All Forum Posts by: Thomas Caridi

Congrats @Matt I.! I rent in Fishtown currently and am looking to make my first purchase, either a duplex or rent a room in a SFR like you're doing. Great job getting the price down $40k, that's impressive!

Small world, I dated someone that lived in the building across the street and she knew the buyer. Very cool house! It's on the 1500 block of N Hancock St @David Vitarelli

Hi @Mel Haggerty sorry for the late reply. Thanks! I haven't been pre-approved yet so I don't have a lender to recommend but I'll let you know when I do.

Hi all, just a quick update after looking at a few properties on Friday. A few of them were $140k+ and still needed a lot of work, so they're off my watch list. One is listed for $57k and the contractor said it would be perfect for a full renovation, but the block has several garages (not very residential) and someone walking by mentioned the end of the block is a drug corner which I then noticed was pretty obvious. I guess it's the name of the game trying to invest in Kensington..

All in all it was a successful day in that I learned what to look for and where, so I've updated my saved search notifications on Redfin and Zillow. I'm hoping to find something I can buy and renovate for under $175k total, that way my mortgage is relatively low so I can quickly save for my next investment.

@Perry Farella wow that's a great piece of information I was unaware of. Thank you!

Thanks @Kristy Pedersen! Very helpful. I think the biggest concern for me is the holding costs if the project takes longer than expected since I'll be paying rent as well.  If I decide to move forward with the 203k loan, I'll probably try to find a cheap room to sublet to offset some of the costs.

Hi @David Baer, thanks so much for the insight, all makes perfect sense. I'm looking at a few properties near Norris Square Park with my agent and a contractor/203k consultant that lives in the neighborhood so hopefully I'll get a better idea of what's feasible then. Will keep everyone posted.

Thanks @Mauricio Botero! I also just read on the forum someone renovating a 1500 sq ft home in Philly a few years ago had estimates in the 80-120k range, so your ballpark would make sense.

Thanks @Jeremy Fisher! My girlfriend just started renting there so I've been in the area a lot lately. Definitely seems like a solid place to invest. 

Thanks Grant!