Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

If you are doing work around your Philadelphia home, why not donate your Used items to Impact Services of Philadelphia?

Here is why you should:

1) They will take used appliances, faucets, cabinetry, doors, sinks- even furniture -THEY TAKE THEM AWAY FOR FREE!

2) You are helping the community, as the donations you make will be sold quite inexpensively to those in need

3) You get a tax deduction

4) Did I mention that they will come into your Philadelphia condo or home and remove said fixtures?

So let’s review. You save money from not having to dispose of a variety of items, free removal, tax deduction, and you are helping the city.

A few rules:

-All appliances must be in good working order, and a maximum of 10 years old

-All other fixtures must be in good working order/good condition

-They do not take mattresses

You can call Impact Services at 215.423.3613 Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm. Their schedule is done on Mondays for the week. So schedule your pick up accordingly. And know that the staff is always very friendly!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

I have been selling real estate in Philly for 22 years. I like to say I have “Seen It All”.

In this market, it is sometimes hard to believe it when a condo you LOVE comes on the market, and quickly sells out from under you. You know, you prepare for a 2nd visit, you get your ducks in a row, and the day prior to your 2nd visit – the property sells.
  
Yes, even in Mid-November 2010, properties do sell – if they show well, and are priced fairly. It happened to me twice this month…I lost two deals by either being out-bid, or by not getting my buyers to act fast enough to make an offer on a Philly Condo they loved. If you love a property, believe me – I am going to tell the listing agent, and signal that IF he or she gets an offer, please call and let me know. Most Philly Realtors, who work in the best interest of their sellers, will call.

SOME (PERHAPS) SHADY REALTORS JUST IGNORE THE REQUEST AND CLOSE THE FIRST DEAL…POSSIBLY THEIR OWN.

The point is….if you love, love, love it….then buy, buy, buy it. Quickly. The market waits for no one….

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

There are clearly a number of condos for sale in Philadelphia. Duh. But what about the unmentioned “Shadow Inventory” that might be creeping up on us all? Shadow inventory, in my mind, are the condos that are part of some non-performing new developments here in town. There are a number of buildings with a hefty amount of inventory that has been sitting for quite a while, and is not selling. And the bulk of it is high rise condominiums – in generally what most buyers term as “B” locations.

IF A BUILDING HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO SELL 70% OF ITS UNITS IN SAY 3 YEARS- THE PRICES ON THOSE AVAILABLE UNITS AREN’T GOING TO RISE ANYTIME SOON.

Prices  have a tendency to come down in such situations. Sometimes a new buyer will come in and buy the inventory in bulk, sometimes a condo auction will reset the pricing structure, and sometimes the buildings become glorified rental buildings- which simply postpones the inevitable price restructuring in the building (Delay and Pray).

Will Center City’s Shadow Inventory Come back to Haunt the Pricing Structure for Condos in this Segment? Will Philadelphia Condo Buildings that are viewed as substitutes for this shadow inventory suffer as well?

Stay Tuned..I’ll tell you what I think.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

Lifted from an article I read on Philly.com and CenterCityPhila.org:

– A little less than half the working people who live in Center City have jobs there. One-quarter commute out to the suburbs. Most of the rest work elsewhere in Philadelphia – except around wealthy Rittenhouse Square, where nearly one-fifth of the population works in New York or some other “Out of Area” location.

– Around one in three Center City workers walk to their job. Almost as many “reverse commute” by car. About a quarter take Septa or Patco. 6% work at home; 5% bike.

– Philadelphia “is weathering the recession much better than other places,” at least partly because we didn’t inflate so much:

Philadelphia ranks with energy-rich Dallas and Denver as places where home prices are off less than 10% since the market peaked three years ago.

Know any fun facts about living in Center City Philadelphia you want to share/comment on? Let me know!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

….Yeah, that Link would be in the middle of this article. I think having a building FHA approved is a huge help to buyers who are eyeing your building/thinking about a purchase. It makes a Philly condo building open to more options in terms of buyers financing a purchase within the building. All Good.

In the old days, FHA could approve the buildings on the spot with a quick check of some facts about the composition of the building and the condo association. No longer. A full FHA approval process must be put in place in order for an FHA loan to be used to purchase inside a particular condo building.  Here is the Link- Just add the zip code of the building in question and a list of FHA approved buildings in that Zip Code will magically appear:

https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condo1.cfm

Wanna’ know more about FHA purchases here in Center City Philly?  Drop me an email… mark@centercity.com  or call me… 267.237.3404.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

WE ARE OFFERING FREE BUYER REPRESENTATION….EMAIL US FOR DETAILS Mark@CenterCity.com

1) WATERFRONT SQUARE:
Located at 901 N. Penn St. is the complex known as WaterFront Square.Thirty-five condos will be auctioned, including four one-bedroom/1.5 bath units; 16 one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bath units; five “junior” two-bedroom, two-bath units; and 10 two-bedroom-plus-den, two-bath units. The minimum bid prices will range from $195,000 to $415,000.
The auction will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, 201 S. Columbus Blvd.

