Need help on buying first home in Aldan, Drexel Hill, or Lansdowne area in PA (Philadelphia: crime)

[emytran]

Hoping anyone can give us some light and info on buying first home in Aldan, Drexel Hill, or Lansdowne area in PA.

My fiance and I have been saving up and are finally able to afford a home. We are looking at max 150k houses and can put 20% down. Our credit score is around 755 and with both income combine will be around 70k a year.

Does anyone know a good mortgage company to work with?
What is the lowest interest rate do you think we can get at this market?
Any first home buyer programs we should know of?

We are just starting is journey so any comments or advice will be much appreciated!

[Phillywander6767]

Drexel Hill could be ok any section above Garrett Road.... the area near the DH post office is shady.. "South" Drexel Hill isnt nice and crime has increased.

Lansdowne has seen a bit of a renaissance as it is close to Philly due to the train stop at Lansdowne Ave and baltimore pike.

Aldan seems to be steady but in a horrible School district.

[mls128]

I would be very hesitant to buy in any of these areas, not because they are bad or dangerous but because they are all on the decline, which is not good from an investment standpoint.

[Droop]

I agree, you would probably be better off buying in Villanova or Gladwyne.

[Burger Fan]

Originally Posted by mls128

I would be very hesitant to buy in any of these areas, not because they are bad or dangerous but because they are all on the decline, which is not good from an investment standpoint.

This is correct. The school district in Aldan and Lansdowne is VERY poor (though not dangerous) which is why the home prices are as low as they are. Comparable housing in better districts can easily run you another 100-150K, easily.

Even if you and your fiancée are not planning on having children in the near future, be aware that school district is the first thing that many buyers look at in terms of home purchases, and selling your home at all, let alone at a profit may be very difficult if that decline in the district does not reverse...or even worse continues to decline. Since school district funding is tied to property tax revenue, there's a strange paradox that property taxes in bad school districts (William Penn) have been spiking outrageously as home prices decline and people move out for better districts. Not a situation you want to be in if you can help it.


Drexel hill is in much the same boat. there are some beautiful properties that can be had cheaply, tied to laughably high property taxes and a poor school district. There is a section of Drexel hill that's in the Haverford (not upper darby) school district, but these houses go for a premium, and locals are well aware of which ones those are.

Originally Posted by Droop

I agree, you would probably be better off buying in Villanova or Gladwyne.

on a 150K budget on 70K combined income? impossible.


Generally when someone comes in looking for starter properties in that price range, I point them at the interboro or ridley school districts. So that would be norwood, glenolden, prospect park, ridley, ridley park, etc. You MAY also get lucky and find something in Morton, which is springfield school district or Havertown, which is Haverford school district.

[RVA_DELCO]

How did this work out for you? What did y'all end up doing?

I'm chiming in late, but I love living in Aldan. The happy paradox to high property taxes is low housing costs. It's a quality of life issue. In the long run, it'd be great to have lower taxes, but you're not going to get a decent house in the $100 - $150k range in any of the low tax communities and none of them are as close to Philadelphia and still clean, quiet, safe, and walkable. There's a lot to be said about living somewhere nice that you can enjoy now over waiting another 5 years to afford a house in the $300k range.

-And if you think about that for a minute, you're buying a nice house for $150k in Aldan that would cost $250k in a better school or tax situation, it's really not that bad a deal. Even the lowest tax areas around here are still going to charge around $2000 per year. Aldan charges around $5000. The relative increase in tax versus the increase in housing price plus tax is comparable around 30 years (assuming that all things stay the same or increase/decrease at similar rates):

$100k + $2000(30) = $160k (Buying low-tax, high-cost property)
$5000(30) = $150k (Buying in Aldan, high-cost property)

With the difference being better schools somewhere else for $160k extra, but not within 20 minutes of Center City.

We worked with Trident Mortgage and liked how quick they were with the paperwork, several financing options with the lowest available interest rates, but they're just a mortgage broker and they sold the debt to Wells Fargo who operates with their head in their ass. I suppose your results may vary.