In a city like Philly, you will face many challenges - you need to learn the market and know the neighborhood and the block and make sure all of your numbers are within reason, you need very reliable contractors, you need a to understand the permit process, you need to be familiar with market expectations. 

Short term it is difficult to make the numbers work, the cost of new construction and the time it takes to zone-plan-build are usually the main reasons why private investors stay clear.

You're either doing it yourself, spending a little money and hiring/managing someone else to do it, or you don't do it and let the leads rent from someone else.

While it makes homeownership more accessible, it is a good sum of money that is not contributing to your equity.2. 

Then, when you have a better grip on the neighborhoods and strategies that make sense, you can buy.

@Tyler KeslingThe Heloc into the DSCR makes perfect sense.

AB 2622 allows unlicensed professionals to handle jobs under $1,000, such as repairing gates, patching drywall, or fixing leaky faucets—saving you money without sacrificing quality.2.

With the money from my savings and stocks I have about 100k . 

It makes us concerned about the safety of our funds.I can PM you the names and if its a legit response - I can update my view on the forum.

When relying on LIHTC to make the deal pencil, yes developers wait BUT only if they have the resources to wait and only if the property owner is willing to not close on the property until the project is fully funded.