The Philly Landlord Guy

Investing in Philadelphia 19124: Frankford, Juniata & Northwood Rental Market Guide

Yuriy Skripnichenko

In this solo episode of The Philly Landlord Guy, Yuriy Skripnichenko takes you deep into his own "backyard"—the 19124 zip code. Covering Frankford, Juniata Park, Northwood, and Oxford Circle, Yuriy breaks down why this area offers real cash flow and affordable entry points ($150k–$180k) compared to the rest of the city.

However, 19124 is not without its risks. Yuriy shares his personal "rule of thumb" for which blocks to avoid, explains the "Illegal Duplex Trap" that catches so many new investors, and reveals the silent cash flow killers hidden in these pre-war rowhomes.

In This Episode:

19124 Market Stats: Why rentals here move 6 days faster than the city average.

Neighborhood Breakdown: The difference between investing in the historic streets of Northwood vs. the hustle of Frankford.

The Illegal Duplex Trap: Why multiple meters do not equal a legal duplex, and how to verify zoning before you buy.

Renovation Mistakes: Why you should stop over-improving rentals in this zip code.

This episode is brought to you by TrustArt Realty, your full-service property management partner in Philadelphia.

Whether you’re just getting started or scaling your portfolio, TrustArt helps you stay compliant, efficient, and profitable.

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Yuriy:

