1317 N. 19th St.

This renovation will be ready in a 7 days. It's located at 19th and Girard. Many students live on this block. This was a total gut renovation. Everything is new. These are the bamboo hardwood floors. That stuff is hard. Took a screwdriver to it. Couldn't scratch it.

We put the full length mirrors on the closets. The bedrooms are on opposite sides of the bi-level units.

The stairs leading to the living room.

Refrigerator coming soon :)

Your own personal washer and Dryer coming soon :)

This is the bathroom. Mirrored medicine cabinet was up by the time I left today. I missed it :(. I'll catch in the update for opening :)

2 Bedroom apartments will be available for rent in 7 days at 19th and Girard. The building is a triplex. It has 3 units. The units start at $850/mo. It's in a good neighborhood near Temple University and the Art Museum.

For details call (267)205-6126 or email GreenLightSolutionsLLC@gmail.com

Running The Numbers

Every investor has to learn how to Run the Numbers before they jump into buying a property. Otherwise how do you know if you have a good deal on your hands or one that you should pass on. This blog is going to teach you how to get the numbers and how to analyze your deals to put you in a position where you have options. The options to sell the property for a quick profit or hold the property and rent it for positive cash flow each month.

Initial analysis of a deal is quick and dirty. You get a few rough estimates of important numbers and run them through a few simple equations and these will tell you directly if you have a good deal or a bad deal. This will take some of the guess work out of investing.

The first number you need is the price tag. How much is the seller asking for? Lets say we found a motivated seller who wants to sell his house to us for $30,000. Next you will need an estimate on renovations. Let's say you had a contractor come to the house and he gave you an estimate of $40,000 worth of work to do. The next number is the After Repaired Value (ARV). You find this number by calling a Realtor and asking for comparables on your property. Our Realtor has said our property is worth $100,000.

(Asking Price + Cost of Renovations)/ARV = Cost to Value Ratio (CTV)
($30,000+$40,000)/100,000 = 70%

The lower the CTV the more instant equity that is received upon signing the deal. This deal indicates that the buyer receives $30,000 in equity, that is to say, there is an equity spread on this deal of $30,000. Typically an investor looks for a CTV of 65% -75%. Properties with this type of CTV can be flipped for a quick profit because after renovations the property will be worth $30,000 more than what you paid for it.

Next you want to do a Cash Flow analysis of the property. How much do you think you'll charge the tenant for renting your house? Look on craigslist to see how much apartments are renting for in the area. I do student housing renovations and assume $500 per bedroom for the Gross monthly income. Let's assume for our property that the Gross Monthly Income is $1500 per month.

Cash Flow Cash Cow Rule

(Gross Monthly Income)/(Asking Price + Cost of Renovations) > 2%
$1500/(30,000 + 40,000) = 2.1%

That is to say, The Gross Monthly Income divided by the total cost of the property must be greater than 2%.

When you find a property with CTV lower than 75% and that satisfies the Cash Flow Cash Cow Rule you know you have a true deal on your hands.

Green Light Solutions

Why did I start Green Light Solutions, LLC? Well I graduate from Drexel University in about a month (June 13, 2009) from the Architectural Engineering program. A program that has proved to be extremely difficult and expensive. Throughout school I figured I would be able to get a job as an engineer designing buildings making around $50,000 a year. Then the Real Estate Market Crumbled and nobody wanted to build anything. No one would hire me.

I was never passionate about being an engineer. My true passion was real estate investing. Ever since I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyasaki, I've been obsessed with the concept of passive income. Most people are programmed that they have to work for an allotted period of time in order to earn a certain amount of money. Passive income is generated through a profit producing asset such as stocks or real estate. Passive income requires an initial investment ie. time, money, etc. Passive does NOT mean there is no work to be done after the initial investment made. In the case of real estate, rent still has to be collected, and maintenance to the building must be conducted to protect the value of your asset. They call it passive because this work is significantly less intensive than your typical 9-5. There is a limit to the number of hours a person can work. Passive income has the ability to make people wealthy because you can generate an unlimited number of sources of passive income.

I created Green Light Solutions because I want to make myself and other people wealthy. I also want to add value to the areas I work in. I've lived in Philadelphia my entire life. Neighborhoods here are riddled with abandoned and dilapidated properties which I believe give rise to crime and drug abuse. These properties drive the value of the properties around them down. I renovate these properties with sustainable engineering and construction. When I do my renovations I use things like recycled carpet and efficiency lights. I add insulation to the walls and windows. My apartments come outfitted with recycling bins and bike racks. I'm even working on a green roof design. Green building is not only good for the environment but also drives utility costs down and rent rates higher.

All in all I'm glad I didn't get a job. I decided to employ myself and live my dream. I give myself 2 years until I'm the owner of a million dollar company. This blog will document my journey. If you have any questions about what I write please hit me up as this blog is meant to be primarily educational in nature.