SSS #175: Fly, Eagles, Fly! šŸ¦…

Newsletter

2 years ago I took an online cohort-based course called Part-Time YouTuber Academy with Ali Abdaal (3.8M Subscribers).

In a couple of weeks, Ali and his team are hosting their 8th and final cohort.

If you've ever thought about trying your hand at YouTube, but don't really know where to start - I can't recommend this program enough.

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Livin' La Vida Luna

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Luna has reached her final form: Gujurati Grandmother, "Finish your food, Luca!"

Sorry to all my NY/NJ brethren, but I'm on that Philly jawn right now.

We're under contract to buy a corner-lot property in the historic Queens Village neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Right now it's a side-by-side duplex where the main unit faces Front Street and the smaller unit faces a side street (Fitzwater).

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Here's where the seller (or seller's agent) dropped the ball.

They listed it as an 856 square-foot townhouse šŸ¤¦šŸ½ā€ā™‚ļø...

It's at least 2,500 square feet of gross livable space across two units.

We took advantage of the misinformation in the listing and eventually put the property under contract for $580,000 ($70K under ask).

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After we had the property inspected, we realized these two homes are as separate as they come.

  • Separate entrances
  • Separate utilities
  • Separate basement foundations
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The only thing that isn't separate about them is the deed they share.

But that's about to change...

We called the best Land Use & Zoning Attorney in town to gauge the likelihood of converting this duplex into 2 separate condos/townhomes.

After reviewing the case, our Attorney said, "I don't take on anything unless I have 99.5% certainty I can win. Because that's what it takes to be considered the best in the city. I'm happy to say I'll take this case on."

Let's Gooooo!!! šŸš€šŸš€šŸš€

Business Plan

The original plan for this property was to renovate it and then refinance into long-term fixed-rate debt so we can add it to the rental portfolio.

We had dreams of renting out the larger (Front St) unit on a standard 12-month lease and then converting the smaller (Fitzwater) unit to a Short Term Rental via AirBnB to maximize cash flow.

But a recently sold comp changed our plan.

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A 3 bed 1 bath across the street just sold for $435,000.

This home is a similar size and configuration as our smaller unit.

We'll prioritize renovating the smaller unit and selling it off as soon as possible so we can reduce our overall basis.

That means we'll have acquired a 4-story, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom SFR on Front St in Queen's Village for ~$200,000.

+ $580,000 - Purchase Price for Both

- $395,000 - Sale for 2nd Unit

= $185,000 - Cost Basis for 1st Unit

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As for the larger (Front St) unit - Last summer, a similar property across the street (4 beds, 2.5 baths) sold for $750,000.

I'm salivating - we are about to buy a $750,000 home for $185,000!!!

Of course, it's going to take a lot of work to get it there, but even if we spend $200K (which is GENEROUS for a cosmetic rehab of this size), this could end up being the best deal I've ever done.

Fear <> Greed

Everyone knows the old Warren Buffet saying, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."

As the economy (at least portrayed by the media) went into a freefall late last year, I told myself this was going to be an opportunity to really pull ahead.

The last few months remind me of that scene in Independence Day when Jeff Goldblum and his dad are driving toward the chaos and the dad says, "Everyone's trying to get out of Washington, and we're the only schmucks trying to get in."

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Who am I in this scenario? The dad. I'm driving the car into chaos, but am having serious doubts along the way.

The handsome, brave, young-gun ready to go toe to toe with aliens in the passenger seat in this scenario is my good friend and business partner, Francis Mangubat.

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Together, we set a goal to purchase $5M worth of real estate by the end of June 2023.

This duplex deal will bring us to $1M and we have 2 more conservative offers out for another ~$1M.

An Offer You Can't Refuse šŸ¤ŒšŸ½

I only have one question: who's coming with us?

We're offering a note payable for $120K at 10% ($1,000 - paid monthly) for up to 12 months on the next 3 closings (incl the one outlined in this email).

If you're interested in investing, please reply to this email or shoot me a text. :)