Home Purchase for UPenn Student

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by tarp

........The Delco areas in that price range are ghetto..........

Actually beginning with Springfield, Ridley and Glenolden and moving south, it is more like Archy Bunker land then it is ghetto. (except Chester of course) All these towns have write ups in wikapedia that give you the demographics.

Originally Posted by Michael J. McFadden

.. after looking the thread over he had a recommendation that the original poster check out the 4800 block of Fairmount Avenue. He claims it's a nice block and the houses are close to the $100k range. I've never been up there, but I'd guess it's about a ten minute bicycle ride to U of Penn.

I always say it never hurts to look.

[zenith1107]

Okay I arrived on campus today and drove around the areas in UCity as well as Aston/Brookhaven.

First, as many members has pointed out, UCity is distinct block-by-block. There are patches of bad spots here and there and it really needs a very careful eye for a purchase within my budget. Areas close to Penn are super expensive (and really old too with many 100+year buildings) and areas outside Penn's immediate at least looks very unsafe. Aston looks like a typical suburban neighborhood and there is also a university there (Newmann University) but it's kinda small. So if I buy from Aston, I assume I'll have a much harder time renting it out and can probably only rent to families.

Second, the morning commute from Aston to Philly is not bad at all if I take the side streets and avoid I-76. I came in at the most crowded hour (Monday 8am) and it only took me less than 30 mins to get from Aston to Center City via I-95 and city streets (exit 346C on I-76 then Grays Ferry Ave).

I guess for now I'm more leaning toward suburbs since 1) they are more economically stable and prices are less volatile and 2) I tend to avoid "gentrified" urban areas since during bad economic times they tend to fall back into disrepair pretty quickly. So my questions are:

1. How does Aston/Brookhaven compare to other Delaware County suburbs that are a few miles closer to Philly? (i.e Ridley, Prospect Park, Glenolden)? They seem to be more expensive yet the quality of the housing stock is not definitively better. I'll stay away from Darby and Sharon Hill per suggestion of other board members.

2. What other Non-NJ suburban areas should I look at? Preferably they should be located within a 20-minute radius within Philly.

Thanks so much for all your great help! Philly is really an amazing city and I already love it!

[tarp]

You're making a big mistake by not looking across the bridge in NJ. That is where you will find the best housing in your price range, in the most stable areas with the shortest/easiest commutes to Univ City. All the close-in Delco suburbs are on their way to becoming overflow housing for displaced West Philly residents. Darby is a mess and Lansdowne's school district has gone way downhill. Upper Darby has also seen its decline. The ones in your price range that are safer areas like Norwood, Prospect Park, Ridley Park are all ugly industrial suburbs. The nice PA suburbs are further out and on the Main Line. If you could afford it by all means I would suggest Wayne, Devon, Bryn Mawr, Havertown, or even as far out as Media to the south, or Jenkintown and Ambler to the north. Without a doubt PA has the nicest suburbs. But you need to double or triple your budget. But in your price range, and in the closer in suburbs, you need to avoid the close-in parts of Delco and go across the bridge to NJ.

By the way, you are really mistaken that Philly is an amazing city. The city is truly a hellhole, with the exception of a few nicer parts. Take a ride west on Market St or north on Broad Street and tell me how amazing it looks!

[templeu]

If you're going to be at UPENN, why not look at an area like Havertown or Drexel Hill? You might even look at Lansdowne (though I'm sure folks on here will have opinions about this area and it's trajectory - you likely won't have a hard time finding renters). These areas are going to be closer to UPENN then many of the other places you've mentioned in Delco.

Some of the areas such as Wayne, Devon, etc that Tarp mentioned are along the mainline and will almost certainly be out of your price range.

[zenith1107]

Originally Posted by tarp

You're making a big mistake by not looking across the bridge in NJ. That is where you will find the best housing in your price range, in the most stable areas with the shortest/easiest commutes to Univ City.

I like to keep my options open so I'm not ruling NJ out completely. By NJ you mean the areas near Camden right? I thought Camden has a really bad reputation for being run-down and suffers from bad urban decay, so how do Camden suburban areas like say, Mt Ephraim, Audubon and Oaklyn compare with the "industrual" Delco suburbs like Ridley, Norwood etc? Are these places in NJ easier to rent/sell than the Delco neighborhoods? To me the big minuses for NJ are 1) expensive commute (no train, toll adds up to more than $1000 a year) so harder to rent, and 2) high property taxes. Therefore the housing stock has to be really new to compensate for that.

[bryson662001]

Without going in to too much detail, IMO you will find NJ is a net loser after adding up all the pluses and minuses.
There is a reason that suburban development west of the city covers twice as much area as it does east of the city. IMO.

[tarp]

NJ has the PATCO but you have to transfer to the SEPTA market-frankford line at 8th and Market so its a bit of a hassle to get to University City by subway line. Still certainly doable, but driving is much easier. Camden is dangerous but so is West Philly, and Camden is small and easy to avoid. The towns outside of Camden like Mt. Ephraim, Oaklyn, Haddon Township, Collingswood, Audubon, etc. are much nicer than the close-in Delco suburbs. If you have the money then by all means live on the main line, but if the choice comes down to living in crappy industrial post-war suburbs in Delaware County vs. a place like Audubon or Oaklyn and having a better (though more expensive commute) commute and better house I would pick NJ.

[templeu]

Audubon and Oaklyn, while nicer than Darby or Sharon Hill, aren't much different from some of the Delco burbs (e.g., Ridley, Norwood) and certainly not as nice as places like Media or Garnet Valley. Broomall, for instance, which fits that "industrial post-war burb" description, is much nicer than Mt. Ephraim, Oaklyn, or Audubon.

Parts of Haddon Township are great (those that share a zip with Haddonfield, or areas of Westmont) and areas that are dirtier, rundown looking, where residents park their cars on their lawns, etc. So, while I live in NJ - it is certainly not the end all be all. There are sections that are very very nice - which come with a price tag. And sections that I find to be pretty trashy.

[tarp]

Your best bet is really to look at areas in the northwest part of the city, within city limits, around the Wissahickon Avenue, East Falls, West Mount Airy areas. Northeast Philly is also decent, especially the far northeast, but the commute would be horrible to University City. The property taxes are much lower in the city than in the suburbs. I'm not so sure about resale value. This all goes out the window if school district is of concern, which is why we ended up choosing NJ.

[Synergy1]

I would not buy in Phlly because of their tax structure on buying and selling a home and they do not give a resident a good value for their money.

I lived in devon and Valley Forge for many years and my wife worked for Penn for 30 years while I worked in the City for 35years.

Havertown or Clifton Heights are nice areas plus public trans. gives the rider a fast commute via bus to and from Univ of Penn.