Pied-Ã -terre in Philadelphia? (Doylestown, California: rental market, condos, home)

[Nova-Nation]

Hi all,

Longtime lurker but finally am taking the dive in.

My wife and I currently live in Doylestown and have been discussing the idea of getting a second residence in Philly now that our kids are getting older and are indepdent on the weekends. We have been looking into it for a few months now and I wanted to see if the community could bestow any wisdom upon us.

Have you or anyone you know gone this route of keeping a place in the burbs and getting a weekend get away in the city? If so, what has your experience been? Lessons learned or things you'd do differently?

We are currently looking at 2-3 bedrooms in Rittenhouse, Old City and Society Hill, any other areas you would recommend we expand our search to that would give us a great central location to all the best things the city has to offer? Our budget is up to 1.5M.

Parking- how important is it to have a unit that comes with parking vs finding street parking or paying monthly for a secured space in a lot?

[acenturi]

Yep, Rent for 6 months to a Year and then decide. It's not unusual for 3 BDR Condos in the area you're looking at, particularly around Rittenhouse, to have $5+M prices. However this is not NYC and there are also many 2-3BDR units priced below/close to $1.5M (check out Zillow), which include on-site garage parking or on-site parking for a monthly fee. Keep looking. I've done the 2 residence thing twice, once when the 2nd residence was a resort and once when it was similar to the situation you're considering. Unless you're highly (VERY Highly) motivated to visit the 2nd residence at least once a month (more frequently is even better), because of the wealth of surrounding activities (e.g., Concerts, Shows, Sports, Museums, Food, etc.), you may tire of the getting ready to go and the commute after a year or so and then rarely visit Home 2. Consequently, my strong suggestion to Rent for awhile, then decide.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Nova-Nation

Hi all,

Longtime lurker but finally am taking the dive in.

My wife and I currently live in Doylestown and have been discussing the idea of getting a second residence in Philly now that our kids are getting older and are indepdent on the weekends. We have been looking into it for a few months now and I wanted to see if the community could bestow any wisdom upon us.

Have you or anyone you know gone this route of keeping a place in the burbs and getting a weekend get away in the city? If so, what has your experience been? Lessons learned or things you'd do differently?

We are currently looking at 2-3 bedrooms in Rittenhouse, Old City and Society Hill, any other areas you would recommend we expand our search to that would give us a great central location to all the best things the city has to offer? Our budget is up to 1.5M.

Parking- how important is it to have a unit that comes with parking vs finding street parking or paying monthly for a secured space in a lot?

Think about not even having a car.

I'm 6 years into retirement and live in Greater Center City(Spring Garden). I sold my car three years ago because it essentially sat in a parking garage; I barely used itl

I thought I would miss driving but I really don't. I can walk, Uber or pub trans to most everything I need or want to do.

Incidently I was in Doylestown a couple of days ago at the terrific exhibit of H. Wyeth's works at the Mercer Museum. Taking the train was easy and convenient.

Some of the other popular neighborhoods, like Fairmount, have LOTS of millennials with young children so you might want to avoid those.

[kidphilly]

agree on the no need for a car


As a thought as budget seems not to be a huge issue


Two things I would consider


Maybe rent a place before totally splashing in, then you can get a feel for the value and location you might want to be in


second thought is going a little cheaper and looking at a purchase that could be flipped to a rental should you decide you don't want to be in longer term 1.5M is a tougher rental market and lower can come closer to covering costs




the locations you mention make sense. In terms of parking, street parking would be a pain in either area, train in from Doylestown is pretty easy but you could also rent a spot or even pay by day depending on the amount of time spent which may be cheaper


that said few 1.5M properties would not have parking options which are a plus regardless

[PHLondoner]

You should add Fitler Square and Wash Square West.

I'm a big advocate of public transit, but at your price point, get parking. You don't want to be looping blocks on Friday evenings or dealing with the hectic weekend garage crowd - it will dissuade you from wanting to come down Fridays after work which is like missing out on half the fun.

What type of building do you want, Brownstone walkup in Rittenhouse with a few condos? An elevator condo building like Murano? A loft-style place you'd find more in old city/Callowhill? You could even get a full rowhome in one of these neighborhoods? All come with different amenities and lifestyle choices - different ways to entertain and engage. So that's really the thing you need to ask yourself.

Another thought, instead of renting a place you'll only use a few days a month, potentially look at doing an Air B n B/Homeaway rental in several different neighborhoods across a few select weekends?

Not exactly the same, but my folks are bi-coastal - splitting time between SoCal and Center City - 3months at a time. They have a convertible in California and a farmer's market cart in Philly (no car) and love it all - as one might expect. Absolutely worth doing, and if you invest in the right property - like many of us in the city - you could make a significant return over a relatively short period of time.