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

I just saw one of the neatest innovations in painting that can save you a bungle of time, energy, and money. Huge secret here…it is called Behr.com. Behr is a paint company that has developed this online service in which you can pay $4.95, and upload a photo of any particular room in your new Rittenhouse Square condominium, or Old City flat. Then you simply click through their 3700 plus paint colors, to see how that room would look in any of those colors. From eggplant, to a nice sage green, this service is the ultimate “try before you buy” idea, and I think many first time buyers/painters could benefit from such a service.

How Fabulous! If you have painted any room in your Society Hill condo in the past, you know as well as I do how easy it is to “miss” the color you were going for. Even by a little bit, a soft yellow can appear just awful- perhaps the yellow you picked is a little bold, has too much green mixed in, or is just wrong for the  lighting you have in any given room. This service is going to allow you to see the entire color, on a larger wall surface of any given room you choose, to make sure the color is right for that particular room.

And you know as well as I do, that paint cans have a tendency to gather in your closets or storage areas of your Philadelphia condo, and can generally outlive human beings in general. Just think of how many paint cans you WON’T have lingering for decades in that dark corner of your basement storage area! And believe me, this way of “painting a room” is a lot easier to do while downing a Martini or two.  Painting and drinking can now go hand in hand! Yippee!

Give it a try, and see if you don’t agree!

Looking for an easier way to buy your future condo in Philadelphia? Give Mark Wade a call at 215.521.1523 and let him show you a few condos here in Center City.

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

Very simply put, a point is equal to one percent of the mortgage amount of your loan for your Philadelphia condo or flat- be it a Rittenhouse Square condominium, or a Society Hill loft. Points are not mandatory, in most cases, and are offered by a bank in return for a lowering of your interest rate.

Let’s say you buy a $550,000 condo in Philadelphia. You are going put 5% down, so your mortgage amount is $500,000. Here is how points work:

You pay 1 point (payable to the lender), which costs you $5,000 and your interest rate is 6%
You pay 2 points, which will cost you $10,000, and your interest rate is 5.75%

Now, if you monthly mortgage payment is going to drop (say) $100 a month BECAUSE you paid a point, it will take you 50 months to recoup that $5000 investment in that one point.

You save $100 a month, and paid $5000 for that honor. Hence 50 months to recoup.

So it begs the question, are you SURE you are going to live in this Rittenhouse Square condo for over four years? Because if you are not sure how long you are going to stay put, it may not be in your best interest to pay that point. I have been a realtor in Philadelphia for almost twenty years now, and I sell a lot of condos in Center City. I don’t see a lot of folks staying put for more than four years. They get a dog, a family, a lawnmower, a promotion, a transfer, and they are off to bigger and better pastures. Empty nesters would be the exception to this general rule.

So there you have it…..for more information, check out my website www.CenterCityCondos.com and click the Vendor Menu button for mortgage solicitors who can explain more about financing a wide variety of condos in Philadelphia.

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

When I pretend that I have won the Powerball Pennsylvania lottery, I often think of what condominium in Philadelphia I would purchase. Well, I have made my decision…

The condominiums known as Ten Rittenhouse is now offering the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floor of the former Rittenhouse Club residence, listed in the Philadelphia Registry of Historic Places, which sits directly on the park. With ceiling heights of 11’6” and wide open space that you can design to include the finishes and details that fit your lifestyle.

World-renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern is doing this masterpiece, and when it sells, will undoubtedly be one of the finest Philadelphia condos – ever!  Some 5000 square feet of Luxury Rittenhouse Square living is being offered with this sale, and amenities include a 24-hour doorman, security and service staff, valet parking, world-class fitness center, indoor pool and sauna, concierge services and a gourmet restaurant which will provide room service offerings. Oh, and parking.

I have lived on the square for a number of years (in the lovely prewar 1900 Rittenhouse Square) and really liked living in the area. And who wouldn’t LOVE a newly constructed 5000 square feet condominium directly overlooking this lovely park? I would.

If you, or anyone you know, should happen to hit the Powerball on any given day, why not call me, and let’s find you the perfect Philadelphia condo to fit all of your needs? And know that I will happily work with any buyers in the $18,000,000 price range, whether you got there by hitting the Powerball or not :).

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

Oh the joys of being a Philadelphia realtor. I hear some of the dumbest stuff come out of the mouths of human beings…some realtors, some buyers, some sellers, and yes, sometimes I have even uttered the most moronic things even mentioned aloud.

