The buyers: Rebecca, 43, surgical oncological nurse, and Ryan Taylor, 43, chief financial officer

The house: A 3,250-square-foot home in Chestnut Hill with 5 bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms built in 1898.

The price: $925,000. Originally listed for $1,100,000.

The agent: Jacob Markovitz, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors

The ask: Originally from Westchester, N.Y., and Wayne, respectively, Rebecca and Ryan Taylor have been in Chestnut Hill since they bought their first house there in 2017. They loved their other house — a 1920s twin off Germantown Avenue with beautiful architecture, and the place where they’d had their two children, Lily, 3, and Asher, 5. But they felt the need for more space.

“We wanted property for the kids to run around, at least four bedrooms, and two-plus bathrooms,” said Rebecca.

The search: The couple were on the lookout for a new house since they had their second child. But it had to be right, so they took their time exploring options. School districts were a big factor in their decision. “We hadn’t fully decided if we wanted to stay in the city or not,” said Rebecca.

They toured a few houses in Glenside, but that didn’t feel like the right fit. Eventually, they decided they wanted to do whatever they could to stay in Chestnut Hill and upped their search in the area with their agent.

The appeal: After two years of searching, their agent found a five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom house, listed in an estate sale. They both fell in love with the historical details: heart carvings in the stairwell, stained glass all over the house, as well as the Dutch tiling in the dining room.

“There’s craftsmanship that you can’t find anymore,” Ryan said. This house was built largely by hand 127 years ago.”

Plus, the location was right: Chestnut Hill, with its small-town feel, city access, and plentiful nature.

“The community with small children is huge,” she said. “There’s so many trees. You can hike in the Wissahickon, and Pastorius Park is right in town.”

Equally important was public transportation. Rebecca’s commute on the Chestnut Hill West Line to Center City would take only 40 minutes.

But the house was old and in need of repairs.

The deal: The Taylors were surprised to find the house’s septic system was eroded, and they had to use a private septic system, rather than city water management. An initial evaluator told them they might not be able to put in a new septic at all.

“That was scary. We backed out from the deal because we felt like, ‘Oh my God, this wouldn’t be a livable house.’ I mean, what would we do?” said Rebecca.

When they took steps to walk away from the sale, their agent suggested they ask the sellers drop $100,000 so they could figure out the issue. They agreed, and the sellers accepted their negotiated offer on the house in a verbal contract. The Taylors then listed their own home, which sold within a week.

“We got an amazing deal on this,” said Ryan.

The money: They purchased the home for $925,000 after negotiation. It was originally listed for $1,100,000. The mortgage rate is 6.625%. They borrowed $740,000 (80%). The down payment was $185,000, paid with the proceeds from the sale of their previous home, which they sold for $675,000. The closing costs were $42,500, and their monthly payment is $5,750 with escrow, interest and principal.

The move: They closed on Aug. 6, 2025, and moved in shortly after, going on a preplanned vacation to the beach the day after move-in. They immediately had the original quarter sawn floors refinished in white oak.

“The floors had a dark stain,” Rebecca said. “As soon as we did the floors, the whole house lit up.”

They had a lot of work planned, including the new septic system, so they rented a house in Conshohocken for a month while the larger renovations were ongoing.

Life after close: The house needed significant renovations and repairs, which Ryan estimated at $200,000 so far.

Projects included asbestos removal in the basement, replacing the septic system, refinishing the floors, replacing the roof on the garage, renovating the kitchen, renovating the master bathroom, replacing the windows, landscaping with privacy hedges and tree removal, and converting a second floor closet into a laundry room. The windows in the sunroom had been plastered over, so they exposed those. They wanted to make the bathroom feel luxurious with green tones and exposed the brick of the old stove in their kitchen.

After investing in their first round of repairs, they find the home to be peaceful and idyllic, with trees and greenery outside and a natural flow inside. “It’s been a wonderful transition, a wonderful home. The house is just easy to live in,” said Rebecca.

Did you recently buy a home in the Philadelphia area or South Jersey? Share the story of how you did it. Email Inquirer real estate reporters at properties@inquirer.com.