Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Or perhaps I should ask, what is the assessed value, in the eyes of the City? Do these differ from a valuation or BPO (Broker’s Price Opinion)? How would a buyer know how to sort out the difference, or do these numbers really even matter?

(Your New Condo as Seen by You!)

When you buy your Philly condo, and place a mortgage upon the property, the bank is going to send out an appraiser to assess the value of the Rittenhouse Square condo, or the Old City loft you have just put “under agreement”.  I have always believed that an appraisal is a yes or no question….can an appraised value meet the sales price? If you answer is yes (which it does 99.9% of the time, then the property is appraised at sale price. I don’t think any bank expects more of an in-depth analysis of the value, beyond the “does it meet sale price?” value. An appraisal is a not really, in my opinion, a valuation. A valuation is a determination of value. What will the property sell for on the open market? After all, the true measure of a properties worth, is defined by what someone is willing to pay for it.

(Your New Condo as Seen by Your Appraiser!)

Assessed value, a number the city pulls out of a hat, is used to determine your property taxes. I actually don’t know if the city uses the old hat method of calculating tax bills, but the incongruence I see in the tax rates on real property certainly do lend some credibility to the idea.  I try to coach buyers on the variations in all the values that different parties can attach to the same property. The truth is, the property is worth what you are willing to pay for it, depending upon your knowledge, your realtor’s expertise, and market conditions, just to name a few factors.

(Your New Condo as Seen by Your Tax Assessor!)

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

Bridge View Place in Old City Philadelphia is an old warehouse building that used to be the home of Thomas Scientific supply. I think they used to manufacture the microscopes and various apparatus that many elementary schools used back in the old days. When made into  approximately 121 apartments by Historic Landmarks for living in the late 1970’s, the units were carved out in such a way that make the condos an easy sell. Very few of the units are dark, almost all have oversized factory styled windows, and all floors have good ceiling height. The original physical characteristics of the building lend themselves to user-friendly condominiums in Old City to this very day.The mix and size of units are appropriate as well. Someone really nailed it back in the 70’s when they decided to make a the building into a fair number of 900+/- square foot two bed, two bath units, to which I say, “way to use your brain”. Throughout the past ten or so years here in the Philadelphia condo market, there has always been demand for such a product, especially an Old City condominium that has the ability to sell with on-site parking, which of course BridgeView possesses.

With interesting common areas, lots of exposed brick, oversized windows, and good ceiling height, as well as underground and outdoor parking lots adjoining the building, and the being one of the few mid-rise doorman condo buildings in Old City, I find that 315 New St. has always been a fairly easy sell. The condo association has many attributes that sell well in today’s market, and I am sure will continue to be an asset to the building in many years to come. For a moderately priced studio, one or two bedroom condo unit in Old City, I have often found BridgeView Place to be the destination of choice for many Philadelphia condo buyers.

If Bridgeview sounds like the place for you, give me a call at 215.521.1523 or drop me an email at Mark@CenterCityCondos.com and I’d be happy to show you around one of my favorite buildings here in Center City Philadelphia.

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