Main Line Real Estate | Jennifer LeBow, Realtor
Helping You Relocate to Philadelphia's Main Line
Jen LeBow’s Pesto Recipe
In pot on stovetop, combine and cook on low-medium until pine nuts turn golden:
2T EVOO
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 coarsely chopped garlic cloves
Pour into food processor and blend til smooth.
Add 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves and combine.
Add 1/2 cup EVOO slowly and mix til combined.
Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and blend fully.
If you freeze the pesto, pour into jar/container and then drizzle a little EVOO on the top to prevent freezer burn.
When you buy a home and are getting a mortgage, the lender will require an appraisal. They want to make sure they are lending an amount in line with the independently assessed value (the appraisal amount). They look at comparable sales in the area, make adjustments and come up with a value. If it comes in lower than purchase price, many buyers contest it as it may require them to cover the difference in cash or pay PMI on their loan. However, in most cases, if the appraisal comes in at purchase price or higher, everyone in the transaction breathes easier and considers that step checked off the list. Imagine my surprise when I recently discovered that when an appraisal comes in (regardless of purchase price) higher than many comps suggest is should, it can create a problem.
I recently sold a house and it had some very specific features that made it worth a lot more to my clients than the list price. The listing agent had (wisely) priced it based on what the comps suggested. I explained to them that it would never appraise at the number they were offering and that they needed to be prepared for that likelihood. My buyers got the house and the appraisal came in at value (purchase price). We were all thrilled as well as shocked. I actually remember saying to them, “You could have knocked me over with a feather.” We thought all was well until….just a few days before closing, the lender’s underwriter ran it through their automated system. The system flagged it as being so far above the range it provided that a second appraisal was required. I did not know about this second, automated appraisal. I believe it may only happen with jumbo loans, but regardless, I was surprised.
Not only did the second one come in appreciably lower (luckily, my clients had prepared for that), but having to wait for the second appraisal threatened our ability to close on time. Since my buyers’ offer was NOT contingent on a mortgage/appraisal, the seller could have found them in default for not meeting the settlement date and terminated, while keeping my clients’ very large deposit. Fortunately, they agreed to extend settlement, but the point is that it could have been a disaster!
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
Wayne has a bustling town center, located along Lancaster Avenue, which offers plenty of options for shopping, dining and socializing. Geographically, it’s a fairly large area and has distinctly different neighborhoods. The Radnor Township section of Wayne includes the more historic portions which have incredible charm and a comfortable elegance. These “walk-to-Wayne” addresses are very popular. The northern section, in Upper Merion Township, contains some small enclaves of newer homes and is more heavily treed–fewer sidewalks and more suburban feeling. The largest portion of Wayne is the T-E School District and includes the Deepdale neighborhood and part of the Shand Tract, both of which are family-friendly and in high demand. There is also a nice community of homes in the Glenhardie neighborhood. The overall feeling of Wayne is the perfect mix of easy residential living with access to a small downtown, without being too far (from the convenient train station) to other areas of the Main Line as well as Philadelphia.
Wayne has a wide variety of housing. In the eastern section, you’ll see many gracious stone homes are often well over 100 years old. Deep porches are common features of these houses. There are also much more conventional Colonials and split-levels and even some Capes around. A ranch will pop up here and there, but there aren’t many of them. There are some newer construction houses, mostly in the Upper Merion section. Some properties are wooded and private, while others are much more conducive to knowing your neighbors.
Chanticleer. This garden is a wonderful place to spend a few hours. It has some areas that are manicured, but many that are not and there is a peppering of old stone buildings/ruins that make wandering a treat.
The Radnor Trail. This path is a repurposed railway line and a very much loved Wayne area destination. There is a parking lot on Conestoga Rd. and it’s a terrific place for a walk, run, bike ride, etc.
Wayne Art Center. Opened during the Great Depression, this non-profit offers classes, exhibits and lectures.
Wayne was originally called Louella, but was renamed in honor of General Anthony Wayne, who was a prominent figure of the Revolutionary War.
Read more about Wayne here, and for a more in-depth summary with pictures, click here. You might also want to see what Wikipedia has to say.
If you are curious about other Main Line towns and neighborhoods, please take a look at my Main Line Neighborhood Guide.
Please contact me for more information at 610 308-5973 or jen@jenniferlebow.com.
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
Villanova is home to Villanova University, so there is a large student population and a section of this town that caters to that crowd. There are several restaurants and shops right on Lancaster Ave. by the university. This town has a very different side, too, though. Villanova boasts some of the most expensive and exclusive properties on the Main Line. The result is a University town feeling (right by the school) against a backdrop of a private, residential and somewhat staid vibe.
