Depending how much of the neighborhood is a hot zone for renting rather buying, and which Property type is performing better than the other (meaning 1bd 1ba 2 floor renting out faster and much more consistently than a 2bd 1ba 1 floor), you can make your choice of those factors as well as other ones that impact your decision for what you wanna do with your investment.

In the case of GEG, we let our members know we did not have a track record with them - they were new to us and just being tested - and therefore it was even more important to perform thorough due diligence since we can't be involved in the transaction. 

One of the biggest challenges for everyone involved is being on the same page about the actual time required for maintenance.DIY landlords rarely properly track their time when it comes to property management in general - tracking their true time invested in maintenance is where they perform the worst.Investors that hire PMCs are rarely any better at understanding the true amount of time maintenance takes.

Every bank at that time had way too many non-performing assets on its books.

its genius really.. most bird dogs work for locals on a performance basis and don't have to pay the investor to bring them deals.. 

How do other regular condos perform versus them? 

Market Insights: Are there specific neighborhoods or property types in Philadelphia that I should target as a beginner?

If you are a beginner I would recommend staying on platform.I get more scam attempts on VRBO, a lot of people offering to pay by company check. 

There is no housing market in US where real estate can out perform stocks.

He does not state what his experience level is, but I have a feeling that this deal would have taken a beginner about 12 months to complete.