We are here to share insights and experiences, not legal or accounting advice. Be sure to talk to your attorney, accountant, or professional advisor before making any decisions. Everyone's situation is different. Get the help that is right for you. Welcome back to the Philly Landlord Guy. I'm your host, Yuriy Skripnichenko, the guy with Impossible last name. Just think of me as the Philly Landlord guy. I'm licensed broker and a certified property manager right here in Philadelphia. Today we are going to dive deep into one specific zip code 1 9 1 2 4. This isn't just another zip code on the map for me. This is my backyard. This is my bread and butter. My office is right here in 1 9 1 2 4, and I own multiple unions here. I walk the streets here. I see exactly what's happening on the ground. If you're looking for the flashing, high end appreciation areas around center city, there's a piece that might be not for you, but if you want to talk about real cash flow, affordable entry points, stick around. We'll be talking about Frankford, Juniata, Northwood, and Oxford Circle. So let's start with the hard numbers. Why investors looking here First, let's talk about turnover. Right now, the days on the market for rental in 1 9 1 2 4 is 56 compared to the citywide average of 62 days. What does it tell you? It tells you that despite the headlines, the demand for affordable thousand here is out pacing the rest of the city. We are moving units almost a full week faster than the city on average because people need to live here. The median rent and the zip code generally hovers around 1200 with sales prices for decent investment properties, often sitting between one hundred fifty to one hundred eighty thousand dollars. You can still find deals that make sense here, which is getting harder and harder in other parts of the city. But before we get into the neighborhood breakdown, specifically the illegal duplex trap that catches so many new investors, especially in this area. I want to take a second to thank our sponsor. TrustArt Realty. If you own a property in 1, 9, 1, 2, 4, or anywhere in Philly. You know that this is n't A passive income. It's work. TrustArt Realty is a full service property management company that handles everything from tenants crediting to 2:00 AM maintenance calls. Right now, TrustArt is offering a free rental analysis to all of our listeners. Listeners if you are wondering if you are in charging for rent or if you just want a professional opinion on your portfolio, reach out. Check out the link in the showed notes. Or email us at trustartrealty@phillylandlordguy.com. Stop guessing and get professional advice. Now back to the area. The most important thing that you need to know about 1 9 1 2 4 is that it is incredibly diverse. It's not just one neighborhood. It actually covers two major distinct areas and bleeds into few others. You really have four. Wipes going on here. So you have Northwood. This is the hidden gem. You have large historic stone detached homes, wide streets, a lot of greenery, trees, park, and a very suburban field right here in the city. This is where you get your higher quality tenants who stay four, five, or 10 years. Prices here are higher. Median home values can push over two thirty but the stability is unmatched. Another part is Juniata Park. This is your dense working class row home neighborhood. It's, is solid. It's stable. You have decent yards, Porsches and tenants who take pride in their blocks. This is great area for steady cash flow. 1, 9, 1 to four partially goes into Oxford Circle. This area is known for its prerow homes, very high density. It's rental powerhouse. There is a lot of great opportunity here and a lot of great properties. And the last but not least is Frankford. This is the heart of the hustle. It's closer to the l closer to the transportation. This is where you find more mixed use properties, higher density, and honestly in most cases, more headaches if you are n't careful. So I mentioned this is my bread and butter, and I know every block or every area of the zip code by heart. And I have my personal rule of thumb here. I generally do not like going east of Frankfurt or south of Orthodox Street. Why? Because once you cross those lines, the dynamic changes, you get closer to the transportation center which is great for access, but at the same time, it brings a lot of transit, food, traffic, noise, and, crime rates, then turnover is higher and the wear and tear on the units is significantly higher. However I still own a few units in that area. Why? Because the numbers work and because I know how to manage them. I have experience here. I would not recommend investing in this specific area. If you are new or you do not know what you're doing. If you are a newbie investors, stay north of Orthodox or do not go into the zip code. Now let's talk about the biggest trap in 1 9 1, 2, 4. The illegal duplex. Because Frankford has so many large, older homes, people have been chopping them into apartments for 50 years. You will walk into a property, see two or three electric meters, two or three gas meters, two kitchens, and think, great. A turnkey duplex do not fall for this. Just because PECO or PGW put a meter on it doesn't mean that the city of Philadelphia actually treats or recognize it as a duplex. If the zoning comes back as a single family, you are buying a single family home. It doesn't matter what it's look like or what it's set up like, you cannot legally rent out that second unit without a variance. And getting the variance in the zip code can be a nightmare. Always check the zoning on Atlas and make sure that your agent knows what they're doing When you buy a property in the zip code or anywhere in Philadelphia for that matter, do not buy somebody else's illegal conversion headache. So now you bought. Legal property, how do you renovate it? The mistake I see investors make in 1, 9 1 2, 4, not just in this zip code in a lot of others as well, but in this one is over improving. Do not put. Super expensive counter tops and fancy appliances and in rental units that cap at 1200 a month. You will never get that money back. An appraisal or a rent. Keep it durable. Make sure you have LVP flooring, clean paints, decent cabinets but there is something that you should spend money on is the car bill. In Juniata and Northwood. The outside culture is real. People sit outside. If your porch is rotting or the railing is rusted or missing, or the facade is peeling, good tenants won't even walk the house. So make sure that you spend additional thousand dollars to paint the porch or to make it look nicer, make it look like home people are proud to sit in front of. And finally, let's talk about the silent cash floor killer in the zip code. The housing stock here is old mostly pre-war row houses. Many of this homes still have original terracotta pipeline. They crack three roots get in, and suddenly you have.$10,000 sewer lateral replacement bill. We see a lot of old slate roofs or roof with too many layers of asphalt or silver coat. Also stone foundation in this area will take on water if you do not manage the gutters and grading properly. There are a lot of big houses. A lot of them are smaller or regular road homes. Depends on, again, depends on the area. If you're in Juniata or Oxford Circle, you probably will have a standard Philly row home. But if you were somewhere in Frankford or Northwood, you can get this huge colonial, single family standalone house that can be 25, 3000 square feet, and just the heat alone for that property, it's going to be crazy expensive. Also, any turnover that you do for that property can be very expensive and any renovations. In general for a private, like this will be much more than you want to spend in this area. Also, be aware of knob and tube wiring because of this old housing stock. This happens pretty often. So when you run your numbers for 1, 9 1 2, 4, budget For these expenses, they happen. Is 1, 9, 1 2, 4 for you? If you want cashflow and affordable entry, absolutely. But you need to know the block. You need to verify the zoning and watch out for those old houses with issues that you may not see when you buy a house. If you have any questions about specific blocks on 1 9 1 2 4, reach out to TrustArt Realty. We are literally based here. Thanks for listening. Please subscribe and share if you find this episode helpful and see you next time.