we have ample public transportation given the broad street and then this is the front of the
property uh so we're not a corner property there's two vacant lots to the right of us and as you can
see these properties in depths for native tlc for the interior which we understood at the time when
we purchased a property um but we'll see photos of like significant issues with the interior of
the property were only found after closing occurred but and here's our proof of posting
of the hearing notice and then this is west west morley street to the right of the property
west west morley to the left of the property and then these are the photos that my client took
uh even this week um but you can see there's significant issues with the property um and
originally my client and he's going to testify to this uh thought that this would be a you know
a simple like gut job in in certain portions of the property um but now it's going to be a full
job so and this is the interior from different areas you can see that the floor caved in
I believe this is the kitchen area. And this is more interior.
And then our plans and drawings, I'm keeping it very simple. Each floor has its own unit.
As you can see, the lower level is an unfinished basement where we're just going to store,
you know, the tenant will be able to store, you know, whatever they have. There's also a laundry
room down there for them um but this is a one bedroom one bath this is a two bedroom one bath
this is a two bedroom one bath and this is a one bedroom one bath
and this is a one bedroom one bath
and then january 17th we met with the community 83 addresses were notified of this meeting
list of the addresses proof of mailing to those addresses our application for appeal
showing that dana llc filed uh this app this is only appeal to the zoning board along with the
notice of refusal from the project information form or deeds of property showing that they own
your property. And then finally, our tax clearance certificate. While there's a balance here
showing up $1,842.14, it's for the 2023 tax year. And as the board knows, taxes in Philadelphia
are not due until March 31st of 2023. But for every other year, it has been paid. So we are
tax compliant. So with that being said, I would ask that Han virtually raise his hand. We can go
over some testimony with him. We can then have Mr. Lin, his contractor, testify, and then we can
have his realtor finally testify as well. Hi, sir. Could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter, please? Hi, my name is Hanlan Huang, H-A-N-L-A-N-H-U-A-N-G. Right. Do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes. Proceed,
counsel uh yeah mr wong so for housekeeping purposes you heard everything i had to say
today yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt as your own testimony yes okay so uh
first of all uh how much did you purchase the property for uh so we purchased it 75 000 with
a $10 wholesale fee. Okay. So you ultimately had closing costs of $85,000. Correct. Okay. And then
you, your intention is to hire Lucky Construction as the contractor for this property. Yes, correct.
And what was the quote you received for just to renovate it without any finishes? What was the
quote how much did you how much was the quote uh the quote was 140 okay and then how much do you
estimate and that's just for cost of of labor and materials right correct and then how much
would it cost for the finishing work for the property with all the additional things it will
costs closer to $200,000. Okay. So now we're up to already $285,000. So based on that,
if you were to hold this property, what would be your holding costs every single month that
you would have to pay? Around $1,800 to $2,000. Okay. So it's $1,800 to $2,000. And does that
include the real estate taxes and insurance you would have to pay? No. Okay. So Mr. Chair and
members of the board, I've reviewed the city's records. According to the city, taxes for this
year are $1,842. So that would increase the holding cost per month by an additional $150.
And that still doesn't include insurance. So at the base minimum, we're looking at around $2,000
a month in holding costs. You also are intending to hire Brandon Mark as your realtor, correct?
Yes. Okay. And according to him, and we'll hear his testimony, it's your understanding
that the property, if sold, at best would sell as a single family between $150,000 and $200,000
most right correct okay and then according to him and we'll have him testify that uh at most
uh you would be looking at rents at like 1250 to 1500 right correct okay so which is a lot less than
um what you know what your holding costs are yes okay so why did you buy so what changed from the
time that you bought the property that this became not feasible for it to be a single family
structure um so we bought this with intention uh we bought this with numbers based off like
previous construction uh material costs the interest rates were not as high as now and then
the conditions was a lot worse than we thought so having a single family um wasn't gonna work
Okay. Well, thank you so much. I would then ask that Mr. Lynn virtually raise his hand.
Sir, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Sir, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Sir, if you're in the virtual audience, please raise your hand.
Ready to be sworn in.
We'll see a Westchester hand raised.
the hand raised from uh 7588 fine bring them on
or madam please unmute and wait to be sworn in
hi state your name please and spell it
Hello?
Still have no idea.
R6, so I'll meet you still.
Hello?
Hi, state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter.
Joe, J-O-E, last name L-I-N, Lynn.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Lin, what's the name of your contracting company?
Lucky's Construction.
And how long has that construction company been in business?
About around 20 years.
And then did you provide a quote to Mr. Wong regarding renovation of this property at
1624 west westmoreland yes and how much was the quote for
for a single family uh dwelling would put it as a closing to 137 which is 140 okay
okay and what did that include that quote of 137 000 it was including the total labor and uh
building materials okay and that did not include the the finishing costs no no finishing calls no
hvac no sprinkler fire alarms and demolition okay and then you i don't know if you heard mr
wong's testimony he indicated that it would cost an additional sixty thousand dollars
of to finish the property does that sound fair and reasonable to you
uh right now yes and then by the time we are when we're starting to renovate the house it might be
more not than not less because uh the material price has already been uh skyrocketed so and
increasing by the day okay so the 200 000 is the basement level cost and it could go up to
to completely renovate this property yes okay um and you visited the property recently when you
and then you gave that quote
sorry uh could you repeat that you visited the property
yes and what's the condition of the property in its current state
it was uh worse than anticipated i didn't expect it to be uh i thought it was just like uh cosmetic
fixes but it seems like it's gonna have to be a full demolition okay i uh mr chair i think i'm
done with mr lynn i would ask that mr mark uh testify mr mark state your name and spell for
the court reporter, please.
