They wanted to buy their friend’s place. They ended up with an East Falls rowhouse instead. | How I Bought This House

The buyers: Jessica Lubniewski, 41, museum educator; David Jacobs, 40, electrical engineer

The house: A 1,300-square-foot rowhouse in East Falls with 3 bedrooms and 1½ baths, built in 1930.

The price: listed for $325,000; purchased for $327,500

The agent: Benjamin Camp, Elfant Wissahickon

The ask: Jessica Lubniewski and David Jacobs didn’t want to buy just any house; they wanted to buy their friend’s house. But when the friend didn’t accept their offer, they had to pivot.

The couple started looking for houses that cost less than $375,000 in East Falls. They wanted at least three bedrooms, a bathroom on the first floor, and a dining room that was big enough to entertain. “That was a really big thing for me,” said Lubniewski. They also wanted character and original details — not a recently flipped property.

The search: The couple went to a few open houses and spent their evenings browsing Zillow listings, where Lubniewski spied a preview listing for a house that wouldn’t be on the market for a few weeks. “I just kept looking at it and being like, ‘Man, that house looks so cool,’” said Lubniewski. “It was right around the corner from where we were renting our apartment and had all the things we were looking for.” Lubniewski and Jacobs told their agent they wanted to see the house and he worked to get them “the first viewing on the first day that it was on the market,” said Jacobs.

The appeal: The couple loved the look of the first floor, which includes two fireplaces. “Neither of them are working,” said Lubniewski, but the mantles are “so beautiful.” The one in the living room has its original facade.

The arched doorways in between the living room and the dining room and the dining room and the kitchen give “a nice look,” said Lubniewski. Jacobs appreciates the house’s central air system.

The deal: A few hours after visiting the home, the couple put in an offer. Their agent suggested they bid a few thousand dollars over the asking price, so they offered $2,500 more for a total of $327,500. Lubniewski thinks they may have been the only people to see the house.

The seller accepted their offer and after the inspection, agreed to cover $5,000 of the closing costs. He also threw in the patio furniture and the grill. In exchange, the couple did a 30-day closing.

“It all happened pretty smoothly and pretty quickly,” said Lubniewski.

The money: The couple had $90,000 to spend on their home. That included $40,000 of personal savings.

“We don’t have any kids. We don’t have a lot of expenses,” said Lubniewski regarding how they were able to save. And after Jacobs got his current job as an electrical engineer, they were “able to save a lot quite easily,” she added, a first for both of them.

They also got $40,000 from Jacobs’ parents, and additional money they inherited from relatives who died earlier in the year.

They tried to pursue a first-time homebuyer’s mortgage but were about $500 over the income limit, Lubniewski said, so they got a 30-year-mortgage with a 6.45% interest rate instead. They put 20% down, about $65,000.

The move: Lubniewski and Jacobs made a few changes to the house before they moved in, including ripping out the carpeting upstairs. “It was horrible work, so gross,” said Lubniewski. They hired someone to redo the floors and buff the original hardwood downstairs. They officially moved in at the end of July, said Lubniewski, “on what felt like the hottest day of the summer.”

Any reservations? Jacobs wishes they had time to replace the old electrical wiring they discovered after they moved in. “In the basement the electrical all looked really good, and the inspector didn’t flag anything.” But when they tried to replace a light fixture in the dining room, they encountered old, fabric-wrapped wire, an outdated type of electrical wiring that exists in many old homes. They think there may be more, but they don’t want to bust through the walls right now to find out.

Life after close: Since moving in, Jacobs and Lubniewski have been busy getting to know their neighbors. In fact, a woman who grew up in the house stopped by on Halloween and asked to peek inside. “She was really excited,” said Lubniewski. She even had her son take a photo in front of the fireplace mantel, the same spot her mother took a photo of her on Halloween in the ‘70s. “It’s always so interesting to know what has changed,” Lubniewski said. Or in the case of the fireplace mantel, what hasn’t.

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