And there's nothing in Springfield, huh? Then maybe Westbrook park is the way to go...or further down Bishop ave towards Secane? That's if you need to be 5 minutes from the R/3 as opposed to 10...honestly all of those areas put you way close to the trains. In DH you can also catch the 101 trolley to 69th street or drive to the R5 station in Havertown or Overbrook....there's always public transportation fairly close to home...And when you say "bang for the buck" remember that when it comes time to sell, you will get less as well...that's what I'm saying, I wish I had known Drexel Park Gardens existed when I was buying as I would have bought there...

I don't know much about Garrettford. Probably better than Kent park though. The more insulated you are from the towns/sections I mentioned, the better off you will be. So the further you are from the Lansdowne border, the more desireable the area...same with your distance from 69th st and the Beverly Hills Section of UD...

You can also follow the R3 line out to Morton or Prospect Park...these areas are far enough from the city limits to avoid all the crime and urban sprawl stuff that has inundated Clifton Heights, Aldan, Darby, Collingdale and the like...

Ah, people drive to the regional rail stops, I didn't realize. Was hoping to walk! Can't have everything I suppose- good to know that's an option, as I've read that the 69th St Stn is sketchy enough during the day, and a no-go at night, so I've been concentrating on rail access, rather than trolley access.

Sadly, the other areas you mentioned are also out of my pricerange, it would appear. But Garrettford has some options (if what realestate & the maps call Garrettford is what you mean by it), and if DPG has some options, too, that gives me hope- and I can still swing through Kent Park and, taking the advice, good & bad, I've gotten here, form my own opinion. (I'm also considering parts of Lansdowne, as I will have a colleague who's lived there for 30 years, and can explain the street-by-street vagarities).

Thanks again!

Ah 69th street is 100% safe during the day and not too bad at night as a lone male...I had coworkers warn me about using the Market Frankford line at night home from a Sixers game...they convinced me but I felt pretty stupid afterwards and have used that line at night a few times after Eagles games...that area is safe...

And, yes, most people drive to the regional rail stations as we are lazy suburbanites and there are only so many homes within walking distance of the trains, and if you are within a short walking distance you may be too close to the tracks to want to live there anyway...

What is your upper number on purchasing? I can look around and see whats available...keep in mind I'm hearing you can slash 10-15% off asking prices these days, at least in the areas in which I'm looking to buy...

Lansdowne is ok but too close to the city for my liking and you will have a hard time selling on the back end as the taxes are high and the schools are terrible...

lol lazy suburbanites, eh? Well, I'm a city person, but the safe parts of Philly all seem to leave me w/a commute longer than I'd prefer. (And, I'll say it- guaranteed parking in my very own garage? Sweet!) So DH/Lansd. are my personal compromise (and a pretty happy one, likely).

10-15%? Really? That seems very high- even in the soft market. Sounds like you're looking for a place in areas more likely to have been hit w/inflated housing prices (for decent reasons- size of home, quality schools, etc). I'd have to imagine that rowhouses in a bad school district weren't as inflated as all that- but hey, I'm the outsider & could easily be wrong.

Maybe not 10% in that area but certainly 10 grand. My old neighbor has his place listed for $138,900 and if he's looking to sell any time soon he will probably accept $128,900...at least that was the formula we used when pricing our house...like I said we had probably 15 or so showings and only 1 offer and that was full price bc the first time buyer was naive and her shyster realtor allowed her to offer full price on a house that had been sitting for a month plus...go figure...

I dont know where people are getting this bad perception of Aldan. The only problem is the school district, but Aldan is definitely the nicest town out of the immdediate area and nicer than areas mentioned earlier such as prospect park. Again though, if you have kids you would have to consider sending them to private/catholic school

Garrettford area used to be pretty nice. I grew up there but haven't visited for a while.

Pilgrim Gardens is still VERY nice. My in-laws just recently moved out of that area. It also has a DH address but Hav schools. But again, things for sale are up in the 200's so it's not the cheapest.

I really would recommend going for a cheaper home in a better neighborhood. In my opinion, that's the best "bang for your buck." Beyond the obvious reasons (safety, neighborhood maintenance, etc), any $$ you put into the house has better potential to go farther in the resale.

I did another quick search in the 100's, and I found a couple super cute things in nice neighborhoods. PM me if you want them emailed to you.

I'm not saying Aldan is bad per se...but it ain't good. Being surrounded by areas in decline (Darby, Collingdale, Clifton Heights) AND having a less than stellar school district does not bode well for the area.

Put it this way, is Aldan commanding anywhere near top dollar for housing stock the way that say Pilgrim Gardens or Springfield is? If not, there's a reason, and I wouldn't buy there nor recommend anyone else does as well.

If money's an issue, as it often is, then some areas look better than others, but for apples to apples, 10k difference, I'm buying in the best school district or best neighborhood I can afford.

I'd say Morton or Ridley. Skimp on amenities, not location.

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Baltimore Ave is a wreck, but in the last year a few new business have moved in and the State has provided funds to spruce it up. Hopefully it will improve. The dump trucks are gone. Muscle car guy is still here.

And to be truthful, not all of the residents on Baltimore hang on chairs on the sidewalk...only that crew of rather large residents near the 7-11.

On a serious note, the 7-11 robbery was one in a string of robbery's at markets throughout Delco, it was not an incident isolated to Clifton.

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