Waterfront Square is a gated community on 10 acres. It boasts the largest green roof in Philadelphia – grass covering the parking garage – and has round-the-clock security, a clubhouse, fitness center and spa, swimming pool, and 24-hour concierge in each tower building. A tax abatement is in place for all units, and ALL units include One Parking Spot!
This minimum bid auction has prices starting at 60% off previous List Prices! I really like this development…some lucky buyers are going to get a lot for their money here. We have sold a number of units, and believe that although not all units are created equal, the deals are going to be strong!

2) THE WINNE BUILDING
Located in the Old City section of Center City Philadelphia at  38-44 N. FRONT ST. the Winne is a lovely old warehouse condo development with some really strong interior features. Set for the Fall of 2010- Date to be determined -12 units at the Winne Building will be auctioned -studio, one and two bedroom units. This building is a low-rise elevator building that was fully rehabbed in 2008. Existing tax abatement to units being auctioned. Beautiful Original Random Width Pine floors in most units, exposed brick, high end bathrooms and new stainless and granite kitchen. Lovely common areas with really neat lobby.  All new mechanical systems including electric, Heat, Central Air, and appliances. LAST listed prices on these units from $259,000 – $449,000 – Expect Lower Prices!

Judging from our earlier success at the Murano auction and Phoenix auction, we expect some fairly good deals to come about when the auction is held. Please know that we have sold a dozen units in this building in the past. All auctioned units have yet to sell, and most have been rented out for the past year, to year and a half.

Interested? Send us an email at Mark@CenterCity.com or call us at 215.521.1523 and we will set an appointment with you to walk through the building when permissible. 

Mark Wade 215.521.1523
Mark@CenterCity.com
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

I recently sold an Old City condo to a physician. Great guy who knew what he wanted, and finding him the right condo was not an issue. We had fun, and he found something he really loved. And let me tell you- this condo rocked. All Good!

However, he wanted to do some Cock-a-mamie type of loan that I was sure would fall flat and go nowhere. Oh yes, my big-brain was sure this deal was going to suck.

However, I was proven wrong, and the deal actually was quite smooth. He applied for what is known as a Physician Loan, and was able to get a JUMBO mortgage (one over $500,000) with just 5% down- you heard me 🙂

Here are the basics that were offered by John P. Wagner, Sr. Loan Consultant from Tower Mortgage Corporation – 1.800.918.5400 – and he was great by the way.

He can offer zero down to Physicians with no PMI –
FYI, zero down to $500K, 5% down $500-650K, 10% down $650-850K, 15% down to $1M

The theory is that since they went to school for sooo long, and have a very LOW default rate, there are lenders that will bank on them with little down.

So if you are a doctor, give me a call, and lets find you the perfect Philadelphia Condo with little down!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

In the current real estate climate, getting a buyer and seller to agree on a price is tough enough. But that isn’t the toughest part of real estate today. I find that the most difficult aspect of my job as a Center City Real Estate agent is getting the deal done in terms of jumping through the hoops set forth by the mortgage company.

First the appraisal, which is becoming difficult, as I see very few lenders willing to be anything close to generous with the numbers they conclude to be the value of any given condo. I am not going to argue who is right and who is wrong here- suffice to say that hitting the needed number to make the appraisal work is more difficult than in the “Good Ole’ days”…..
Next, the condo has to fit the mold that the mortgage companies seem to favor- and just to list a few of those attributes:

1) Does the condo have enough owner-occupants as opposed to tenants?
2) Does the original developer hold more than, say 10% of the unsold unit?
3) Is there a reserve fund set up to put some money aside within the budget of the condo assn?
4) Has the association been turned over to the owners, and for a minimum of two years?

These are just a few of the hoops that not only YOU, but the condo you are buying MUST jump through in order to be approved for a mortgage. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Looking for help in determining your best strategy for obtaining financing for a Philadelphia condo you may find in the Center City condo market? Lets chat about some of the pitfalls and hoops!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

…very common here in Center City!

I have seen a number of Center City Penthouse condos, and the one thing many have in common beyond a fantastic view is the visual presence of fairly large crack in the walls and the ceilings. From The Condos at Society Hill Towers, to new construction pieces like WaterFront Square, the issue is more prevalent than one might think.
   
To an inexperienced observer, some of these cracks, if left unattended can look downright scary. Measuring up to an inch wide and running from ceiling onto an adjoining wall, it does beg the question “Why shouldn’t I be worried about such an issue”? Although these cracks in the drywall and perhaps plaster may look frightening, they do make sense as many tall high rise condominium buildings here in Center City are subject to high winds, and of course higher winds prevail at higher heights. And buildings do shift and bend a bit- plaster and drywall are rigid and fixed- and they only thing plaster and drywall can do when exposed to movement is to crack.
   
If you have concerns, you should certainly ask your home inspector for his two cents. Just know that the issue is widespread amongst high rise condos in Philadelphia and throughout the planet.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

Are these the coolest, or what? Very 1967-ish….Martini in one hand, and another Martini in the other hand.

What could be cooler? Find out more on these smoke detectors at www.ArchitecturalDevices.com.  Just something I found, that I thought was cool. I would just love to see something like this start popping up in great Center City Condo buildings like The Hopkinson House or The Phoenix!

Want to chat about what other groovy things I have found or seen over the years of condo shopping here in Center City Philadelphia?  Email me Mark@CenterCity.com

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106