Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

25th and Locust Streets-Entrance to the Schuylkill River Trail

Fairmont Park has a really neat addition which incorporates a link between Center City, and up Kelly Drive.  A jogging/biking/walking/roller blade trail which begins where Locust Street ends (at 25th Street) and runs past Philadelphia’s Fairmount WaterWorks along the Tidal section of the Schuylkill River, which they call Schuylkill Banks, up Kelly Drive, up to East Falls, and perhaps even beyond. From there I don’t know that section too well. But what a neat attraction for those who live in the area. Instead of jogging down the sidewalks of town, having to dodge traffic at every intersection, you now have the River trail that will allow you to see really neat stuff…like trees, grass, and people on bicycles. Cool.

I am amazed every time I drive past and see the throngs of folks out exercising, and making great use of this trail. A wonderful way to get city dwellers out into the park, and a great way to make our fair city a more useful, enjoyable, and healthy one!

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

I see these violations all the time. And it’s not like there are condo police hanging outside your doorstep to see that all the rules are followed all the time. Except in this one Old City condo building I know of …

1) Most condo doc rules state that 70% of the floor area must be covered with carpeting. I can’t tell you how many times this rule is violated. I would have to guess about 95% of the time. Could mean more noise transferring throughout the building…..

2) All Philadelphia condo doc rules state (all that I am aware of) that you cannot have a BBQ or grill on your deck. At least from the way I understand it, a BBQ that uses anything other than gas or propane to heat the food. A good strong wind could blow away hot BBQ bricketts, I think is the logic there. Violated all the time.

3) No loud or offensive noise coming from a TV, or stereo, or just loud rowdy behavior after say 10 or 11pm. Like that never happens….

4) No smoking in common area. Remember back in the 70’s or 80’s when you would get into an elevator with someone who was smoking, and it was acceptable? It’s not anymore. Or in the foyer, or the common hallways.

5) Pet Restrictions. I see weight limits being skirted all the time. I actually am in favor of this, as some pets get old, and like a few K-9’s I know, overweight. I think old dogs should be exempt from this rule, even if they are large to begin with.

So it begs the question, should you, or should you not closely police the rules and regulations of your current Philadelphia condominium documents? You decide….I would have to guess that the most annoying complaint of all the above would be the lack of quiet after a certain hour of the night. I think if I were in charge of the association, I would be crackin’ the whip on that issue.

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

I am not a tax expert, nor do I pretend to be. In fact, the issues of a 1031 exchange kinda’ confuse me. However, I have been in MANY transactions where either the buyer or the seller have participated in such an exchange. The exchange is all done via paperwork, prior to, and at the settlement table. It does seem like a nice way to basically defer taxes due on the sale of a piece of real estate. If you are looking to sell and buy another piece of real estate in Philadelphia, or elsewhere, you might want to consider what a 1031 exchange can offer. Here is a little info on the topic, garnered from www.1031.org:

In a typical transaction, the property owner is taxed on any gain realized from the sale. However, through a Section 1031 Exchange, the tax on the gain is deferred until some future date.
For more information, please visit www.1031.org, and find out if a “1031 exchange” is right for you and your Philadelphia condominium!

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that no gain or loss shall be recognized on the exchange of property held for productive use in a trade or business, or for investment. A tax-deferred exchange is a method by which a property owner trades one or more relinquished properties for one or more replacement properties of “like-kind”, while deferring the payment of federal income taxes and some state taxes on the transaction.

The theory behind Section 1031 is that when a property owner has reinvested the sale proceeds into another property, the economic gain has not been realized in a way that generates funds to pay any tax. In other words, the taxpayer’s investment is still the same, only the form has changed (e.g. vacant land exchanged for apartment building). Therefore, it would be unfair to force the taxpayer to pay tax on a “paper” gain.

The like-kind exchange under Section 1031 is tax-deferred, not tax-free. When the replacement property is ultimately sold (not as part of another exchange), the original deferred gain, plus any additional gain realized since the purchase of the replacement property, is subject to tax.

