All Forum Posts by: Scott Seydor

@Clark Kirkpatrick Appreciate the local feedback and might reach out separately to pick your brain about your two PMs.  Thank you!  

Title kind of says it all. My wife and I have three properties (8 units) in Pottstown, PA that really do pretty well for us… when they’re filled. We focused on Pottstown because it’s pretty much the most affordable town within ~30 minutes of where we live and has solid demand for rentals. It’s a working-class town that has been poised for a comeback for many years, but the buildings are old, and the renters are generally a problem. Up until this point, I self-manage and have been primarily focused on voucher-holding tenants. Stating the obvious, while rent gets direct deposited like clockwork, these folks come with their own set of issues. I had to clear out one of the triplexes at the end of last year due to tons of police/drug activity (was actually working with the police who set up a sting operation at this building) and spent last month getting the 3 units rent-ready. I really enjoy the renovation work but hate finding renters.

I’ve built up a small network of housing locators from various county agencies that I reach out to for voucher tenants, but the turnover with these folks seems to be pretty high and it takes a while to fill units this way. I’ve got another empty unit in another triplex that has been vacant since mid-November. Not getting anywhere with my housing locators, I advertised this one on Zillow and got 35-40 interested renters. Sifting through them to figure out who’s serious and worthy and then go out there to show them the units is my least favorite part of this endeavor. It sucks.

Like I mentioned though, the income is great when they’re filled and I feel like we’re crushing it. Real world examples of our 2024 net income after all expenses: duplex was $1049/mo, or $525/door, triplex-01 was $1052/mo, or $351/door, and triplex-02 was purchased in 03/2024, isn’t quite stabilized yet (still has a vacant unit), but should make $548/mo, or $183/door.

Now in 2025, half of my units are vacant (with a fifth moving out this month) and I’ve got no drive or desire to fill them. So, what can I change to make this work? Up my rental-filling skills? Leave it to someone else? Take our $550K of equity and call it a wrap? The only thing I do know is that we can’t keep doing what we're doing.

You're all over the place, and as suggested above, need a plan.  Perkiomenville, Collegeville, Norristown and Pottstown are all in Montgomery County... and are vastly different places with completely different markets.  Who's your market?  I've lived in Montgomery County for 25+ years and do everything I can to not go into Philadelphia.  Taking it one step further, the vast majority of my tenants don't work, so the commute time discussion is completely moot as far as my plan is concerned.

What part of town?  

@Clark Kirkpatrick and everyone else:

I'm still struggling to decide what to do with the 2nd floor unit.  My gut tells me more bedrooms means more income, but not having a living room is weird and I feel it'll likely impact my rentability.  With that in mind, I've been looking at other options.  What makes more sense in the long run: 

Opt. 01:  A nice large one-bedroom, large living room, huge kitchen.

Opt. 02:  Two VERY small bedrooms with a small living room, and a huge kitchen.

Opt. 03:  Two nice size bedrooms, no living room, and a huge kitchen ("Proposed" drawing from my initial post).

Queen beds and table shown in kitchen for reference.

Thanks for the feedback!  “Ref” is the refrigerator.  Definitely a big kitchen with room for a table and chairs.  

Thoughts on the lack of a living room or spot for a couch and tv? Going to impact my ability to rent? 

I bought a triplex in Pottstown, PA in January with a wonky layout.  It's a three-story building and each floor has a 1/1.  I got two of the tenants out on Saturday and am planning to do some renovations before getting it on the market to new tenants.  Both of the empty units have an awkward room that isn't a bedroom and isn't a living room.  I'm considering converting both to proper bedrooms (doors, closet) and listing them as two-bedroom units.  An apartment in this area with a second bedroom gets an extra $250/mo.  My question is:  what's more weird, the current layout, or my proposed layout that doesn't include a living room sort of space?  The other thing I could do is leave them 1/1s and do something to open them up and create a living space.  I just don't know what makes the most sense.

Notes: The existing hallway in the second floor unit is only 24" wide(!?!) and it needs new floors throughout, so I'll be doing work regardless of the ultimate layout.  On the third floor, the only real change shown is flipping the tub and sink so you can get to the bathroom from the hall.  

Keep digging, as the rental application form is ambiguous and contradicts the Borough's zoning code.  I'd think the zoning code takes precedence and states:

No residential rental registration or residential rental license shall be issued to any residential rental unit owned or operated by a person residing outside the Borough of Pottstown (hereinafter referred to as “absentee owner/operator”) unless there is provided to the Licensing and Inspections Office the name, mailing address, actual street address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of a designated responsible agent residing or working within the Borough of Pottstown authorized to accept service of process on behalf of the legal owner of said residential rental unit. For the purposes of this Section, a post office box is not acceptable for the designated responsible agent’s address.[Amended by Ord. 2078, 10/12/2010, § 6; and by Ord. 2137, 6/8/2015]

Link to zoning code

I've got a duplex and triplex in Pottstown and am not aware of a way around that requirement.  The Borough is tough on landlords... very pro-renter.  

One final update on this one... score 1 for the good-guys!

I've been busy and forgot to bring you all along for the ride.  Long story short... tenant is long gone, place was trashed, renovated top-to-bottom, insurance covered everything including lost rent during renovations (actually netted $4K on the renovations from the insurance settlement), bumped rent up $200/mo to new/current rents and have a sweet older lady moving in any day.  It was a rocky start for our first deal, but I couldn't be happier with how things went, learned a ton along the way about the legal system/process, and would do it all over again for the same outcome.

Funny thing about my now-evicted tenant:  he got evicted from his last place 2 days before signing my lease, which explains why it didn't show up on the background check at the time.  When I met the sheriff (and real estate investor on the side) out there to confirm the tenant was gone he clued me in on a free PA criminal history app he uses called PAeDocket that's run by the PA Courts System.  It's pretty great, covers everything and is very up-to-date.  Check it out if you're in PA, or see if your State has something similar.

On to the next one... just had our offer on a triplex accepted Monday :)