Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

….fairly painlessly

Remember- If your Philadelphia condo association isn’t being run like a business (which in essence, it is) then someone isn’t doing

their job. Capiche?

I always find it interesting when developers or REALTORS advertise a spring 2013 delivery for Center City condos and the project has yet to break ground. I’m thinking, it’s summer 2013 and your project isn’t even started!

Or, how about those large signs in the ground announcing a new development that got axed nine months ago? Look around town, you can see a few.

I don’t know why delivery dates for new construction Philadelphia condos are so wrong sometimes but I do have my theories.

Perhaps these developers are unaware of what it takes to get Philadelphia condos approved and built. Maybe its a bit of wishful thinking on the part of the REALTOR: will and early delivery date increase the traffic through their site?

More likely, it’s a bit of both.

Any buyer looking at pre-construction projects should be told of the inherent delays in new construction. Buyers must be aware of the countless pieces of the puzzle that need to fit into place in order for a project to come together. And they must be told the truth- that often, developers have zero control of the puzzle pieces. (Think city and state permit requirements for example.)

I think it would be difficult in most cases to adequately predict, some nine months in advance, an exact settlement date for your new condo. To me, promising a delivery date that clearly isn’t within range is a mistake. REALTORS and developers of new Philadelphia condos lose credibility when they do this.

I started thinking about all this remembering a mistake I made. (I know, I know. I, of all people should know better!) When I was moving I actually messed up my calculations on a new construction piece. I ended up in corporate housing for six months. (You can imagine what a pain in the ass that was. Two extra moves…)

If you’re considering Philadelphia condos in a new construction project, be wary of the advertised delivery date. Allow for some grace time with your lease. Don’t make completely firm plans with your moving company. You’ll avoid a lot of headaches brought on by unforeseen construction delays.

Stop trying to comprehend today’s complex real estate market all alone. Give me a call today at 215-521-1523 or drop me an email at mark@centercity.com. Together, we’ll find your perfect Center City Condo or sell your Philadelphia condo… and ave fun doing it!

I get the shivers when I think of people investing in new Philadelphia Condos that are still on the drawing board. Do these people have some kind of condominium ESP I lack?

After almost 3 decades selling Center City condos, I know one thing is for sure: there’s a big disparity between finished condo projects and the drawings that started them.

Let’s take a couple of Philadelphia condo projects as an example. Any two projects… line them up side by side in terms of resale ability, quality of finishes, the overall fit, the light views, etc.

In both instances, buyers are asked to plunk down money, site unseen. It’s quite a gamble, isn’t it? Doesn’t it just make sense that there will be winners and losers? Some people will get the Philadelphia condos of their dreams; other people will get a nightmare.

You also have to ask yourself about the resale factor. Some Philadelphia condos simply do not resell well. Other Center City condos are at the opposite end of the spectrum- buyers are reselling for a good deal more than they originally paid a few years ago and have little trouble doing it.

So do we really know what we are getting into when we buy Philadelphia real estate that is not yet built? Unless you have condominium ESP, you can never know for sure. But, it does help to know a bit (or a lot) about condos and Philadelphia and buyers in general. That’s the best way I know of to determine whether un-built Philadelphia condos will ultimately be successful. Learn more about Center City planning for growth.

Ready to stop relying on condominium ESP? With my years of experience representing buyers and sellers of Philadelphia and Center City condos, I can guide you through today’s real estate maze and help you come out a winner! Give me a call today at 215-521-1523 or drop me and email at mark@centercity.com

I like programs on TV about real estate. I think the shows are timely, relevant, and interesting. A nice combination of education and entertainment centered around a topic everyone likes to talk about- Real Estate buying and selling.

Here are some ideas I have for TV programs that I would like to watch, because as a Philadelphia REALTOR, I encounter a plethora of situations I believe are worthy of their own TV segments:

Buy a Home From Me… or Get out of My Car- A show where buyers who really are not interested in buying, but just want a guided tour to see some cool homes, are called on the carpet.

Lazy, Stupid REALTORS- A show featuring some of the lazy stupid things REALTORS do… Like advertising open houses, and then not bothering to show up for it.

Buyers- What Are You, Nuts? – A show where buyers grossly overpay for a home simply because they like the way the home shows and/or because of the cleanliness of the interior.

Sellers- What Are You, Nuts? – A show where sellers want to sell their homes for more than any other house in their ZIP code because they “KNOW” their home is the nicest in the entire area.

Yes, You Have to Pay Condo Fees – A show that captures the quizzical looks of buyers when they learn that the Center City condo front doorman doesn’t work for free. Or, that the elevators do run on electricity, which results in a common bill for ALL condo owners.

You Want to Buy WHAT?? – A show that features buyers who purchase the polar opposite of what they tell their REALTOR they’re looking for.

Any Closet is a Walk-In Closet if You Try Hard Enough – A show featuring the silly things that come out of REALTORS mouths when trying too hard to make a sale.

Fighting Spouses – She wants a Philadelphia condominium; he wants a Center City loft. The differences play out before the cameras! Or, she wants to buy, he doesn’t.

Parents Say the Darnest Things – So eager for their kids to move OUT of the house, parents find a positive side to the worst possible properties on the market!

