Buying in NW Philly

Buying in Northwest Philadelphia is mostly the same as buying anywhere in Pennsylvania, with a few differences that matter a lot.

The houses are old. Plan for it.

Most of what you will look at up here was built between the 1880s and the 1940s, and a fair amount of it is older than that. Well-built, generally — stone and solid masonry, framing lumber you cannot buy anymore, room proportions nobody builds now. But old.

What that means in practice:

• Get the right inspector. Someone who works on century-old stone houses, not someone whose experience is 1990s construction. The difference shows up immediately.
• Ask about the systems specifically. Knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized supply lines, oil tanks (buried and otherwise), and the age of the heating system. None of these are dealbreakers. All of them are budget items.
• Look at the water. Roof, gutters, grading, pointing on stone walls, and how the basement smells. Water is what actually damages old houses.
• Understand what you are taking on. A stone house needs repointing on a cycle. That is maintenance, not a defect — but it should be in your numbers.

Historic designations

Some properties here sit in historic districts or carry easements, and some are individually listed. Chestnut Hill alone has roughly 2,000 buildings named as contributing properties in its National Register district.

Designation is not a problem, but it is a fact you want to know before you fall in love with a house and start planning window replacements. Rules vary by property and by which designation applies. Ask early.

Getting to work

The commute story up here is SEPTA Regional Rail, and it is genuinely good. The Chestnut Hill East and Chestnut Hill West lines run through Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, and Germantown; the Manayunk/Norristown line serves Manayunk and Roxborough; East Falls sits on Chestnut Hill East. Most of these put you in Center City in 20 to 35 minutes.

Proximity to a station is priced in, and it holds value. So does walkability to a commercial corridor — Germantown Avenue, Main Street, Ridge Avenue.

Costs to plan for

Beyond your down payment and closing costs, the big Philadelphia-specific one is the realty transfer tax: 3.578% to the City plus 1% to the Commonwealth, 4.578% total. Who pays it is negotiable and it is commonly split, but it is a real number and it surprises people.

Philadelphia also offers a Homestead Exemption that reduces the assessed value of your primary residence, and there are other programs depending on circumstances. Amounts and eligibility change, so check the current rules rather than trusting anything you read online — including this page.

The process

Pennsylvania uses a standard Agreement of Sale. Once it is signed you will typically have an inspection period, a mortgage contingency period, and a settlement date. Listings run through Bright MLS. Nothing exotic — but the inspection period is where the real negotiating happens on old houses, so do not compress it to win a bidding war unless you know exactly what you are agreeing to.