A substantial number of estate properties dot the landscape in both the Lower Merion and Radnor Township sections of Villanova. Many of these have significant acreage and offer a peaceful lifestyle away from traffic and prying eyes. Some of these properties are elegant old stone mansions but there are also many newer homes as well. Properties tend to be very well cared for, including the grounds.
There are also more affordable homes in the area, including Colonials and Capes, and while some streets have sidewalks, the majority of the area has fairly windy, narrow, tree-lined streets more conducive to driving on than strolling on.
Anyone who follows college basketball knows that Villanova University is a powerhouse in that arena and will enjoy attending games. For those looking for an outdoor experience, visit Skunk Hollow Park, which is nearly 100 acres and offers streams and trails for a nice walk in the woods.
Stoneleigh. This “natural garden” (meaning not overly manicured) was the pride and joy of the Haas family who lived here for many years. Upon their death, their heirs chose to donate the property to the Conservancy. It is a lovely place to walk through with a wide variety of different kinds of trees and plants and many outdoor “rooms”. Free to the public as well!
Appleford. This country estate and arboretum is a wonderful wedding venue, but the grounds are open to the public to enjoy. There are formal gardens as well as less formal spaces and an incredible array of specimen trees.
Villanova University sits on land originally purchased by William Penn from the Lenni Lenape native Americans. This land was a no-man’s land during the Revolutionary War and divided the encampments of the two warring sides.
Read more about Villanova here, and for a more in-depth summary with pictures, click here. You might also want to see what Wikipedia has to say.
If you are curious about other Main Line towns and neighborhoods, please take a look at my Main Line Neighborhood Guide.
Please contact me for more information at 610 308-5973 or jen@jenniferlebow.com.
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
If you are scheduled to tour a property with your agent (or even at an open house), there are some preparations you can make ahead of time that may make sense. My first recommendation is to ask for the Property Disclosure and read it carefully. If there are problems/repairs you want to learn more about or better understand, you can make it a point to check them out when you are there. I’d also recommend using the street view map tool to take a virtual tour of the street/block. If there are any red flags (properties that seem derelict, proximity to a train or commercial/industrial lots), you can plan some reconnaissance. Finally, if you expect you might want to make an offer on a particular property, you might even consider arranging an inspection (a full inspection or a “walk and talk”) which can allow you to make a more appealing offer (as it would not have an inspection contingency).
Some things you might want to have during the showing include:
Neighborhood: Obviously, you are looking at a specific house and property, but pay attention to the neighborhood and what the street and other homes look like. Note whether you can park on the street. Are there streetlights? sidewalks? If you’ve done the street view tour, you may already know some of this information.
Property: As for the property itself, notice the “non-house” parts–does the driveway need to be repaved? Are there lots of trees overhanging the house or other landscaping to be done? Are there boggy areas? Is it/will it need to be fenced? How do any decks or patios look?
Interior: Condition of the interior is one thing to notice. Are the wood floors in good shape? Would you need to paint, update kitchens or bathrooms? Tear out paneling? What about lighting? You also want to be sure to check the HVAC and hot water heater as though systems need to be working for your safety and comfort. A big concern is whether the basement is dry. If water comes in, it can be very costly to fix (and if your plan is to finish that space for living area, you need to know if it currently gets wet!). If you are thinking about upgrading/remodeling, ask yourselves some questions. For example, how long could you tolerate living with the existing kitchen and how long will it take you to save the money to update it? If those timelines don’t match, you’ll need to rethink. Would you/could you do any of the updates prior to moving in? How does that affect budget, proposed settlement date and timing related to selling your current home?
After condition, what you’ll notice most is the layout and flow of the home and size and shapes of the rooms. Think about furniture placement. Can you place a sofa so it’s not up against a window or in a doorway? In the bedrooms, can you locate the bed so it’s not against a window or radiator and be able to get out of it and still have clearance to open the closet door? Is there adequate storage in the kitchen, in the bedroom closets and for overflow for all that “stuff” you have accumulated?
A little “homework” before seeing a property can stand you in good stead by focusing you on some of the important factors, including neighborhood characteristics and repairs or problems noted on the Seller’s Property Disclosure. You may even choose to arrange for an inspection. Be sure to bring along a measuring tape and some other tools along as they can come in handy.
When you’re there, don’t forget to look around at the property and home exterior before/after checking out the inside. Take some notes and even some pictures to remind yourselves, when you are no longer in the house, of the major factors you need to consider for each property you visit. I often suggest buyers take a video that they narrate with comments like “this pantry seems small” or “not sure what we could do with this nook–could it work as an office?”. These reminders are particularly useful when you see several houses in a day.
