Which suburb? (Chester, West Chester, Horsham: how much, townhouse, heat pump)

[jhpark]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a townhome (or single fam with a small, small yard) within 45 mins of CC, an hour from the airport, and an hour from Horsham. Also would like a good school district, which in my understanding excludes the eastern half of DelCo

Any advice? I've found some interesting spots near KoP, but the commute into the city frightens me on 76 -- is 23 a viable alternative if I'm in between KoP and Conshohocken?

Also, I found some places in West Chester, but they use heat pumps, which i assume means they have electric heat and no gas hookups. And I really want a gas stove. how much would it cost to install gas lines? Would the gas company even do it if I only want a stove? I assume they'll want the hot water and furnace to be gas as well.. ? I'm kind of assuming that a townhome association wouldn't allow me to get a propane tank for the stove... ?

Oh -- I also want a wood burning fireplace. Is there an easy way to tell whether a gas fireplace is a former wood burning fireplace w/gas logs ( so easy to convert back) or a real gas fireplace? Or do I just need to call the RE agents?

Anyway... Any thoughts either on location or the other stuff would be appreciated. Thanks!

[gigibell214]

When my mother bought a new house many, many years ago. She converted to gas heat and I think it was a $5000.00 dollar job. Maybe it was $3000.00 but I really think it was 5.

[heyrenee17]

the conshocken area is a great place to live. 76 isn't that terrible. you'll get use to it, and you'll figure out the best times to use it, and when to avoid it all cost. conshy/plymouth meeting/lafayette hill area, has great schools and is very convienient to 476/turnpike/76/ridge pike/23/germantown. 23 is definitely a viable option for getting to the city, but that depends where you want to go end up in the city. it leaves you more toward city line, west philly. when ridge takes you down near manayunk and kelly drive.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

Why wouldn't you live in the Horsham area? It's a great place for families. There are quite a few townhouse communities in the Horsham area with great schools. All 3 of my kids graduated from Hatboro-Horsham schools, they are blue ribbon schools. Send me a PM if you need a great realtor from the area. We used her 3 times... highly recommended.