It was only a block or two away from a police station and was a 5.7% cap which had me cash flowing right away.

If your unit is all carpet and my bottom floor is stained concrete...well...our costs will be different.

And I agree that you can get the unit under contract and negotiate the price down as you have more concrete estimates.

I know you are looking for something more concrete but that is what you normally need to look at.

I don’t remember the addresses, but one was a 100 year old duplex with major structural issues surrounding a central stairwell and the other was a 1950’s build with a block wall tuck under garage that was beginning to shift, causing issues throughout the house.

I would pick block and brick over any other exteriors, also built within the last 50 years.

I had done some research for Philly but I couldn't find concrete information on job growth that would make me comfortable in purchasing.

I have done flooring, tile patios, hot water heaters, masonry work, molding and concrete work on personal projects so I know some about cost of repairs and timelines of projects (Always over on both from my experience).

Now I have a new property here in Florida and it is a concrete block house with some big windows in the living room. 

Between these two walls is essentially a walkable concrete path to a crash gate that is part of that community wall.The problem here is that vehicles that can't make a full turn on the cul-de-sac tend to stop in front of the homeowner's driveway and then back up.