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Just Listed: Trinity Quartet in Queen Village

Looking to supplement your income? Consider this four-pack of attractive, recently renovated trinities. Looking for a place to live? Move one of your tenants out and take over their unit.


house for sale queen village trinity quartet unit living room

Doesn’t this look sharp? The owner of this four-unit trinity community at 251 Fulton St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 did an excellent job renovating the quartet three years ago. We don’t know which trinity contains this living room, but we’re certain it’s not Unit C. Read on to learn why. | Bright MLS images via Keller Williams Philly

Today, readers, you have an opportunity to school me on the intricacies of real estate investment.

That’s because this week’s featured trinity is actually a four-pack.

This Queen Village trinity quartet for sale sits in an ideal location: the Delaware riverfront, Old Swedes’ Church, Mario Lanza Park, Weccacoe Playground, South Street, Bainbridge Green and Fabric Row are all within walking distance, and nearby SEPTA bus routes can take you and your tenants to the Italian Market, East Passyunk Avenue, the big-box Valhalla of South Columbus Boulevard and places even further away.

And the four units are all very attractive, having gotten total makeovers between 2018 and 2019. What I can’t tell you is which of the pictures you see here describes which condo, save for two of them. But I can offer some educated guesses based on how the units are arranged.

house for sale queen village trinity quartet unit f front

Front elevation, Unit F

The photo above is of the street-facing unit, Unit F. The three other units are lettered A, B and C. (What happened to units D and E? Good question. Maybe they were sold to another buyer.)

Units A, B and C are accessed via the cobblestone path beyond the gate to the left of Unit F.

house for sale queen village trinity quartet unit c deck

Deck, unit C

The one other photo I can definitely place is this photo of a deck, which belongs to Unit C.

house for sale queen village trinity quartet unit c kitchen

Kitchen, unit C; living room visible through doorway

This in turn suggests that Unit C sits at the end of the row and has an extension on one side. Which would make this photo one of its kitchen and living room.

kitchen in one of the units

Kitchen in one of the other units, probably A or B

Given the lot dimensions, the other three kitchens should be in the units’ basements, as this one is.

At least two of the four units have main-floor living rooms with brick walls painted pale blue and fireplaces that once functioned but are now decorative, like the one in the photo at the top. I’m guessing that one’s in Unit F.

primary bedroom, unit A or B

Primary bedroom, unit A or B (or C)

And it’s quite likely that two of the four — Units A and B, the two in the middle — have primary bedrooms oriented like this one. Note that it has windows in front and back, which is what leads me to make this guess. (But it could be in Unit C — the room is on the wide side.)

bathroom

Bathroom

Each of the four units has two bedrooms, one bathroom and a basement. The bathrooms are quite snazzy and spacious for trinity baths, if this one is typical of the bunch.

And all four of these units are currently occupied by tenants who clearly found them as appealing as I do. Which brings me to my request for an economics lesson.

Unless I’m mistaken, a property like this one should earn its own keep. That is to say, the rents collected should cover the cost of owning and maintaining it. If the owner chooses to occupy one of the units, it probably won’t, but the owner-occupant gets the benefit of having their tenants pay most of the mortgage.

Well, if Zillow’s estimated mortgage payment is accurate, that’s what all four tenants do right now — pay most of the mortgage, not all of it. The sum total of the rents collected from the current tenants is $6,500 a month. Based on Zillow’s estimated monthly payment, that would leave you about $600 short if you bought this property.

Now, using Occam’s razor, it may well be simply that Zillow’s estimate is off. But if it isn’t, you may end up raising the rents on your tenants a bit after buying this Queen Village trinity quartet for sale. But if you plan on making one of the four units your own residence, then you probably don’t need to worry about this anyway.

THE FINE PRINT

(figures are for all four units together)

BEDS: 8

BATHS: 4

SQUARE FEET: 2,407 (individual units will vary in size but average 601.75 square feet, not including the basements)

SALE PRICE: $1,350,000

OTHER STUFF: For the record, here’s what each unit currently fetches in rent each month: Unit A, $1,600; Unit B, $1,500; Unit C, $1,800; Unit F, $1,600.

251 Fulton St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 [Marc Bennett | Keller Williams Philly]