Agent Lady team member Brittany Loeffler writes about the reality of buying a home in Philadelphia through a series of short stories.
Letting Go of Landlords
Matthew Wilkinson walked into his West Philadelphia apartment and noticed the leak he had told his landlord about was still dripping on the tiled floor. He threw his briefcase down on the floor and sunk himself into a lumpy couch. How many times would he have to call his landlord to come and fix something in his apartment? Last month it took him five calls to get his landlord to fix the lock on his door. The month before that it took two weeks to get a hold of him and ask for an exterminator for the mice and cockroaches sneaking in from his downstairs neighbor’s apartment.
Exhausted from working overtime at his newly promoted position as a Project Manager at his advertising firm, Matt didn’t want to deal with more problems if he could help it. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone and dialed his girlfriend’s number. Her sweet, bubbly voice answered, making his day a little better. “My landlord is such a loser,” Matt started off the conversation. “I can’t deal with living here anymore.”
“Well, your lease is up in a few months, why don’t you start looking for another place? You’ve lived in that tiny one-bedroom apartment for three years now. Maybe it’s time to upgrade?” Stephanie said, planting a seed in Matt’s head.
“I just don’t know where I would be able to find such a great deal for rent though. You have to admit I’m getting a good price for the location.”
“Well, what about buying a house?” she suggested. Matt started to object immediately. “Before you shut me down completely, just hear me out. You’ve been paying rent for three years and have nothing to show for it. With your new promotion, you won’t be moving out of Philly any time soon. Why not invest in the city a little? You’re also making a lot more money than before, so you can afford to pay a higher monthly payment for, let’s say, a mortgage instead of rent.”
Matt sat up straight on the couch and rubbed his forehead. His eyes were drawn to the wet spot on the floor from the leak. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to buy a home. At twenty-six years old, it was probably time to start acting more like an adult and making commitments. “I’ll think about it,” he muttered. “Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Of course! Have a wonderful day at work tomorrow, I love you.”
“Love you too,” Matt said, hanging up the phone.
He sat at his desk and pulled his computer out of this leather briefcase, a gift from Stephanie for his new promotion. He didn’t know the first thing about buying a home. His parents had lived in the same house since he was young and probably planned to stay there until they retired. Matt opened Google and searched “first time home buyer Philadelphia” and was overwhelmed with the links that showed up. Words such as grants, loans, classes, and more scattered across the screen. After scrolling down some more he noticed a blog specifically for first time home buyers with a real estate agent that specialized in Philadelphia.
Matt decided to click on the link and explore the blog. It had everything from common mistakes first time home buyers make to the best neighborhoods where Millennials should buy a home. In just a few minutes, Matt felt like he had a starting point, something to build off of, on his journey to buying his first home. After sending the real estate agent an email, he climbed into bed and dreamed of walking into a three-bedroom house with a little yard with Stephanie by his side.
The restaurant buzzed with happy couples and friends over glasses of wine and delicious Italian food. Stephanie looked beautiful as always. Matt could never understand how she never looked tired even though she was a nurse at CHOP. He took her hand and rubbed his thumb against her skin. “I’ve been thinking more about what you said last night, about buying a house.” Her eyes lit up. “I contacted a real estate agent today, she seems like she would be really helpful and specializes in first time home buyers like me. I spoke to her today and scheduled a meeting with her this weekend.”
“Oh Matt, that’s wonderful!” She squeezed his hand and flashed him a smile. “Do you want me to go with you when you meet with her?” Matt thought about this – had been thinking about it. He would love if Stephanie had a role in this, especially because eventually he wanted her to move in with him.
“I want you there every step of the way.” Their waiter arrived with their pasta and poured the couple another glass of wine as they celebrated the start of a new chapter in Matt’s life.
Matt and Stephanie walked up the steps from the subway station and came out onto a bustling Walnut Street. Women carried multiple shopping bags while new mothers and fathers went for a stroll with their baby carriages towards Rittenhouse Square. Cherise Wynne, the real estate agent who called herself the Agent Lady, asked to meet with Matt on Saturday afternoon for coffee to discuss buying a home. The couple walked down the block and Matt held the door to Le Pain Quotidien, a French-inspired coffee and pastry café.
There weren’t many tables open, but Matt recognized Cherise from the picture on her website. She had the same bright white smile and enthusiasm her picture portrayed. “Hello! You must be Matthew! It’s so nice to meet you,” she said reaching out her hand for a friendly handshake.
“Hi Cherise, thank you for meeting with me. This is my girlfriend, Stephanie. I wanted her to come with me, she’ll be part of the process if I decide to buy.” She shook Stephanie’s hand and offered them some coffee. They both agreed and she asked the waiter for two more coffees and some extra crème for the table.
Cherise pulled out a folder from her bag and placed it on the table. “Now, I know you are new to the whole buying process, so I made up a packet explaining the process and will hopefully answer any questions that you may have.” Matt took the folder and flipped through colorful pages with pictures and text about buying a home. “I’m assuming you currently live in Philadelphia? Do you have any idea where you would like to buy a home?”
