Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

1) For every month you lived in your new Center City pad, and made a mortgage payment, you were able  to deduct the interest on the loan.  Try that with a rental payment. And be sure to let the IRS know of your plan here, as I am sure it will go over well with them.

2) You were able to paint the living room that hideous red your wife/husband/other wanted, and didn’t have to worry about NOT getting your security deposit back

3) If you had a fixed rate mortgage, you were able to plan on stable month payments, without the threat of yearly increases in rent, which most landlords do as a matter of habit, as opposed to doing so based on market conditions

4) You didn’t have to worry that your landlord was going to kick you to the curb after your lease expiration period, in order to turn the apartment into condos

5) You had the “quiet use and enjoyment” of the home to do as you please. The piece of mind that only comes from home ownership. 

6) And you now have the pride of owning your own  garden rake, a lawnmower, and perhaps washer and dryer.

Buying a piece of real estate in Philadelphia isn’t always about financial appreciation. Sometimes, the added value is the piece of mind you have knowing that you have a roof over your head that belongs to you. And your bank.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors
PREA Top 100 Award- 2005, 2006, 2007

Based upon what my buyers have been showing me for years, I would suggest that there are about ten Characteristics that can limit top dollar resale amounts for condominiums in Center City Philadelphia (not in any specific order) :

1 ) Units in buildings with low owner occupancy ratios
2 ) Tri-Level unit condos with corkscrew styled staircases

3 ) Units on the 2nd floor just above the dumpster area (in high rise condos)
4 ) Units directly over noisy bar

5 ) Units with a significant amount of living space in the basement
6 ) Units without direct light into living room area
7 ) Units located on the first floor

8 ) Units with disproportionately high condo fees
9 ) Units that are fifth floor walk-ups
10 ) Units in an “alley” that has pubs on either ends

Not to say that such units are not sellable, it is just that in many cases, units with some of the above characteristics are often times discounted below the sale prices of units without such conditions. If you can find a Philadelphia condo with one or more of the above attributes, you may find that you will get a bit more square feet for the money!

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

Tell Me about your Center City Condo…..

Do you own a Center City Condo? I would love to feature your condo on my blog, as an example of what potential buyers can expect to find when they begin shopping for a condo in Philadelphia.

Your condo may or may not be for sale, and that’s OK.

Give me a brief description of your condo, what you like MOST about your unit, some interesting facts or local landmarks in your neighborhood that you favor, and be sure to send me some photos!

I would love to feature your unit for the 7000+ visitors that visit www.CenterCityCondos.com each month!

Thanks!

Mark Wade
http://blog.centercitycondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors

2101 Market Street in Center City Philadelphia

Towering 42 stories tall is arguable one of Philadelphia’s most striking additions to the Center City condominium building set-The Murano Condominium building. Offering stunning views in all directions, the Murano Philadelphia offers one, two, and three bedroom condo units with a maximum of seven units per floor, in the 19103 zip code. According to the website, www.TheMuranoCondominium.com, you will find a 6th floor swimming pool, along with inside and outside common deck areas in which to relax. I recently visited the open house, and can attest to the impressive modern finishes, unique floor plans, and wonderful city views.  On-site parking available, along with 24 hour concierge, and a ten year tax abatement, set into the high rise business district of downtown Philadelphia makes the Murano Condominiums a great option in Center City condominium living!

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

Seen rising above the Barnes and Noble bookstore on the north side of “The Square” is the new premier Rittenhouse Square condominium project, 10 Rittenhouse.

ARC Wheeler, the developer of 10 Rittenhouse in Center City, is saving the historical façade of the old Rittenhouse Club, and the new five-story structure will have three mega-condos. In a nod to preservation, the building will incorporate three landmark structures while adding a new 33-story red-brick and limestone tower behind them.