Q – What are the benefits of exchanging v. selling?

• A Section 1031 exchange is one of the few techniques available to postpone or potentially eliminate taxes due on the sale of qualifying properties.

• By deferring the tax, you have more money available to invest in another property. In effect, you receive an interest free loan from the federal government, in the amount you would have paid in taxes.

• Any gain from depreciation recapture is postponed.

• You can acquire and dispose of properties to reallocate your investment portfolio without paying tax on any gain.

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

I have been around the Philadelphia real estate market for a long time. Since 1989 to be exact. I have heard, and seen all kinds of things. And I either cringe or laugh when I hear some of the absolute bull that comes out of the mouths of some of my contemporaries.I was once told by a peer that he had the ability to either make or break a certain sale. He had the power to “make” his buyers buy what he suggested. To which I replied, “Really?”…. In all my 19 years experience I have never been able to exercise such mind control. Perhaps it was his toupee that gave him such exceptional abilities. I have never been able to get a buyer to buy something they didn’t want.

Oh, and don’t ever believe a Philadelphia realtor when they send you a mailer that states “I have buyers waiting to buy your property”. What a load of crap. Perhaps these buyers will just buy anything, sight unseen? Or perhaps it is the magic of the toupee again doing the impossible.

And how many realtors claim they are #1??

“# 1 realtor in Philadelphia”

“#1 in Listings and sales”

“#1 in Volume”

“#1 in transactions closed”

How about: # 1 in Sales this side of the planet Pluto? Or, # 1 in the Universe? Or, # 1 in the galaxy. Please.  Again, I believe it is all crap.  ONE realtor is # 1 in our town, has been for a long time, and I will take a billboard out on I-95 to let you know when that changes.

I personally never claim to be much of anything, except I do boast a bit about being an expert here in the Center City condominium market (selling approx. 140-160 condos per year here in town).  Though I once tried to get my company to print up my new business cards that said “Member – Jillion Dollar Club”. I thought it would be pretty funny. I guess they didn’t see it that way.  Perhaps being a Jillion dollar seller is just more “out there” than being the # 1 realtor in the Galaxy….

And just in case – I am neither the # 1 realtor in the galaxy, nor am I am member of the Jillion dollar club.  So if you are looking for a realtor who knows a bit about Center City Philadelphia but isn’t #1 of anything, then give me a call at 215.521.1523 or send me and email at Mark@CenterCity.com.  You may just get a prize for being my jillionth client….just kidding!  

Mark Wade

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

Beautiful….calm….serene…..and the phone rings.  Oh, boy, you left your slippers in the bathroom and the walk across the hardwood flooring to the kitchen will be pretty chilly on your toes!

Well, maybe not!  There is a great new ENERGY STAR qualified way to actually warm your floors.  

The heating system is pre-built like an electric blanket.  It heats evenly and is only 1/8 inch thick so it won’t dramatically raise the flooring in your condo.  It’s easy to install and safe too!  It must be installed with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI), which is built in, of course.  It was tested and approved for use in North American Homes by the Underwriter’s Laboratory.

The 7-day programmable thermostat will also keep operating costs down, not that Nuheat uses much energy to begin with.  Warming a 30 square foot room in your condominium at full power (80-90 degrees) will only use the same amount of electricity as turning on three 100 watt light bulbs in that room.  But with the programmable thermostat you can set it up so that the stone floors will warm in the kitchen while you are preparing dinner and your tile bathroom floor will warm while you are taking a shower and then the hardwood floors in the bedroom will warm for when you step out of bed on a chilly morning.  Once Nuheat is installed in your condo, you can throw your slippers to the dogs! 

If you are interested in taking a look at some lofts or condos here in Center City Philadelphia where you can install Nuheat, give Mark Wade a call at 215-521-1523 or send him an email at Mark@CenterCity.com

Nicole Noguer
Office Assistant to Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®