The City just seems safer for my first investment and I think I would have to be more familiar with the Philly market to make bets on these remote neighborhoods.I have considered further out but since this is my first investment property I would like to start somewhere in my "backyard" before I venture out to the Midwest, Atlanta, Dallas etc.

They re did the roof 6 years ago, as well as the backyard fence around the same time, only major possible repair is that the AC and heat are old but still functional.So all in all my gut sais they want to much for the house.

The exterior is great, painted a couple of years ago, amazing back yard with tons of beautiful trees.The interior is a jumble of missing flooring (seller pulled up the carpet to start replacing it) and the seller's junk, but all the major systems (electric, plumbing, HVAC, foundation) seem to be in very good shape for the age of the property.

We debated on moving, but our backyard now is so much bigger and we've been really enjoying it.

You might find some places in your current backyard (Jersey City, Union City, Bayonne) that are interesting to run numbers on.

I made my offer at $147k (So I can at least snag $150 a door and maybe $200 down the road, but that's speculative) because at $175k (list price) there's no profit, I would say it's a loss if you add the time involved in organizing the deal, and $180k, you're cheating yourself.Your monthly maintenance is too low, I would at least say $100 bucks a month, if you include cap ex make that $170 a month.There's no profit in the deal, the square footage of the house sucks, you have no backyard, no garage, you're going to need to build a car port, you're within kissing distance of another duplex so you have no privacy, and it doesn't matter how close it is to the med center, your rents will stay low due to the fact that the property is missing the aforementioned features. 

I would recommend only doing that in your own backyard, be sure of the ARV and understand what real estate prices are doing.

I've always been a fan of investing in your backyard.  

@ross Ellington dropping a storage shed in the back yard and tacking on additional rent is an example of endless ways to boost rent above market after you've secured a qualified tenant.

Thanks for your reply.It was huge job we took out a in ground pool, and excavated for a walkout patio to the backyard where the pool area was.