We’ve all got ideas of where we’d like to live. And location is often a deal-breaker for homebuyers. But this first-time buyer was very specific.
She limited her home search to a single square block in East Frankford.
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
A new property tax break?: Learn what’s up with the mayor’s plans for a 20-year tax abatement in Philly.
Home-buying help: A new 0% interest loan can help Pennsylvania homebuyers with down payments and closing costs.
Shore homes for sale: For $26 million, you could buy neighboring bayside homes in Stone Harbor.
Blooming in Berwyn: Peek inside this property, where a couple’s colorful garden blooms year-round.
— Michaelle Bond
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Celine Thompson knew she wanted to be in Philly’s East Frankford neighborhood.
It’s where her parents and grandparents had lived. She had relatives who were still within a one-block radius in the neighborhood. And when Thompson started looking for a house to buy, she was living in what had been her great-grandmother’s home, also in the neighborhood.
She tried for two years to buy a house on her family’s block. But not many properties went up for sale, and she missed out on the few that did.
So Thompson moved quickly when another hit the market. She toured the house on a Friday, and the seller accepted her offer that Sunday.
The backyard of Thompson’s home partially abuts her aunt’s backyard.
Keep reading to find out how Thompson made the purchase happen and why she said the first few months in her new home “were definitely a dark cloud.”
📮Were you able to buy a home very close to family or friends? Tell me about it.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker says that a key part of her plan to build or repair 30,000 homes is a 20-year tax break for the redevelopment of empty office and school buildings.
Developers say they need incentives from the government to be able to convert empty commercial buildings to housing. Philadelphia has millions of square feet of underused office and industrial space.
But nothing’s happened with the City Council legislation that’s needed to create the 20-year tax abatement.
Parker says that doesn’t mean the abatement is dead. In a statement last week, she said the legislation will put her housing plan “on steroids” and that “it’s critical that we take the time to get it right.”
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said he hadn’t seen the mayor’s proposed legislation yet, although he’s open to the idea of the abatement.
But he and other Council members want to make sure it creates homes that cost below the market rate. That desire could add another hurdle.
Keep reading to learn what a 20-year tax abatement might look like and what’s behind some of the delay.
The latest news to pay attention to
As home costs rise, Pennsylvanians can now use a new loan for down payments and closing costs.
In Stone Harbor, neighboring bayside homes hit the market for a combined $26 million.
Montgomery County officials say they have “real, aggressive goals” to develop affordable housing.
A formerly beloved Philly business has agreed to pay back thousands of dollars to clients for unfinished residential restoration projects.
Mayor Parker’s proposal to increase taxes on Airbnbs and hotels has collapsed amid City Hall budget negotiations.
Inside the battle over King of Prussia’s 4.6 million square feet of proposed data centers.
House of the week: For $624,900 in Chester County, an 18th-century farmhouse with two barns on one acre.
Bonnie and Bob Dettore live in a split-level house at the top of a slope in Berwyn.
Leading up to their home are blooming shrubs, trees, and ground cover that transformed what had been a bare landscape with some old-growth trees when they bought the property in 1987.
The trees kept the house in the dark, so Bob, a civil engineer, had about 30 of them cut down, terraced the front yard, and planted new shrubs and trees throughout the property. He also added seating areas, including a backyard patio with an awning for shade.
The Dettores now have a garden that blooms in every season.
Take a look at their thriving property and learn how they keep away the hungry deer that had them considering selling their house.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the location this photo shows?
📮 If you think you do, email me back.
Last week’s quiz featured a photo of the pedestrian bridge at 29th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Shoutout to Mike P. and Will G. for knowing that.
Will told me: “I’m not sure what the official name is, but in Fairmount we just call it “Green Bridge,” or even more informally, “The Bridge.” … Used to be one of the main night hangs for neighborhood teens. That use left with gentrification and the installation of preventive measures like flood lights. I could go into more detail but I’ll just say fun was had."
And that’s all we need to know. Enjoy the rest of your week.
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