TAKING THE DIVE...INTO THE HOOD

I did a fair amount of self debating about actually moving to this neighborhood. To be honest, it's not great...some parts of it are down right scary. But that's what a "transitional" neighborhood is all about right, some parts are good, some parts are not. I was primarily concerned with security. I was debating if I would feel sort of "trapped" in my home and not feel like it was safe to walk around. But I've lived in Philly a while, even the best neighborhoods can have bad things happen in them (when bad things happen t good neighborhoods....sounds like a good title for a book). But hopefully this neighborhood is moving in the other direction...and I hope to be part of the positive trasformative energy. So...here is a pic of the street and the empty overgrown lot that will eventually be my house...

COMPUTERS ARE YOUR FRIEND So after searching for a place and not really finding what I wanted I was becoming a little discouraged. I thought I was really going to have to compromise, I started looking at house I really wouldn't have been happy in. But I was losing the fight against the long haul...endurance was becoming an issue. I started feeling like "Just choose something, get it over with, you're not going to find what you want so just get it done." Looking for a house can take up a lot of your time, if you are like me, you obsess over something...I must have viewed thousands of houses online. The internet is a great thing for searching, there are plenty of great sites...find one that works for you, but here are some I liked: 1. EveryHome: http://www.everyhomerealty.com/pa/ph/a/home.htm My favorite site by far. The Username is "Special" the password is "client". Lots of ways to sort your searches, easy to read and view pictures. They list houses in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties (Philly is new, they didn't have it when I was looking). The best feature about this site is that every single day you can see the new listings...so if you're a little obsessive like me, it's great to feel like you are seeing everything that's on the market every single day. 2. Prudential: http://www.prufoxroach.com/index.cfm A pretty good site that has a lot of ways to delimit your searches. They also have a search feature that lists only new listings but it's not done everyday, it's all listings within about a week of being listed. Slightly annoying is that you have to click on an extra button to get the description of the property (if they have written one). 3. PhillyLiving: http://www.phillyliving.com/ A pretty good site for looking specifically in Philadelphia, it lets you search by specific neighborhoods. 4. Mortgage Calculator: Not a search site but since I have previously said money is the absolute first thing you should figure out a good mortgage calculator can be helpful. You will still need a little help from your realtor or mortgage guy to figure out insurance exactly especially if you're doing FHA financing, there is an additional insurance called PMI...but this gets you pretty close and lets you play around with numbers (you need JAVA): http://www.drcalculator.com/mortgage/ 5. Zillow: http://www.zillow.com/ This is another site I used a lot. One of the great features is that you can type in an address and not only see the house you want to look at but also you can see the surrounding houses and their estimates (take the estimates with a grain of salt but they are sometimes worthwhile). One of the other cool features is the birds eye view, you can view the house from different angles and get a sense of other nearby things like other houses or how far away the railroad tracks are. The site also has a wealth of topics you can search and plenty of experts in the filed who, in my experience, were pretty glad to help with questions. I was able to talk to an FHA expert who was really helpful. I'll say this about FHA financing also; if you are interested in FHA 203K or 203b financing drop me a line I'll be glad to tell you all I know...but it's not exactly scintillating reading if you know what I mean...but go here first: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/203k/203kabou.cfm

SEARCH IN THE CITY In my search in the suburbs I had thought I was interested in an older, in fact one of the few places I had found that I liked was a 184 year old Victorian, it was great. I loved all of the wood work and the interior that was full of character, a servants stairs, great second empire detailing, a safe built under the stairs and a great garden to name a few. I was really tempted by the house. If it hadn't been in the middle of nowhere I may have actually went for it...and maybe later in life a great old Victorian is where I will end up. When I started looking in the city I thought my enjoyment of older homes would continue. It was surprising to see how my interests changed. I went from wanting a really old Victorian to building a brand new home. As corny as this may sound, sometimes the process of looking for a home is a journey, one where you learn a lot about yourself and the things that are important to you. I expected the process to be similar to the suburbs, to look at a bunch of places without much luck, but almost immediately I found some places that I liked, not loved, but liked so I was encouraged. I also had a new realtor who was a little more motivated than my previous one. One of the other reasons I hadn't looked downtown was I didn't think I would find anything I liked in my price range that wasn't in the ghetto. I really wanted to try and stay in my neighborhood or one of the other downtown neighborhoods. But of course these are the most sought after areas and price made many of them out of my reach. My neighborhood is called the "Graduate Hospital" area and it has gone through a revitalization over the past several years. Many people used to define center city's southern border as South Street but now many have extended it to Washington Avenue. From South Street to Washington Ave and from Broad Street to Approximately Gray's Ferry to the West is the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. It's gottne more popular over the last few years as some bars and cafes have begun to appear and formerly run-down areas have been rebuilt. This of course drives up the prices of homes...but the edges of the neighborhoods had places within my financial reach. LET THE NEGOTIATIONS COMMENCE Much quicker than I thought, I found a place I liked. It was within the neighborhood I wanted (although on the very edge of it) and was close to what I was looking for. I actually put a bid in on it. Now here is the utterly heart renching, exciting, queasy, wonderful and and extremely nerve-racking part of buying a house. Again, read as much as you can...do your own research. Don't depend soley on your realtor to guide you. They shoould offer advice, but remember they work for you and if they are telling you something that doesn't feel right, trust your instincts. The place I was looking at was listed for $249k. I put in a bid for $235k ansd asked for the seller to pay closing costs. The seller coutered saying the absolutel minimum he would accept would be $245k and since I was asking for about $15k in closing costs (this estimate on their part was incorrect by the way) he wanted $260k. Now I was in a quandry, I liked the place but I wasn't in love with it and was willing to walk away. But I did like it and it was in the neighborhood I wanted. It didn't have a finished basement which was a big contention on my part. I was planning on using a FHA 203k loan to finish the basement before I moved in so I had to figure that in the cost of the house as well. I ultimately told my realtor to respond with a counter of $250k but to tell the seller it was my final offer. The seller countered with $255k and I stuck to my guns and walked away. I of course worried at the time that I was making a mistake (and I should note that my realtor was encouraging me to take the offer...as much as I like my realtor, I think that was a little of the shark circling). I worried I was passing something up I would regret but I made the call. I didn't think the market supported the price the seller was asking and I did say it was my final offer. (As of this post my call was a good one, the property is still listed and they have reduced the price by $10k...guess he should have taken my offer). But I'm ultimately glad the deal fell through. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION (at least a few blocks away) I've mentioned I live in the "Graduate Hospital" neighborhood. After looking at a few places in my neighborhood and not finding what I really wanted (at least within my price range) I started looking outside my neighborhood. They say location is everything in real estate, well that is certainly true in Philadelphia. A few blocks down the street is a neighborhood called "Point Breeze". It's just over the Washington Ave. border and it's amazing how much neighborhoods change within a few blocks. So "Point Breeze" ... ok ... some parts of it are the 'hood. But I was able to hook up with a realty company buliding new houses all over this neighborhood. They are trying to revitalize it just like my current neighborhood was revitalized years ago, the city has also marked it as an area for improving. I searched through the neighborhood and found a lot on the edge of the neighborhood, not far from my current place. Within two-blocks there are several brand new houses, on the street I'm looking at my house will be the 4th new house on the block. So as much as I can evaluate the real estate potential (with having absolutely no experience) I have made what I think is the best choice. I plan to live there for a few years but not forever so my hope is in a few years the neighborhood will improve and so will my investment.