Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Seen rising above the Barnes and Noble bookstore on the north side of “The Square” is the new premier Rittenhouse Square condominium project, 10 Rittenhouse.

ARC Wheeler, the developer of 10 Rittenhouse in Center City, is saving the historical façade of the old Rittenhouse Club, and the new five-story structure will have three mega-condos. In a nod to preservation, the building will incorporate three landmark structures while adding a new 33-story red-brick and limestone tower behind them.

Ten Rittenhouse Square is a $300 million luxury condo tower under development in Center City Philadelphia whose residential tower will have street frontage on the 1800 block of Walnut Street, South 18th Street and the 1800 block of Sansom Street. According to the website, 10 Rittenhouse will feature:

• One Bedrooms from $714,000 – $856,000
• Two Bedrooms from $1,300,000 – $3,400,000
• Three Bedrooms from $1,900,000 – $4,500,000

In addition there will be six 10,000-square-foot penthouses priced near the $12,000,000 mark.
Needless to say, 10 Rittenhouse will be the paragon of luxury high rise living here in Philadelphia. With Miele and Sub-Zero kitchen appliances and marble baths with BainUltra tubs. Ceiling heights from 8.5′ to 12.5′ accompany window walls, spacious private balconies, terraces and Juliet  windows (in some homes). Building amenities include a garage, concierge service, a restaurant, a pool, spa and fitness center and a shared roof garden.

Barneys Co-op – a part of the high-end New York City department store Barneys will occupy the  first two floors, totaling 10,000 square feet. The Center City’s hip-ometer has officially begun registering some activity.

Barney’s AND living at 10 Rittenhouse?! That is a dream made in heaven.

Interested in living the dream? Contact Mark Wade at Prudential Fox and Roach realtors and lets investigate the possibilities!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106
267.237.3404 (That is my cell phone. And this is the first and only time you will see my personal cell phone number listed on a blog entry. THAT is how serious I am about loving this project.)

Congrats…you are in a minority! A good minority to be in, as parking, regardless of cost, has proven to be a great amenity for resale. But a lot (TONS) of realtors are WRONG when they advertise “Deeded parking”. Or they tell their buyers that the parking is “deeded” when indeed that is not the case. Parking can be described in the condo docs, and on one’s deed as “assigned” or as a LCE (limited common element) with the full right of use and enjoyment to unit # whatever.

Which is preferred? Some Philadelphia Realtors incorrectly assume that deeded parking with a Philly condo is preferred. I would argue otherwise. You see, with deeded parking, although you can sell your condominium off to whomever, you have to hope whomever also wants your parking space.  If the potential buyer of your Rittenhouse Square Condo doesn’t want your deeded parking space you are left with the headache of deciding whether to reject their offer because it will leave you with a parking space that will do you no good when you move into your Old City Loft.  Not to mention you’ll be stuck paying taxes on that space you won’t be using because you not only pay taxes on your condo, but you have a separate tax bill for that “other” deed…the one for your parking space.

An assigned condo parking spot has no separate tax bill, as the condo and the parking are on one deed. Really, in my eyes, whichever way the parking is set up by the declarant (the condo developer in most cases), will not affect the value of your condo. The value is in having parking in the first place. But please be aware when you hear the words “Deeded parking”…as your parking space may not be deeded at all. If I had my choice….I would choose NOT to have deeded parking, rather assigned parking to my unit, whose rights of ownership transfer to whomever buys my Philadelphia condo.

Please feel free to leave a comment on this post.  I’d love to hear your thoughts! 

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

Bridge View Place in Old City Philadelphia is an old warehouse building that used to be the home of Thomas Scientific supply. I think they used to manufacture the microscopes and various apparatus that many elementary schools used back in the old days. When made into  approximately 121 apartments by Historic Landmarks for living in the late 1970’s, the units were carved out in such a way that make the condos an easy sell. Very few of the units are dark, almost all have oversized factory styled windows, and all floors have good ceiling height. The original physical characteristics of the building lend themselves to user-friendly condominiums in Old City to this very day.The mix and size of units are appropriate as well. Someone really nailed it back in the 70’s when they decided to make a the building into a fair number of 900+/- square foot two bed, two bath units, to which I say, “way to use your brain”. Throughout the past ten or so years here in the Philadelphia condo market, there has always been demand for such a product, especially an Old City condominium that has the ability to sell with on-site parking, which of course BridgeView possesses.

