Ten years ago, these younger Center City folks with growing families would have a child or two, and BOOM- they were destined for the ‘burbs. Not always the case any longer as Center City Condos become more “Kid Friendly” and popular with the younger family set. These buyers tend to already live in town, and simply move into larger quarters, while remaining inside the downtown area.
2) The Out -of -Towners
Becoming much more common than most current Center City owners are aware. These buyers are looking for an urban weekend place. Generally empty nester folks who have done the beach and the burbs, and are now excited about buying their second or third home in Center City. Space is usually not a huge issue for many of these buyers, but walk-ability ranks very high on their list of priorities. I also find that many gravitate towards less than “full service” buildings as they look to avoid full service condo fees. And usually (I am generalizing here) will swing more towards hip and groovy interiors.
Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox And Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106
From Philly.com: “An upscale W Hotel is scheduled to break ground next year on a half-acre site that was originally planned for a $420 million Waldorf-Astoria Hotel with luxury condominiums before the lending markets collapsed four years ago.
The new hotel would sit on what is now a surface parking lot at 1441 Chestnut St, just behind the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and its condo tower, according to a representative of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., which owns the W brand.” [Read More…]
Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors
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
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.
When you’re trying to make your space more alluring to potential buyers, it’s all about presentation.
Most people know that. Before a showing, they make sure the place is picked up, cart out extraneous furniture and, take out the trash. But what about the lighting?
Lighting is the one thing that can give your condo a warm, inviting atmosphere. Follow the tips below, and you’ll have buyers making offers:
-Use the sun to your advantage. Natural light is an incredibly attractive feature, so use what you’ve got. Trim any outdoor plants that are blocking that sun from streaming in, take down bulky window treatments, and move furniture away from the windows.
-Layers are key. The basics of lighting design involve incorporating at least three “layers” of light in each room. One layer is general lighting – you get that with ceiling fixtures. One is task lighting – that includes your floor/desk lamps and any focused lights such as under cabinet fixtures or desk lamps. One is accent lighting – that’s what will really highlight your decor and bring in the majestic feel. One of the most popular forms of accent lighting is indirect cove lighting via LED light strips installed in a recessed portion of the ceiling.
-Be critical. When you’re selling a condo (this especially applies if you’ve lived in it for years), you have to put yourself in a stranger’s shoes. If you were seeing the place for the first time, what would you think of the light fixtures? It’s easy to accumulate outdated light fixtures and forget to judge them with a discerning eye. Replace any tacky light fixtures with a more contemporary style.
-Go green. Sustainability is such a selling point for potential buyers. They want to hear they won’t get slapped with a huge power bill after move-in. They don’t want to go to the trouble of replacing inefficient light bulbs you installed. If possible, replace light bulbs with low-energy models. You can add it on to the list of benefits you tout to the buyer.
Emily Widle
E-Commerce Marketing Specialist
Pegasus Lighting
P 724.846.5137 x 102
F 724.846.8833
www.PegasusLighting.com
“Unique Lighting Products for Your Special Needs”
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
