Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

On the market: A wooded hideaway in Montgomery County for $450,000

“We’d really liked the deck, with its overview of the park,” the owners says. “We’ve entertained there many times. It’s so peaceful."

The home, on Arden Road in Gulph Mills, has four bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms.
The home, on Arden Road in Gulph Mills, has four bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms.Read moreVRX Media Group

Neither Jamie Ifkovits nor Michael Dishowitz grew up in a big city — she’s from the Allentown area, he’s from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — so the Graduate Hospital neighborhood seemed perfect for them.

They had married after meeting as graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania, and Michael was working at Penn.

But five years ago, with Jamie finding the commute to her job at GlaxoSmithKline in Collegeville a grind and with plans to raise a family, it was time for something different.

In this case, “different” was a secluded wooded hillside in Gulph Mills above Route 320.

The four-bedroom, 2½-bath Colonial was an easy walk to both a township park and a playground with or without a stroller. And the views were wonderful.

“We’d really liked the deck, with its overview of the park,” Jamie says. “We’ve entertained there many times. It’s so peaceful. And it’s equidistant for both of us” in terms of a commute to Collegeville for Jamie and Philadelphia for Michael, with easy access to the Norristown High-Speed Line and the Schuylkill Expressway.

The house, which is in the Upper Merion School District, has plantation shutters, vaulted ceilings, track lighting, and a wood-burning fireplace in the great room.

There is a two-car garage and ample outdoor space to park other vehicles, a storage shed under the deck, and a large, unfinished basement.

The couple improved the landscaping in the front, upgraded the electrical, and had a new roof installed in 2015. The winding driveway is newly paved.

One of the bedrooms, which they converted into an office, has been used by previous owners as a large walk-in closet.

The kitchen has ceramic tile floors, granite countertops, and a convection oven.

Now, seeking a more urbanized atmosphere, the couple has moved to the Garrett Hill section of Radnor Township.

The property is listed with Travus Gehret of Redfin for $450,000.