Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

I now know firsthand…

We just sold our summer vacation house of 2200 sq ft and bought a really nice 458 sq ft condo up on Cape Cod….and in all honesty- we have never been happier.

The benefits?

Easier to clean
One Level living
Financially- It is a no brainer
I honestly feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief…hard to explain.

When you get to an age where you are looking to downsize to a Philly loft or condo, I am here to tell you that less really is more. More peace of mind…and more to smile about. I feel I shed about 700,000 pounds of fat- and I am feeling free as a bird. Size isn’t everything- especially when you know how to use it. We want for nothing, and aren’t looking back…

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

Here is What I think:

Two bedroom, one bath new condos about 850 square feet in a reasonably sound neighborhood for $300k-$325k.

Closet space would need to be well organized, parking optional, washer/dryers in each unit, with some sense of security – be it a virtual doorman or a  security cameras/ systems.

Add minimal private outside space per unit, and I believe these units would sell like hot cakes in today’s Center City Condo market.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

Don’t believe everything you read, or every comparable you see.  NOT all Philadelphia condo space is created equal, and not all two bedrooms in the same building are of the same value.  Duh.

There are soooo many factors that infuence value-

HOW DO YOU THEN CORRECTLY COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES?

Here are some Tips:

1) Ask to see EVERY sale in the building in the past 2 years. Ask for the public records and MLS records.

2) Find a map of the building, and see which units face “The Park”, and which overlook the
DUMPSTERS – Positioning within a condo building plays a role in value!

3) Inquire as to seller concessions that may have result in a higher recorded sales price for comps in newer buildings. And ask “did that unit include any extras like free parking?”
Cuz if it did, it is going to distort the comps.

4) Floor height value- may or may not play a part in comps/ comp value. Newer condos are GREATLY based upon floor height.

5) Know that ALL pictures in the MLS look good- they don’t show dirt, clutter, or a poor showing ability (generally speaking). And know that “Fact Sheets” and MLS sheets are like Resumes- full of bullsh** and dog doo. Never take that info for granted- you must confirm!

6) AND THE BIGGEST factor to warp comps – Interior condition. Hugely huge in comp valuation.

Here is a good example of “Not All Space Being Created Equally”…Equally sized two bed units at the Plaza can vary in price from $400k- $700k. Condition, and view have huge impacts on value and pricing.

So clearly comps can be deceiving – if you don’t know…ask me. Please.

Mark Wade
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox and Roach Realtors
www.CenterCityCondos.com
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

The Old Piano Factory – Located on the corner of 2nd and Queen Streets in Queen Village. Super groovy soft loft living with garage parking. Fabulous building.

2009 Spruce St. – Double Wide Brownstone that is the epitome of luxury low rise Philly condo living. Killer location.

Kahn Park Place– Perennial fav…parking, some of the best roof decks in town, and central locale. You’ve driven past 1119 Pine a million times, if you have done so once.

700 S. 10th St – Remember Tom Hanks’ condo in the movie “Philadelphia”? Stunning views, big windows, parking!

The Palladian– 2138 Lombard St. One of the first low rise luxury conversions in town. Rarely available, parking.

Mark Wade
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox and Roach Realtors
www.CenterCityCondos.com
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

Do you really know what you are going to get? I am going to suggest you don’t.

When the spate of new high rise buildings hit the drawing boards over the past
decade, many buyers purchased their Center City condo based upon renderings, little floorplans, and a whole lot of marketing materials which surely guaranteed a buyers happiness IF they bought in that particular development.  All ad campaigns showed smiling, happy, good looking folks who would one day reside in the building you were considering.

But what about the Quality of the Finishes?  Many questions remained unanswered until the finished project was done, and buyers could then see what they were getting. And some projects of course, looked better on paper than they perhaps do in real life.  So many factors don’t show up on renderings, like:

-Width of the Common Hallway
-Common area ambiance – Scale, decor, and ceiling height
-The feel of the interior condo elements- like light, view, and again, scale
-Amenities- Size of gym, parking access or lack thereof, and staffing budget
-Quality of interior finishes- Hollow core doors? Doorknobs? Countertop thickness, quality or lack thereof in terms of carpeting, noise transference between units, etc.