“Well, I would like to get out of West Philly, so maybe somewhere in South Philly. I’ll be honest, I don’t have a ton of money to spend on a house,” Matt explained, embarrassed. Stephanie touched his hand, reassuring him that he was in a good place to think about buying a home.
“Not a problem! We are going to find the best home in your price range for you. Something to think about, is maybe buying in a neighborhood that is up-and-coming. This allows you to buy a home when the price is low and once the neighborhood develops, you can sell it for much more than you bought it. That’s what is called value appreciation. A lot of young home buyers are going this route so that when they decide to sell their home, they sell it for more than they bought it for.” Matt liked the sound of making some money.
“So, what neighborhoods are, as you say, up-and-coming?”
“Well, you mentioned maybe moving to South Philly. Point Breeze is a neighborhood that is currently being developed and homes prices are pretty decent right now. If you’re a handy man and have the time, or desire, to put in some work and renovation, that will increase the value more. This is entirely up to you though!” Cherise smiled, she made Matt feel confident that buying a home was his decision and there were many ways he could go about it.
They sipped their coffees and nibbled on some pastries while they spoke more about schedules and going over paperwork. “Now, this Buyer Agency Contract is important for you to sign if you decide to work with me,” Cherise explained as she pointed to a packet of papers inside the folder. “It just says that you will work exclusively with me and tells you the commission I would make when you find a home. It’s very standard, but give it a read through and let me know if you have any questions.”
“How can we reach you?” Stephanie asked.
“Email, text, phone, pretty much anyway you can. I’m always available! Finding your first home and answering your questions are my top priorities!” There was no doubt that Matt would go with another real estate agent. Cherise’s positive attitude and friendliness was just what he wanted in a real estate agent, especially for buying his first home.
Matt thanked Cherise for her time and let her know that they would be in touch soon. Gripping the folder to his chest, he couldn’t wait to get home and read more about the home buying process. He had learned a lot after sitting with Cherise for just half an hour talking about the buying process. A checklist of things Matt needed to do ran through his mind; talk to a lender about mortgages and get preapproved, make a list of things he wants in a home, read over the material in this folder, and much more. Before he could get to all of this though, Stephanie wanted to take the rest of the afternoon and walk around Point Breeze to get familiar with the streets and see how the neighborhood looked.
A few weeks had gone by and Cherise had taken Matt and Stephanie to see about ten properties in Point Breeze and a few in other parts of the city. Today they were going back to a three-bedroom house that could use some updating, but had great potential. The second Matt walked into the house he felt at home. He stood in the middle of the living area and looked out the large picture window facing the street. Stephanie made her way into the kitchen, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. Cherise stayed by the door while her clients explored the house one more time. She had a feeling this was the house that Matt would decide to make an offer. “This is the one,” he said as he descended down the staircase and faced Cherise.
Cherise drove the couple back to her office in Center City and sat down with Matt to write an offer. She went over the steps they needed to take and explained what happens if there are multiple offers. She suggested a certain price, which she then explained could be negotiated after the home inspection took place. “If there is anything that needs to be fixed, we can leverage this to negotiate lower.” Cherise submitted the offer that evening and by morning started filling out an Agreement of Sale. Matt was one step closer to buying a home.
The night before settlement, Matt was pacing back and forth in Stephanie’s bedroom. “Okay babe, you really need to stop doing that. I can’t concentrate on my book!” Stephanie exclaimed from the bed.
“I’m sorry, I’m just so nervous. Am I making the right choice? What if I’m making a huge mistake that will bite me in a few years? Do I actually want to stay in Philly for the next thirty years?” His pacing increased and his arms were flying in all directions. Stephanie jumped out from under the covers and took Matt’s face in her hands.
“You are making the right decision! You’re financially comfortable right now, right?” Matt nodded. “You found a house you love and want to put some work into, right?” He nodded again. “You’re tired of living in an apartment owned by someone else, right?” He nodded. “You are making the right decision!” She glanced over at the clock and saw it was only 8 p.m. “If you’re so nervous, give Cherise a call and talk it through with her.”
Matt grabbed his phone and dialed the number he had recently memorized. “Cherise, I’m freaking out. I need to talk to you!” It was a conversation Cherise had had many times before. She reassured Matt that everything was going to be fine. The house was practically his already! She reminded him of the plans he had for the kitchen and the mini garden he was going to put on the back patio during the summer. With each point Cherise made, Matt felt calmer. He hung up and gave Stephanie a hug. “Tomorrow, the house will be mine.”
Matt took the first step into his new home, the new chapter in his life. Stephanie followed and gave him a hug around his waist. Cherise closed the door behind her and took out a bottle of champagne and three champagne flutes from behind her back. “Congratulations!” The three celebrated and promised to keep in touch. Cherise let them know if they had any questions to give her a call and she would check up on them soon.
Matt was officially a homeowner, thanks to Cherise. He couldn’t have been more grateful!
