7/1/2005
Realty speculators seek profits in Phila.
Earni Young
Philadelphia Daily News

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Unimpressed by Baltimore

Shortly after 10 a.m., the NYC Cash Flow bus stops at 2nd and Spring Garden to pick up Andrew Davenport from the city's Office of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation. Davenport is the first of three speakers that club leader Steve Greene lined up for the day.

The charter bus moves slowly through Northern Liberties, then up North 4th Street through lower North Philly. All the while, Davenport talks about the impact of city-supported community revitalization projects such as La Pradera, Ludlow and Cambridge and Richard Allen Homes.

Sharon Laing, the Chicago investor, asks about financial assistance for multifamily housing for low-income renters and the elderly.

Laing, who is African-American, says she is looking to make money by doing the right thing.

"I can go anywhere and make money, but I'd like to reinvest in the community," she says.

It is Laing's second tour with NYC Cash Flow. She had taken an earlier trip with the group to Baltimore, but was not impressed by what she saw in the Maryland city.

"I like Philly better," Laing says, still a bit bleary-eyed from the 12-hour drive from Chicago to New York the previous day. "It was well worth my money."

When she's not moonlighting as a real-estate investor, Laing works full-time as a project manager for an international telecommunications company.

Greene says the 40 day-trippers included real-estate agents, mortgage brokers, investors who already own one or more properties, and newbies looking to get into the game.

Greene says the investment club has about 2,000 members. "We're not selling property. We're an educational group where people can find partners and put money together to invest,"Greene says.

He says the club started gathering information on Philadelphia early last year, and organized its first bus tour three months ago. The day trip costs $117 for members and $175 for nonmembers, and includes a box-lunch and snacks on the bus.

Featured speakers on past tours included Kevin Hanna, the city's secretary of housing and neighborhood preservation; Philadelphia Housing Authority Director Carl Greene; several local developers; real-estate agents and brokers.

All of the speakers appear free of charge, Steve Greene says.

Local Realtor Sharonn Thomas, of C. Percy White & Associates, also hopped aboard the bus at the Spring Garden stop. Thomas has worked with members of NYC Cash Flow for the past year. On this day, the tour will stop at two rowhouses her firm has listed in West Philly.

"These people are serious about buying," Thomas says. "They come down by train or bus, and we pick them up and tow them around. We're averaging maybe 10 to 15 agreements of sale a week with them."

The investor business is so good that broker C. Percy White has hired a certified property manager to provide one-stop-shopping for clients who are coming here from all over the United States and even Europe.

'A lot of opportunities'

These Donald Trump wannabes come in all colors, ages and income levels, White says. ... continue to page 3