Five grants totaling $47,000. And ‘the Titanic’ of paperwork needed to purchase a West Philly rowhouse. | How I Bought My House

The buyer: Olivia Herman, 26, welder and carpenter

The house: An 800-square-foot rowhouse with three bedrooms, one bathroom in West Philly

The price: $190,000

The agent: Carla Brandoff, Compass

The ask: Olivia Herman had to get out of Boston. “Putting my budget together and seeing all my money go toward rent” was “incredibly demoralizing,” she said. So, she decided to buy a house in budget-friendly Philadelphia.

Her top priority: No flips. “I knew if it was recently flipped, I was probably going to tear it all out anyway, because I really love original details,” Herman said.

She wanted two or three bedrooms and a functioning kitchen. “I was OK with a total fixer-upper,” said Herman, a welder and carpenter, “but I needed something that was at least livable.” She also wanted to live near restaurants and grocery stores.

The search: Herman started looking at houses in West Philly in April. Her $200,000 budget limited her to “properties that hadn’t been renovated since the ‘60s,” she said. One had squirrels in the basement. At another, the living room lights exploded when the agent flipped the switch.

During her monthlong search, Herman saw a lot of houses that didn’t look as nice in reality as they did in photos. She toured close to 20 homes before seeing any that checked all the boxes.

The appeal: Herman loved the wood floors throughout the house, as well as the original staircase and trim.

An early 2000s renovation updated the house’s bones but left a lot of original details, including a wood stove. She was planning on installing one after she tackled essential projects, so it was “a really big plus for me,” Herman said.

She also appreciated the neighborhood. “People were sitting on their porches and kids were playing out in the street,” said Herman. “The neighborhood felt really safe, and welcoming, and friendly.”

The deal: On the morning Herman toured the home, the seller dropped the price by $20,000.

Previous buyers backed out of their contract when they discovered the house had knob and tube, an outdated form of electrical wiring that is considered unsafe. The new price was $195,000 — just within Herman’s budget. She liked the house but wanted to think about it. She visited again the following week. “I spent an hour on that second tour,” Herman said.

She offered $185,000. The seller countered by asking Herman to waive an inspection, which was a no go for her. “Buying a home at that price point is kind of like buying a car for under $4,000,” she said. ”You know something is going to be wrong with it, but you need to know … what it is.”

Herman raised her offer to $190,000 with an inspection of only the electrical system. The sellers accepted.

The money: Herman relentlessly pursued grants from a handful of state and federal programs that support income-restricted, first-time homeowners.

She got $10,000 from the Philly First Home program; $15,000 from the Neighborhood Lift program; another $15,000 from the First Front Door program; $5,000 from WSFS bank; and $2,000 from the Mt. Airy CDC’s First-Time Homebuyer Fund. She ended up with $47,000 in grant money to use for a down payment and closing costs. She put $2,000 of savings down for earnest money and an additional $1,300 for closing.

The move: Herman spent the month between going under contract and closing completing grant requirements. Her loan officer had never worked with someone with so many grants before, and he told Herman that trying to get it to close was like steering the Titanic.

“It became really important that I was super organized and that everyone I was working with was organized,” Herman said. She had to provide proof of income documents and receipts for recent purchases. One grant required a will, which Herman didn’t have so she had to start fresh.

“That whole month of running around felt really surreal,” said Herman. “I kept feeling like I can’t believe that everyone is OK with me buying a home.”

Herman officially closed on May 29 and moved in that day.

Life after close: Herman didn’t waste any time renovating. During her first weekend as a homeowner, she ripped up the vinyl floors and found beautiful spruce planks which she later refinished. She spent the summer repainting. This fall she’ll remove the first-floor ceiling to expose the beams.

Any reservations? Herman says she wouldn’t do anything differently. “The process was definitely worth it,” she said. The house is on a great block. There are tons of grocery stores nearby and bike lanes. And now that the weather is cooling, Herman is enjoying fires in her wood stove.

Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear about it. Email acovington@inquirer.com.