Its a gamble to go the permit route or not in Philly and absolutely matters the neighborhood/your neighbors as they are usually the folks that will call L&I on you OR if your property is near other construction sites where inspectors would be traveling to/from.

Focusing just on appreciation causes people to take on negative cashflow situations, gambling that the market will eventually save them before they run out of cash.

Don't gamble. 

They thought their business was a technology business with a financial component, not understanding that it was a financial enterprise utilizing a technology platform. 

Its a gamble to go the permit route or not in Philly and absolutely matters the neighborhood/your neighbors as they are usually the folks that will call L&I on you OR if your property is near other construction sites where inspectors would be traveling to/from. 

@Cory Gamble do you have their contact number

Thats not a wise gamble in most cases if there is a market change for any unknown range of factors.

I would wait a while to get them at a discount but with condos, it always feels like a gamble because of future assessments, fee increases and difficulty getting a tenant approved in a timely manner.

Are you willing to gamble your life and those of your family on, "being accountable for your rentals", "being a good landlord", or "maintaining your properties correctly and being decent to your tenants"?

So, off they go to the next “get rich, maybe, enterprise.