With interesting common areas, lots of exposed brick, oversized windows, and good ceiling height, as well as underground and outdoor parking lots adjoining the building, and the being one of the few mid-rise doorman condo buildings in Old City, I find that 315 New St. has always been a fairly easy sell. The condo association has many attributes that sell well in today’s market, and I am sure will continue to be an asset to the building in many years to come. For a moderately priced studio, one or two bedroom condo unit in Old City, I have often found BridgeView Place to be the destination of choice for many Philadelphia condo buyers.

If Bridgeview sounds like the place for you, give me a call at 215.521.1523 or drop me an email at Mark@CenterCityCondos.com and I’d be happy to show you around one of my favorite buildings here in Center City Philadelphia.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

Most buyers are unaware that buying a condo in Center City will not cost them much of anything. The way the system generally works is that the seller pays the realtors fees (the listing and the selling agent) and that buyers may contact a realtor, and not have to pay him or her for their services.

The possible exception to that rule may be a $275 administration fee. At least that is the case with myself, and Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors. My fees, as your realtor, are paid for by the seller. You can use me, my knowledge, insight, and I will not charge you for my services. And I don’t charge you the $275, nor do I benefit from that fee-it is a fee that my agency charges. I hate that fee. I think it is stupid.

I will shuttle you around from Center City condo building to condo building, and sometimes even spring for coffee at the local Wawa. I will put money in the parking meters, or park illegally on the street and risk being towed. I might even pick you up at your place of residence, and drop you off there as well when we are done with our tour. All for free!

Now that doesn’t mean that there are not costs associated with buying a condo-on the contrary, as there are closing costs when you buy a Philadelphia condominium. It is just that my services are not charged directly to you.
So, if you are in a “Ready, willing, and able” state of buying your new Philadelphia condo…let’s roll!

Looking to hop into a car, and start your Center City condo shopping? I am ready when you are! Just drop me a note, and let’s chat! And let’s go look at some condos, and have some of that good Wawa coffee in the middle of our tour!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

I am not a tax expert, nor do I pretend to be. In fact, the issues of a 1031 exchange kinda’ confuse me. However, I have been in MANY transactions where either the buyer or the seller have participated in such an exchange. The exchange is all done via paperwork, prior to, and at the settlement table. It does seem like a nice way to basically defer taxes due on the sale of a piece of real estate. If you are looking to sell and buy another piece of real estate in Philadelphia, or elsewhere, you might want to consider what a 1031 exchange can offer. Here is a little info on the topic, garnered from www.1031.org:

In a typical transaction, the property owner is taxed on any gain realized from the sale. However, through a Section 1031 Exchange, the tax on the gain is deferred until some future date.
For more information, please visit www.1031.org, and find out if a “1031 exchange” is right for you and your Philadelphia condominium!

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that no gain or loss shall be recognized on the exchange of property held for productive use in a trade or business, or for investment. A tax-deferred exchange is a method by which a property owner trades one or more relinquished properties for one or more replacement properties of “like-kind”, while deferring the payment of federal income taxes and some state taxes on the transaction.

The theory behind Section 1031 is that when a property owner has reinvested the sale proceeds into another property, the economic gain has not been realized in a way that generates funds to pay any tax. In other words, the taxpayer’s investment is still the same, only the form has changed (e.g. vacant land exchanged for apartment building). Therefore, it would be unfair to force the taxpayer to pay tax on a “paper” gain.

The like-kind exchange under Section 1031 is tax-deferred, not tax-free. When the replacement property is ultimately sold (not as part of another exchange), the original deferred gain, plus any additional gain realized since the purchase of the replacement property, is subject to tax.

Q – What are the benefits of exchanging v. selling?

• A Section 1031 exchange is one of the few techniques available to postpone or potentially eliminate taxes due on the sale of qualifying properties.

• By deferring the tax, you have more money available to invest in another property. In effect, you receive an interest free loan from the federal government, in the amount you would have paid in taxes.

• Any gain from depreciation recapture is postponed.

• You can acquire and dispose of properties to reallocate your investment portfolio without paying tax on any gain.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106