Here are some of my favorites:

The roof only leaks during HEAVY rains…
Dear, everything goes with Formica…
Nobody does home inspections any more…
There hasn’t been a shooting on this block in weeks…
Yeah, but this is a very SPECIAL $700,000 studio…

And a few of my personal favorites, garnered from a television commercial:

Any closet is a walk in closet if you try hard enough…
No, the 3rd  time that house caught fire was arson, but I am pretty sure that kid is in jail now…

When shopping for a Center City Philadelphia condo, it is important to listen to what is being said around you. However, there are no guarantees that what is being said is intelligent, meaningful, or of this world.

Looking for meaningful repartee in the search for your new Center City Condo? Give me a call at 215.521.1523 or drop me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com and let’s laugh at some of the stupid stuff we are going to hear together! 🙂

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

Adding faux painted exposed brick to a living room can be easy, quick, inexpensive, and add quite a punch to any living area….especially a somewhat boring room where some wall texture gets immediately noticed. Wall texture adds depth, and can change how light “works” in any given room. And heaven knows that a lot of Philadelphia condos could use a tad more emotional punch!

I once bought a condo that had a 5’ by 7’ chunk taken out of an exposed brick wall. I simply filled empty chunk with cinder block, applied a thin wire lathe, then semi-wet mortar mix, and scarred it to make it appear to be exposed brick. I then painted the entire wall a really cool taupe color, and you could never tell that it was faux Painted brick…and it Looked Stunning!

I should have done the wall in a medium grey color. My friend once did that to his Old City condo, to a few exposed brick columns, and I thought I was going to die. It was gorgeous!

So the moral of this blog entry is…don’t worry if your Rittenhouse Square condominium, or any condo in Philadelphia lacks a bit of charm and historic detail. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and add detail is indeed possible as you go about improving your Center City loft or Society Hill condo. Have fun, and be creative!

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

Looking to scare away a few buyers for your next Philadelphia condominium sale? Why not try these decorating tips featured here?

And don’t worry for a second, if you have a vacant, or a cluttered condo in Philadelphia to sell. If you real goal is to simply list your condo, but not get an offer, than listen up! Nothing drives away a buyer like a poor showing ability. Could you imagine your realtor in Philadelphia showing you a condo like these in a prestigious Rittenhouse Square condominium building? Neither could I. And if you are considering selling your Old City loft, or Fitler Square condo, then you should consider making it show as well as it possibly can. Nothing says “run” like a poor showing ability.

Buying a condo in Philadelphia need not be a scary thing. Unless of course, you are looking for an ugly, say, Rittenhouse Square condominium that smell like dog pee, and is priced well. Either way, why not give Mark Wade a call at Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors in Society Hill? He can help you scare up a place of your own!

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

As a Philadelphia realtor for the past twenty years, my livelihood depends on my ability to navigate the streets, and be the ambassador of good will to those looking to move to our fair city. Not easy to do when I am cussing up a storm at “this idiot” or “that dumbass” who seems to believe that there are no parking rules, or etiquette in terms of driving in our fair town.  If I were in charge of this city, here is what I would do on my first HOUR on the job, in order to improve the quality of life for those of us who live here in beautiful Center City Philadelphia:

1) Corner of 5th and Market. Try turning left onto 5th from Market…Good Luck-traffic is backed up to 8th street on a busy day during rush hour. And restrict ALL parking within a block of that intersection at ALL times.

2) Restrict the double parking on Market Street between 3rd and 4th. Morons.

3) Cut the red light duration (length of time) on N. 19th St. at Vine. Possible good time to check your voicemail at work though. And return all the calls.

4) Provide MORE loading zones around town. Enforce time limits more effectively.

5) Time lighting sequence of red/green lights all the way along Callowhill. Though still the fastest way to get from the east to the west side of town currently.

6) Ticket the tour buses who feel that it is OK to idle for hours in any given street – turning a two lane street into a clogged, one lane pile of waiting cars.

7) Either tow ALL the cars after 3:30 on Walnut from 4th-23rd, or take the signs down – It is pointless if cars are allowed to idle in that lane. Or at least have a traffic cop shoo folks away.

8) Actually enforce the “NO parking” in the median of Broad St. here in Center City.

9) Turn Bainbridge traffic in the opposite direction, and have it head west, not east.

Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com and let me know if there are any other traffic nightmares around here I might have missed or just let me know what you think of the ideas that I have mentioned above….or if you think we are all better off just walking around in this City of ours which has been ranked 5th in Walkability nationwide!!  

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