Ten Rittenhouse Square is a $300 million luxury condo tower under development in Center City Philadelphia whose residential tower will have street frontage on the 1800 block of Walnut Street, South 18th Street and the 1800 block of Sansom Street. According to the website, 10 Rittenhouse will feature:

• One Bedrooms from $714,000 – $856,000
• Two Bedrooms from $1,300,000 – $3,400,000
• Three Bedrooms from $1,900,000 – $4,500,000

In addition there will be six 10,000-square-foot penthouses priced near the $12,000,000 mark.
Needless to say, 10 Rittenhouse will be the paragon of luxury high rise living here in Philadelphia. With Miele and Sub-Zero kitchen appliances and marble baths with BainUltra tubs. Ceiling heights from 8.5′ to 12.5′ accompany window walls, spacious private balconies, terraces and Juliet  windows (in some homes). Building amenities include a garage, concierge service, a restaurant, a pool, spa and fitness center and a shared roof garden.

Barneys Co-op – a part of the high-end New York City department store Barneys will occupy the  first two floors, totaling 10,000 square feet. The Center City’s hip-ometer has officially begun registering some activity.

Barney’s AND living at 10 Rittenhouse?! That is a dream made in heaven.

Interested in living the dream? Contact Mark Wade at Prudential Fox and Roach realtors and lets investigate the possibilities!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106
267.237.3404 (That is my cell phone. And this is the first and only time you will see my personal cell phone number listed on a blog entry. THAT is how serious I am about loving this project.)

As a longtime Philadelphia realtor, I am often asked a number of questions about various condos in Philly, and I want my blog readers to know a few things about buying or selling real estate in Philadelphia.

1) The “Days on Market” figure on any mls sheet (“DOM”) may be misleading. Sometimes sellers will pull their condo off the market for a few days, in hopes of resetting that “DOM” figure. Easily overridden by a realtor. Simply hitting the “History” button associated with that particular listing on the internet will give you a clear picture of the MLS history of that (say) Rittenhouse Square condo. So make sure you ask your realtor to show you the history of any given listing.

2) As I have said in prior blog entries and podcasts, make sure you measure the Center City condo you are going to buy to get your own idea of the square footage. Many MLS sheet omit this figure altogether, and are realtors are not required to submit such info to the MLS.

3) Parking- deeded, or assigned? Again, I did an entire blog on this issue. Many realtors will use those definitions incorrectly. Deeded means you have a separate tax bill, and you can sell the space off to anyone. Assigned generally means that the spot transfers with your title, which is not a bad thing.

4) Claims of a property being Historically Certified. Best story ever- once a prominent Center City realtor sold a Society Hill home, and claimed it was historically certified. Without being able to substantiate such a claim, when pressed, she declared the home to be “historically certifiable”. Nice. If such claims are made to you, get it in writing. Ask for documentation when writing the offer, should such a designation be of value to you.

So there you have it. If you are looking for more insight into the Philadelphia Center City condo market, give me a call at 215.521.1523 or drop me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com. I will be sure to fill you in on the information I have in my brain!

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

As the owner and operator of www.CenterCityCondos.com, I am always appreciative when someone comes to me with feedback about my site. Nine times out of ten, someone is saying nice things.

But I wonder how many people leave my site, with a bitter review that perhaps they are not sharing with me. With the help of my website designers, I came up with the ideas for the layout, menu, and content. I have added a blog and a place to listen to my podcasts. But what if a lot of what I am doing, truly sucks…and I don’t know it?!

That is where I would like EVERYONE to know that I am open to criticism. If there is something that you think could be improved, refined, added, deleted, fixed, shortened, sweetened, or altogether altered, won’t you please drop me a note, and let me know?

I average over 5000 visits to my site per month, and the average length of each visit exceeds 4 minutes! And there is just no way everyone is leaving happy and fulfilled…

If you like, take a minute, and let me know what you think. Believe it or not, the more feedback I get, the more I want to do my corny “happy dance”…

 
Thanks so much for your continued support!

Mark Wade 
www.CenterCityCondos.com 
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors
530 Walnut St. Suite 260 Philadelphia, Pa. 19106

…where I will be living, when I hit the PA Lottery

On the corner of Fabulous and Unbelievable, is a new piece of Center City real estate which arguably will be the ‘Belle of the Ball” amongst Philadelphia’s luxurious condo  buildings.  Known as 1706, this new 31 story tower at 17th and Rittenhouse Streets houses one unit per floor…with a jaw dropping two story penthouse unit. A majority of the units are flats- one story units with two balconies each, and have 4300 square feet  with ten foot ceilings and eight foot windows. From renderings I have seen, this is the kind of building one might see in Miami, Chicago, or New York City. The type of building that may have, say ten years ago, quietly passed on allowing itself to be planted in good old Philly.