Good morning. My name is Brandon Mark, B-R-A-N-D-O-N, M-A-R-K.
You swear or affirm, tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Mark, you're a licensed realtor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, right?
Correct.
Okay. And who's your broker?
Premium Realty.
Okay. And then who do you typically represent as a realtor?
Buyers, sellers, renters, investors.
So you're familiar with 1624 West Westmore?
I am, yes.
So in your professional opinion, what would be the fair market value of this property as a single family as a renter,
based on what you've heard today and the estimate you've seen?
So I did comps just today and have them in front of me.
It would be fixed up around $200,000.
Okay, so $200,000.
Correct.
But it would cost what you've heard, $200,000 just to fix it up.
What you've heard, $200,000 just to fix it up.
Correct.
Correct.
And doesn't include...
And does it include the acquisition costs that my client incurred to purchase a property?
Correct.
And are there active listings for sale of similarly situated properties close by?
Yes. So there's currently two active properties of this of the same capacity and square footage.
They're both listed at one forty one hundred forty five thousand and one hundred fifty five thousand.
Those like I said, both properties are still active and listed since April of last year and October of last year.
Gotcha. And are there any, like, did you discover any sold properties in close proximity, which are similarly situated to ours?
The only sold property comparable to the one here would be 3324 North 16th Street that sold for $65,000 back in December.
So it sounds like there's really not much of a market for single-family homes for sale in this neighborhood.
No, considering the active listings since April of last year are still active on the market today.
What about rentals? So what did you discover in terms of rentals?
So in your professional opinion, if this was a single-family home, what would be the fair rental value of this property as renovated?
For the comparables that are available, there's two active and one that was rented.
They are all listed at $1,300 to $1,400.
Gotcha.
Which is a lot less than the $2,000 that my client would have in carrying costs.
Correct.
Well, thank you so much for your time, Mr. Mark.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. Chair, I have a Ms. Lucille West with her hand raised.
I have allowed her to speak at the time.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Lucille West, L-U-C-I-L-L-E, last name W-E-S-T.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes I affirm that are you a neighbor I am two doors away from the property thank you proceed
okay first of all I'm not sure why he went back to 1958 for this property for zoning because
for over 40 years it's been a single family dwelling which there was a family with 15
children living in the property and the reason the property is for sale now this actually family
the house was burnt there was a serious fire in the property I don't know why the client would
not know that either that he's buying a property that he didn't know with such damage in it because
it's been that way since the fire also there are 15 apartments on this one block alone
and on his uh getting signing of the people on the block if you notice one of the people signed
twice on there also okay um there are only three actual single family houses on the block
and now um and especially because you're the zoning board in a four block radius with the
approvals around here there will be over 100 apartments in this four block radius from west
morland to allegheny 17th street from 17th to 16th from 16th back to west morland street also okay
um and what what we're seeing now is people are coming out of the neighborhood and buying up
these buildings around here and they're not taking care of these buildings that they are
actually purchasing and they're making money off the buildings but they're not upkeeping the
buildings not to say that this person that's buying this now would not but on this block
well we're going to we're going to concentrate on this property miss west
okay and that's why i'm stating this property is on this block which is a doorway
And that's why I'm stating this property is on this block, which is a door away from me.
And that's the history in this block, because the people, the units that are on this block now, no one that has brought all of those 15 apartments lives in any of those apartments or nor make sure those apartments are up kept.
All right. Thank you, Ms. West. We do appreciate your call and your input.
Is there anyone else in the vertical audience?
yes sir there's a hand raised from uh or they were they were hand they had a hand raised but
okay and sir there's a hand raised from 3552 okay fine sure
sir madam could you state your name and spell please for the court reporter
um yes this is adrian fernandez of the affected rco tuampudo neighborhood
possible association rco just for the record could you spell your name miss fernandez
yes um my first name is a d r i e n n e and my last name is spelled f e r n a n d e z
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Please proceed.
We did review the area, and we've done a lot of work in the area with North Central Philadelphia, CDC, over one year.
Close review because the neighbor was pretty conservative, but there's about 1,000 apartments that have been added to that close area by variance within the last 18 months.
So we, with all due respect to the fact that the council office has been correcting a lot of the zoning based on complaints by neighbors, correcting a lot of the zoning to RSA 5 in the even wider area.
um we did agree to two apartments at this uh location in swampwood on tioga the buy right
which is single family house rentals are very successful in the area so we um with a compromise
asked for two units with three provisos um that that building is smaller than um many of the
Tioga buildings and also the 17th Street area, North 17th Street area near Lehigh, between Lehigh
and Allegheny, or Huntington and Allegheny in our neighborhood, where single-family three-story
houses rent very successfully as single-family houses. The realtor who testified with and for
the owner, both are not credible because it's hard to believe that someone would spend $85,000
dollars plus rehab costs to purchase a building with no hardship and not have an inspection to