Real NEastate: How much can I make in an Academy Gardens investment?

 Q: I am looking for an investment property in Northeast Philadelphia that I can fix and flip. If I buy a cheap single in Academy Gardens, how much money do you think I can make?

A: Academy Gardens is a neighborhood made up of single cape cods, row homes and twins. Many of the singles are rarely alike in their offerings. They range from two bedrooms to five and from one bathroom to three. Some for sale need much work, but others have undergone a complete makeover.

If I tell you the average sold price is roughly $165,000, it really doesn’t paint the full picture of how much money you can make from a flip investment in this area. How much you can make on any flipped investment depends on three fundamental elements:

1. The price you’re paying for the property.
2. The price the other homes in the neighborhood in similar condition are selling.
3. How much work and money you’ll need to put into the property.

There are eight singles currently for sale and four sales pending in Academy Gardens. Of the 11 homes that sold in the last four months, the lowest price was $120,000 for a four bedroom, but the highest one that sold was a rehabbed three bedroom at $262,500, which is unique because it was $67,000 more than the next highest price sold.

Good luck!

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams. Her Real NEastate column appears every Wednesday on NEastPhilly.com. See others here. Read other NEast Philly columns here.