About Philadelphia's Olde Kensington

Are you Building Sweat Equity ?

Stephanie and I own a triplex in Old Kensington, a very much up-and-coming area of Philadelphia Real Estate. One of the tenants just recently moved out so we are taking advantage of the opportunity to spruce the place up. We are having a contractor come by to do some updating with the heating in the next week or so. At the same time, the basement of the building was very dirty and filled with a lot of old stuff that needed to be tossed.

Stephanie took the initiative to go by the property today and got the basement cleaned out. We had our clean-out guy meet her there to remove a whole truckload of "stuff". We will have potential new tenants visiting the property this weekend and if we showed them the basement, it needed to be improved and looking better for storage options. I did not have my digital camera with me but when I saw Stephanie with her mask on, I figured I just had to get a photo, so I used my blackberry !

It is important for Stephanie and I to maintain and build equity with all of our investment properties. Not just that, but we take pride in offering quality housing to people. If you own investment properties or even in regard to your primary residence, it always makes sense to constantly improve your properties as they are your investments. One of the best ways to do that, both financially and rewading, is through SWEAT-EQUITY !

I believe owning real estate is a fantastic way to plan for retirement. Imagine when you are 55 or 60 and you own 5 or 6 (or even 10) properties with no mortgage where you are collecting income and have substantial equity ! That is our minimum goal.

What is your experience with investment properties ?

Are you building sweat equity ?

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If interested in buying or selling properties in Philadelphia or building a portfolio of investment properties, contact Chris and Stephanie Somers at thesomersteam@yahoo.com or 215-400-2612 . You can connect with us on Facebook and Twitter . For investment properties, check out our new investor site at Philly Investor Hub !

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Areas of specialty include Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kenington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !

This is not an Inclusion for this Old Kensington Listing !

We like to highlight and feature our sellers's furry friends as part of their listing. Abby loved the fact that we took many photos of her, but it took us awhile to get that one good shot ! Below is a great photo of Abby who protects her listing at 1312 Germantown Ave in Old Kensington !

For other photos of our clients pets, please click on the below:

Unexpected New Clients.... of the Furry Kind !

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HGTV. Flip That House. Step Aside ! Meet the real American Idols in Philadelphia.

I am referring to 2 clients that Chris and I helped purchase their first home in Old Kensington. We first met Ramona as she pulled up to us on her bike the day she became our tenant. A year later we met her partner Matt (www.mattdimon.com) and ended up helping them purchase their very first home, a huge distressed property a few blocks from the apartment.

Ramona and Matt were looking for something completely unique, a space that would serve as a working studio and a home. They opted for a FHA 203K loan program which is somewhat like a construction type loan. The buying process, unlike American Idol, was no song and dance. It was a challenging on many levels. As a condition of the loan, Matt and Ramona were required to do a lot of preliminary work, detailed planning and coordinate several professional contractor estimates. Plus the negotiations of the actual purchase proved to reveal an array of obstacles of which really tested our expertise as realtors. Ultimately, victory was ours and I have the pictures to prove it!

View Matt and Ramona's Home Transformation

Chris and I had no idea when we chose Real Estate as a career, that every day we would get to help so many "real people" live out the drama that has now become television's most watched programming. Even with the barrage of doom and gloom messages about our current housing market, a very one sided view that is prevailing in the media these days, we are inspired daily. It is because of that I want to continue to introduce to you our clients and their stories. It is through our clients that we can infuse images of strength, creativity, and possibility for those of you who are ready buy or sell a home in Philadelphia !

So, who is going to be our next American Idol ???

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19122 makes up Old Kensington and Yorktown - Market Statistics

Contact Chris and Stephanie Somers at thesomersteam@yahoo.com for more information and market statisitcs and trends regarding Old Kensington and the Old Kensington / Yorktown real estate market.

From January 2008 though October 2008, there were 269 units listed, of which 65 went pending and 57 sold.

The average listing price was $204,300 and the average days on market is 78.

For the properties that have sold in Old Kensington, the average listing price was $154,176 and the average sold price was $132,656.

The current inventory is 147 properties. With the average being 5.7 properties selling per month, there are 25 months of inventory on the market.

Outlook: A lot of inventory remains on the market in Old Kensington (147 properties). A high percentage of the inventory is new construction, both houses and condominiums as well as high end rehabs. The area confuses a lot of investors as well as its consumers due to it's immediate vincinty to Northern Liberties. Since the sales are much higher in Northern Liberties there is speculation and belief that Old Kensington will play catch-up, thus the high level of development in the area. However, sellers did not foresee the market slowdown and in some cases, have over improved properties in the area which makes the short term uncertain. That being said, the longer term outlook is still excellent as the growth trend is still well intact. This is one of our favourite spots for investment in all of Philadelphia.

If you would like a free market evaluation of your home or are interested in purchasing in Old Kensington, contact Chris or Stephanie Somers at RE/MAX Affiliates at 215-400-2612 or email thesomersteam@yahoo.com. Also, view our Old Kensington listings. Look up 1000s of listings on our website as well as learning more about us. Also, please visit our blog !

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Settlement Success in Philadelphia

Yesterday we had a settlement for a buyer that my wife Stephanie Somers has been working with for close to 2 years ! We are very excited for our client who is also very excited about her first home !

It was certainly a long process as we took her to all kinds of homes during this timeframe. We even wrote up an offer or two in which the buyer changed her mind. As an artist and a sculptor, she was looking for something very specific and unique (some of her work can be seen here - She was one of the featured artists in "Where art fashion and real estate collide" in Old Kensington at The Lawrence Street Condos.)

Also, it was a tricky process for the FHA financing that she wanted to do in relation to the type of property that she was looking for - raw space that needed updating, but liveable. We saw dozens of properties and many that were quite awful !

So after we got her under cotract, it became a relatively complex situation in terms of the FHA financing. However, together with her, The Somers, and Boulevard Mortgage and many contractor estimates, we were able to piece it together !

As a result, she is a happy homeowner !

We take pride in going the extra mile (or two) and providing service that exceeds expectations for both our buyer clients and our seller clients. In many cases, a realtor's engagement with a buyer can only be a day, week or month. When it comes to really servicing a client, it is important to understand what they are looking for and what their goals are. It is times like these that make our professions worthwhile when we know we are an integral part of our clients lives, helping them with one of their most important decisions. It is very rewarding and something to feel thankful for.

In the future, we will have a blog about the before and after of her large, beautiful house. This will be another great example of a homeowner being part of a changing community - an area being revitalized into an amazing neighborhood.

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