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
“Comps” is the abbreviated term real estate agents use for properties considered comparable to a specific home. We use comps with sellers, trying to arrive at an appropriate list price, as well as with buyers who are considering making an offer. While no two homes are identical, location, size, condition, and other factors generally factor heavily into our decision whether to consider them comparable to the house in question. That said, there are other features that can heavily impact a property’s value that I have discovered are often overlooked by buyers. It’s not their fault! MLS listings are designed to showcase the interior space and often very little of the exterior, or less attractive spaces, like the utility closet, for example.
The purpose of this post is to draw your attention to some of those aspects of a property that you might not realize, but that could significantly affect its value.
The list above is by no means complete, but, rather, the first several things that popped into my mind when I thought about the features of comparable properties that my own buyers and sellers often overlook. You can develop a skewed idea of value (too high or too low) for a property if you ignore everything but what the interior of the house looks like. Sometimes, not all the pertinent data is available, but a good agent should be able to fill in most of the blanks and help you understand the appropriate adjustments to make in evaluating those properties in comparison to a specific house.
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
Historically, sellers have paid buyer brokers’ commissions. While it might seem odd for the seller to pay the buyer’s representative, there’s a reason that that model has remained in place. In short, it benefits the seller in several ways. When a seller pays the buyer broker’s commission, the seller:
In addition to lower prices resulting from less competition, the purchase prices for these houses will decrease as a reflection of buyers having to incur the cost of paying their own brokers. A seller who is deciding whether to offer buyer broker compensation might suggest one price if he is going to absorb it and a lower price (lower by the amount of commission he would save) if he is not going to pay it. The seller’s net proceeds would remain very similar in both cases, so, for the seller, it is roughly the same thing.
For the buyer, though, it is decidedly NOT the same thing. Realistically, the savings the seller will realize by not paying the buyer broker’s commission will be surpassed by the decrease in the buyer’s offer price. Why? Because the majority of home buyers don’t pay cash; they use a mortgage for part of the purchase. Mortgaged money doesn’t “cost” as much as cash.
Consider a buyer who is putting down 20%. That means that the buyer’s cash responsibility is 20% of the purchase price. So paying 100% of the buyer broker’s commission in cash is much different than paying 20% of that amount, which is what happens if it’s rolled into the purchase price. Yes, the mortgage amount would be slightly higher, but the additional monthly amount would be very small as it’s spread out over the life of the loan.
There are so many cash expenses associated with purchasing a house, including the down payment, the closing costs, the moving costs, and more, that the additional cost of having to pay their agent in cash could be the difference between a buyer moving forward on a property or not. Buyers relying on a mortgage for a portion of the purchase price can afford less (by a gap larger than the broker commission amount). Why should a seller care? Lower net proceeds.
Commissions are negotiable. For the purpose of this example, the buyer’s broker commission is 3%, but it could be a different amount.
A buyer is considering buying a house priced at $500,000, but, at that price, she must pay her broker 3%, in cash ($15,000). Assuming she is put down 20% as her down payment amount, she’d have $100,000 in down payment and an additional $15,000 in cash for the commission. That is a total of $115,000 in cash.
If, instead, the seller covered that fee (and, therefore, charged 3% more for the house) he would price the house at $515,000. In that scenario, the buyer’s down payment would increase to $103,000. To be fair, there would be some additional costs at that higher price. For example, title insurance would be an additional $69, the additional transfer tax would be under $200 and the additional interest until the end of the month would be around $10 at the most. The
difference in the required cash if she covered her own broker’s commission would still be over $11,500.
For many buyers, this additional cash burden translates into an even lower budget for the purchase, which means the seller is offered a lower amount for the house (lower than the amount of the buyer broker commission). Therefore, the seller’s net proceeds would be less than if he had priced the house at $515,000 and covered the buyer broker’s fee.
Note: the seller does have slightly reduced fees at the lower sale price. The seller would pay transfer tax on a lower purchase price—in our example, it would be a $150 savings. He would also pay his own broker 3% of $500,000 as well as covering the buyer broker’s fee at $500,000, resulting in a savings of $900.
Some prospective buyers will not look at properties which require them to pay their own agents/brokers because they don’t have the extra cash on hand to do so, or at least not in the price range of homes they are considering. Fewer showings leads to less competition and, therefore, lower offers.