When other Center City condominium buildings boast of amenities such as pool, sauna, and conference areas, it seems to me that a many of them are simply paying lip service to such goodies.  1706 Rittenhouse appears to be putting some serious effort into the common area freebies. It doesn’t appear that they will turn a maid’s closet into a room with no windows, a treadmill or two, and a Stair-master knock off.  From what I can gather, this building will not be selling itself short in terms of location, view, amenities, quality of finishes, and overall desirability.

Developed by Scannapieco Corp., and ParkWay Corp., 1706 is targeting a market that appreciates, and will pay for quality. I have always said two things about Philadelphia condo buyers- they will spend for quality when they see it (and can sniff out faux quality like an English fox hound). And secondly, that there are more people in Philadelphia with money, than there are condominiums in Philadelphia to serve the needs of those buyers. I think 1706 is going to be a huge success, and rightfully so. It seems to be taking on that segment of the market that has been somewhat neglected in the past.

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

I just learned that one change that might affect buyers, is the fact that your mortgage company MAY INDEED pull a credit report on you, a few days before closing.  In addition to looking up your credit when they process your application, they are also pulling credit prior to closing to make sure nothing has substantially changed with your financial position, or you have not gone out and purchased a new car, a boat, applied for a slew of new credit cards, etc.

In almost every transaction involving a Philadelphia condo, there are TWO months “Capital Contribution” due and payable by the buyer at time of settlement. Basically, you have to pay the condo association an amount equal to two months of condo fees (all buyers do). This is just a neat little way for your condo association to stockpile dough. This is not you paying two months up front…this is money that is more like a one-time bill. Not really a bad thing, as everyone who buys into the building must contribute. More of a surprise to most Philly condo buyers than anything else.

And as a courtesy to realtors like myself, who don’t get out often (out of the city, that is…) please pick a title company who will do your title work at one of the realtors offices. At a bare minimum, it should happen in the same city, if not the same county, as the transaction. I truly am not interested in going to Erie, PA to close on a house because your mother’s neighbor’s cousin has a title company in that fine town.  I will bust my hump for you. But I ain’t going to Erie.  Please settle in town. I get the shakes when I have to go to the suburbs. It just isn’t a pretty sight. Thanks.

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

Though I sometimes sit at my Sunday open houses here in Philadelphia, I do so sometimes with a slight effect from being out with my friends from the previous (Saturday) night. I am tired, and sometimes sit in a chair for the entire duration of any given Open House. Thank goodness our Center City Sunday Open House shift only last an hour. I think I might go nuts otherwise.

But there are a few things that brighten my morning, like showing up five minutes early to my (say) Rittenhouse Square condo Open House, and see potential buyers waiting for me. Or be blessed with sellers who have turned on every light, adjusted the thermostat appropriately, and even perhaps lit a candle in order to bring some life into the condo. Nothing kills the “likeability” of your Old City condo like 98 degree heat inside the unit I am about to introduce to perspective buyers. And kitty puke on the kitchen floor…eh, no. Ditto for doggie doo piles on the patio. And for heaven sake…make the bed. Clean the bathtub, and pick your crap up off the floor of the walk-in closet. NO POTENTIAL BUYER GROWS UP WANTING TO INHERIT YOUR LIFESTYLE, should your lifestyle be easily equated to that of say a 19 year old fraternity dude. Dude.

And buyers, this blog entry is aimed at you too. Keep your dog at home, and don’t show up ten minutes AFTER my open house has ended, expecting a 25 minute tour. (Please, that is 🙂 ). And if you are just browsing, and saw the sign out front, give me some time with the “real” buyers who may have come specifically for this home. Your presence is welcome. Your monopolization of my time…perhaps not so much.

So my conclusion is that sellers and buyers need to put on a good show to be taken seriously. And buying a condo in Philadelphia is a serious consideration, and a thought for which one should prepare. Put your best foot forward, and happy buying and selling!

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