And I am just scratching the surface here. The point is, if you are buying new construction, you should ask a lot of questions. And get the answers in writing if you can. Because some new construction Philadelphia condo buyers turn out to be big winners, and others- well, not so much.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

If you found a Philadelphia condo, and made an offer and the seller signed the offer on say, January 1st, here is a rough time line of what to expect:

By January 5th – Have mortgage application taken.
By January 15th – Set up and have Home Inspection.
By January 16th – 2nd deposit due.
Sometime mid to late January- You get condo docs and have 5 days to review.
Throughout January and February- Be tortured by your mortgage company.
Through January and February- I order title insurance, city certificates, etc etc.
One week prior to settlement- You order a homeowners’ insurance policy  for your unit.
One day prior to settlement- We do our final Walk-Through
Day of Settlement- Take This day off work. Please. Settlement will take an hour or two.
Post Settlement- Sing and dance in the middle of the street, and drink to celebrate your accomplishment!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

I get a lot of email from folks who used to live in town…here is what you may not know about Center City if you haven’t been to town in 20 years:

1. Spruce and Pine Streets are now one lane- the other lane is a bike lane.

2. There is a new tax called the “Center City District Tax”…kinda’ nominal, but adds street cleaners and supervisors on many of the residential streets.

3. Northern Liberties is RED HOT- You MUST see to believe (compared to the 1980’s).

4. Graduate Hospital is now apartments- The hospital closed.

5. We have a new “South Street Bridge” and it is fabulous.

6. Broad St Just South of City Hall is Hoppin’…with residential and tons of restaurants.

7. The Bellevue Stratford is now The Hyatt at the Bellevue- and is stunning.

8. Delaware Ave. is now Columbus Blvd- and nicely manicured.

9. The old Naval Home on Grays Ferry is now a Toll Brothers development.

10. Most Parking meters are gone- replaced by Kiosks- and the parking authority is still very well run- If our city was run as well, the streets would be lined in gold.

If you are looking to come back to check out the City, drop me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com…I would love to show you some of the great new Philadelphia Lofts and Condos available too!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila, PA 19106

I am often asked about short terms Rentals here in Center City.
Many buyers are in need of such housing…either they have sold a property and are waiting to settle on their new Center City condo, or perhaps they are just in a state of flux, deciding on where they are going to end up.

Either way, I think if you find yourself “homeless”, you may want to check out www.StayAKA.com. Located on the northeast corner of 18th and Walnut on Rittenhouse Sq- they can accommodate you for a day, a week, a month, or longer. From studios to large two bedroom units…Take A look!

Mortgages play very crucial role in the economy. The importance of the mortgage industry was realized during the last economic crisis that the country had faced. Rising number of mortgage loans default cases were reported and housing prices plunged to very low levels. This led to the crash in the real estate market in the economy. The negative effects of the crash in the real estate market were percolated to the other sectors of the economy soon. Eventually, the country, as a whole, went into recession. Anyways, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the mortgage lenders have become more cautious and they are keeping in more stringent eligibility criteria for obtaining a home mortgage loan. In other words, they are checking the credit worthiness of the borrowers like never before.

Anyway, before taking out a mortgage loan, you must conduct a thorough research about different mortgage loans and rates available at the market place. After examining the different mortgage loans, you will be able to find the most suitable mortgage loan. In other words, the home mortgage loan that you have taken out, must be very affordable to you. In order to find out your affordability, you can also take the help of a mortgage calculator. A mortgage calculator calculates your affordable mortgage payment amount. Anyways, if you face difficulty in repaying your original mortgage loan, you can opt for home mortgage refinancing too.

A mortgage refinance replaces the original mortgage loan with a new one which is affordable to you. In other words, the aim of mortgage refinancing is to help the borrowers pay off their mortgage loans. This can be done through by lowering down the monthly mortgage payment amount or by raising the term of a mortgage. If you want to pay off your mortgage loan earlier before the scheduled time, then also you can opt for mortgage refinancing. Mortgage refinancing can lower down the term of the mortgage loan but at the cost of increased monthly mortgage payment.

Again, if you want to switch to the safety of a fixed rat mortgage from that of an adjustable rate mortgage, then also, you can opt for mortgage refinancing.

1) You see that the condo is vacant, and the front desk tells you they moved
over a year ago.

2) You Google the sellers, and You see that they own multiple properties,
and all of them are for sale.

3) You search the history (in the MLS) of that listing, and see the seller is on
their third listing agent.

4) You walk into the condo, it is vacant, the appliances are gone, and it looks
like the seller left in the middle of the night.

5) You read some unique language in the MLS listing about “seller makes no
warranties”, or “ corporate addendum must accompany…” usually means
corporate owned- aka REO.

These are all possible signs that the condo is ripe for an insulting offer.

Good Luck!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox and Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106