Buyers have, historically, not had to factor in the cost of agent representation as the seller has covered the buyer broker’s commission. Some buyers may instruct their agents not to show them properties that require them to shoulder that cash burden. Keep in mind: the fewer people who consider your property, the less competition for it and the lower the final price. And today, more than ever before, home buyers are engaging buyer agents to protect and guide them; they are not likely to be willing to forgo representation. Even buyers who do choose to request appointments for those houses may take some time to analyze the total cost difference as well as the out-of-pocket difference vs. a listing in which the seller is paying the buyer broker’s commission. That potential lag in setting appointments translates to less compeition and reduces the sense of urgency other buyers will feel when writing offers.
Remember, also, that it’s an uncomfortable conversation for the agent to have to tell the buyer that if they look at a particular property, the buyer will have to come up with the cash to pay their commission. Some agents will not be as enthusiastic about those kinds of properties and may steer their buyers toward others. Ethical? No. Realistic? Yes. The result of fewer appointments and less immediate requests to show the property? Lower net proceeds.
Another potential effect of sellers not offering buyer broker compensation is a trend in which buyers, to save money, represent themselves or use a discount broker. In either of those two scenarios, the propensity for mistakes and the overlooking of details on the buyers’ side increases dramatically. Transactions in which buyers represent themselves or use discount brokers who may not be as experienced or professional as others have a much higher rate of fall through. Experiencing a fall through is not only stressful, but the houses that have to go back on the market almost always sell for less. The initial “buzz” and feeling of competition diminishes and, worse, some people mistakenly assume there is something wrong with the house, and the fall through indicates a lower value for it. Again, the bottom line is that the seller receives lower net proceeds.
Not to beat a dead horse, here, but isn’t this the crux of the matter? With all of the talk and confusion around the National Association of Realtors (NAR) lawsuit, the burning question amongst prospective home sellers is whether they will save money by not paying the buyer broker’s commission. I hope the above discussion has successfully explained why, in my opinion, the answer is a resounding “no”. I come back to where I started this post: there’s a reason sellers have historically paid the buyer broker’s commission: doing so increases their bottom line (and makes for a less stressful transaction). I expect there will be sellers who insist on putting the theory to the test and opt out of covering buyer broker commission. I am confident that those sellers will realize lower net proceeds. Only time will tell!
I know this was a long post; thanks for sticking with me til the end!
What is a bedroom?
As a real estate agent, I get this question frequently. There is, to be sure, lots of incorrect assumptions as well as inaccurate information out there. So I am going to set the record straight. Please note: laws differ in various regions. I am describing Pennsylvania laws only!
While most people think a bedroom has to have a window, it does not. Clearly, a windowless bedroom is pretty depressing, but the rule is simply that there are two means of egress. One of those must lead directly outside. The law has to do with being able to get out in a fire.
As I just explained, as long as there are two other means of egress, with at least one leading directly outdoors, a window is not required. However, if a window is the second means of egress, it must be at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide with a minimum opening area of 5.7 square feet. In addition, unless there is a permanent step allowing for easy access, this window must also be no more than 44 inches from the floor. Windows also must open at least halfway.
Due to our climate, all bedrooms must have a permanent heat source. Permanent means installed as opposed to plugged in. You can’t just plug in a free standing space heater. Air conditioning is not required. Pennsylvania decrees that as long as there is a door and/or window that can be opened to provide for the exchange of air, that space qualifies as a bedroom that has met the cooling requirement.
All bedrooms must have a source of electricity. Light is considered a basic requirement and, of course, so many things we use need to plug in that a bedroom without electricity would be quite difficult to use.
All bedrooms must be at least 80 square feet, with a minimum of seven feet in any horizontal direction, and have at least a seven foot high ceiling.
Bedrooms in basements (any space below grade where an exit door is not at grade level) do not count unless they have egress windows that meet both the size requirements and have a permanent ladder installed so a person can reach them in the event of an emergency. NOTE: While the law may say these spaces count as bedrooms, most real estate agents where I work )in the greater Philadelphia metro area) do not consider basement bedrooms real bedrooms unless the basement is a walk out basement that has a door directly to the outside that is located at grade level.
Other than windows, this issue creates the most confusion. A bedroom does not have to have a closet to be considered a bedroom.
Keep in mind that legal requirements on this topic, while, obviously, good to know, shouldn’t be the only thing a real estate agent takes into account when determining which spaces in a home “count” as bedrooms. While none that fail to meet the criteria above should even be considered, even some that meet the criteria might be best omitted from the list. Why? Because, depending on the price point, type of house and local customs, you could find yourself the object of disapproval and anger if you call something a bedroom that buyers and their agents will clearly think doesn’t or shouldn’t qualify. So use common sense in addition to the law (always good advice)!
If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973
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