Let me help you make sure your Center City real estate transaction doesn’t become the next hit reality show. Give me a call today at 215-521-1523 or drop me an email at mark@centercity.com

I love that line. Could you imagine someone throwing that at you to try to overcome or capitalize on a possible downside to a home?

I remember back in the early 1990’s, a listing agent told “Suzy” the REALTOR and Suzy’s buyer that “this” home was historically certified. As the deal progressed, the buyers could find no substantiating evidence to support such a claim. The listing agent, when cornered, uttered, “No dear, I said historically certifiable”.

But that leads to a valid question, especially here in the historic city of Philadelphia. Does the reputation, or historic significance, of a home play into the value of the home… be it a Philadelphia condominium, loft, or townhouse? And conversely, does a less than desirable reputation of a certain home have the ability to suppress the resale value of that home?

I say yes to both.

Pretend a major double murder-suicide kind of something went down in a home, especially in the not too distant past. Such an event might make a buyer hesitate to become interested in a home, which could draw out the length of time a home sits on the market, and make that home riper for a lower sales price.

On the other hand, the fact that Ben Franklin used to make booty calls to your home is no occasion to memorialize such an event with a plaque on the front of your home.

Having, say, “Hail Columbia” composed in your living room might make for an interesting compliment to your resale value. I know of more than one example of premiums being paid for Philadelphia condominiums and town homes where significant history was made at that particular address.

In a town that brought you the likes of Thomas Paine, Dolly Madison, and Betsey Ross, history does sell and has a tendency to sell well; assuming, of course, that such history can be documented and is more than a wild rumor. Less concrete claims, like ghosts and “George Washington once left his wooden teeth in this house” are less likely to garner price adjustment to a historic Philadelphia home.

Interested in buying or selling your own historic (or non-historic) Philadelphia condo? Give me a call today at 215-521-1523 or drop me an email at mark@centercity.com. (Ghost and wooden teeth not guaranteed.)

I am a REALTOR in downtown Philadelphia. I specialize in selling Center City condos and have for the past 23 years of my career.

Condominium buildings, like cars, teeth, and gardens, require ongoing maintenance and care. In an effort to cut your personal costs, try not buying toothpaste or floss for a year, and see where that gets ya’. In the long run, its probably going to cost you more than if you bought (and used, of course) toothpaste, floss, and mouth rinse. One dental bill can blow those costs out of the water. The same analogy can be said about Philadelphia condo buildings.

I’m always amazed when I go onto a listing appointment and the owner tries to sell me on the fact that the condo fees in his building are super low, as compared to similar condo buildings in downtown Philadelphia. Perhaps Me. Seller things I am new to this planet. It’s been my experience that somewhat abnormally low condo fees for a particular building can actually result in a lower resale price for those Philadelphia condos.

Let’s say a condo association decides its going to keep fees minimal because the owners got together and decided NOT to raise fees yearly. Bad move, I say! Interior and exterior maintenance projects are going to be lacking, most likely, as will routine projects like cleaning exterior windows, hall carpeting replacement, etc.

I think a HUGE portion of a buyer’s perception of a particular Center City condo is formed in his or her brain PRIOR to him or her entering that specific condo. If the common hallways are dirty, the exterior weak in terms of curb appeal, etc., it is not going to reflect well on any unit within that Philadelphia condominium building.

Such glaring deficiencies in the showing ability of the building as a whole should not be underestimated by any condo association. Certainly the prospective buyer walking in the front door for the first time is going to see those deficiencies…

…shouldn’t I “call ’em as I see ’em”?
 
Shouldn’t your Philadelphia Realtor have the B*lls to give his honest opinion on condos you are seeing? If a particular condo association has no money in the “Kitty”, and the building is clearly in need of maintenance- from hallways to elevators, I think I would not be doing my job if I didn’t point out (what I believe to be) the obvious.
 
Some condos in town really are pieces of crap. From condo associations’ finances, to building construction, to owner-occupancy ratios, to staff, future saleability, to perhaps better, easily identified comparable condos in Philadelphia.
 
My Point- If you are my customer, and you give me the green light, I am going to tell you what I believe are each condo’s strengths and weaknesses. And I will try to keep the snarky comments to myself- but no promises :-).

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

A buyer of mine sent me this link, www.RayDoor.com, and I think it is really groovy! And a great idea for many Old City condo lofts which have exceedingly large living rooms. By adding another bedroom area, and still keeping the light coming into your living room, you could quickly and easily add value.

And the look is very hip and perfectly positioned for some of the neat Old City condos that Center City has available! See more at www.RayDoor.com.

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

We hear all kinds of national news stories about the country’s current real estate market. Below is a simple breakdown of the number of showings that have taken place at Prudential Fox and Roach’s Center City Philadelphia Listings over the past 9 months. The figures are broken down by price ranges. There does not appear to be a lack of folks looking to buy and as usual, very early spring seems to produce the most Center City Condo buyers with traffic slowing mid-summer as many people leave for vacations.   

Leave a comment, or shoot me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com. I’d live to hear your thoughts on this “inside” Center City Real Estate report. Spring Market 2011 is just around the corner!

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