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. 

Health and safety inspections don't seem to care much about zoning or permitting issues.

You cannot even apply for an STR permit on a single family home until after you've owned it for five years (and there is no guarantee you will get the permit).

Employment Growth Outpacing Housing SupplyBuffalo leads the nation in the ratio of new jobs to new homes permitted.

Pull permits always . 

View report*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.I’m considering purchasing two investment condos to help pay for my children’s college tuition in 13 to 15 years.

These days, a couple of things seem to be affecting how and where college age students are attending classes.

Before you sign anything, definitley pin down the timeline for permitting and building.

In my local market (College Station, TX), high rates in 2024 already caused a big jump in inventory, which created some good buying opportunities.

This is for a house that sits on a small hill in the city so it would need to be someone also familiar with getting the right permits to do so in San Francisco.