships and how to possibly use them to generate capital (I agree with @Troy S., there is really no such thing as buying with no money) to venture out on your own or to rebuild that credit.  Keep in mind you will need some money out of your pocket for these suggestions.

1.  Piggybacking on Garret's recommendation.  Hire yourself out to investors.  Do a great job the first time out.  Let your investor know that you are interested in the RE business and you want to learn and your looking for partnerships.

2.  Offer the investor a partnership.  You do the carpentry (no cost for labor or materials).  The investor knows you and your work.  You have completed a couple of rehabs with him/her and you saved some of the money from these jobs to put into the materials.  In exchange the investor will give you a percentage  of the profits from the sale of the house. The investor will be able to rehab the home with very little money out of pocket (depending on the amount of work needed) and this could be a big plus for him...freeing up funds to put into another project.  The drawback for you is that you won't see any money until the property is sold, but you have worked out a deal with the investor in that you will get a higher percentage from the profits when the house sells, than you would have if he/she simply paid you up front.  The higher percentage is justified because you will wait longer to get paid.  Also, you don't want to wait forever for your money, so I would put a timeframe around when the house must sell, and if it doesn't within that time they would pay you for the work you did and maybe some type of servicing fee would be added to cover the time you waited for payment. 

2.  Become the general contractor for your investor.  Again, you have  worked a few jobs with him/her and have made yourself invaluable.  When the job is complete and your investor offers you payment, you say to him/her that instead of taking the payment you would like to invest the money with the investor to purchase the next deal(flip or wholesale) and work with him/her on their next deal.  So, this could be a double return.  You invest in the purchase of the next property and once sold you will receive a percentage of the sale and you will also work on their next project in which you will be paid as the GM or as part of the construction crew.

The key to these partnerships is to establish yourself as a reliable, hardworking, honest craftsman.  Now, this would work with anything you do in the business for which payment is made.  Investors need people to do what they don't have the time or desire to do.  You can offer your goffering skills, become the assistant, become whatever that person needs. 

I hope this helps.