Where is the best spot to find an affordable and safe apartment here?

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Sponge
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Soaking up intelligent commentary.

I would venture to say that the vast majority of rentals in Fairmount proper are in houses. There are a few larger buildings here and there, but as far as I know they're mostly condos. The exception might be 2601 Pennsylvania, which is a neat building.

I guess you'll need to go through local realty offices, either Prudential Fox Roach at 25th & Fairmount or Welker at 23rd & Fairmount. The neighborhood as a whole is quite safe (though if you're on the northern or eastern fringes you might feel a bit wary, depending on where you're coming from). The main issue as far as I can tell is landlords - the good, the bad, the ugly. But if you've rented before you know about that.

Take a look at the Philly Weekly's listings - I think it's a good place to start at least.

2 weeks ago we went to Firemans's Restaurant at 22nd & Fairmount. I ahven't been to Fairmount in at least 15 years. I was surprised to see how clean the neighborhood was. We walked along Fairmount Ave., admired the shops and rowhomes that are still kept up nice. Many had the marble steps in good shape that my family religiously scrubbed every Saturady morining when they lived in the city. My next stop is to see the Penetentiay and Edgar Allen Poe house. Anyone have any other suggestions as to what to see and where to eat if I'm down that way?

damo60---there are plenty of good spots---Rembrandts, Illuminaire, Londons, and more

Neil M. tell the best story about Fairmount neighborhood (and Hal too)----a good place to live and hang out....

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SPM

Call Welker Realty on Fairmount, If they do not have any avail Apts they'll give you some contacts.

I used them back in my college days and was very pleased with their service.

I wish this were still true!

We are looking at buying in the Art Museum. I just don't really have a good feel for the area yet. I have been in Philly about 10 months and really thought about buying in GH or QV but for our price (around 300) the Art Museum properties are larger.

What about the 800 block of Streets west of 25th (Taney, Stillman, Taylor etc.) There seem to be a lot of properties in our range there but I just don't know about the prices. Any advice, anyone live on that side of the Art Museum?

Pretty much the pricing in fairmount west of 25th is like this... assuming a nice well maintained property-
2 beds- $250K-$300K
3 beds - $300K- $350K
3 story (more than 3 beds)- $400K+
parking spot- add $50K

QV and GH are nice and are closer to downtown ... but don't have the access to the park like fairmount.

part of the problem in pricing the neighborhood right now is that there are so few properties available generally. unless i'm messing up my search, if you go onto www.prufoxroach.com and search for houses in art museum, fairmount and brewerytown with 2+ brs priced between 275k and 450k, you come up with something like 8-9 properties (whereas in the past, you might have found 35-40 properties). granted it's a slow time of the year, but that's still a low number. you can also check brtweb.phila.gov to get a sense where sales prices have been moving, although the brt site doesn't give you info on amenities.

gorilla's estimates seem pretty accurate. i might add that, south of poplar, the market for 3-br, 2-story houses might top out above 350k (especially if the latter have finished basements and a second full bathroom--still pretty rare in the row houses). plus, keep in mind that every percentage point rise in prices means a $3,000+ increase in dollar terms, so assuming fairly normal 3% growth, prices are rising around 10k each year. it remains to be seen whether prices have topped out in the neighborhood, or whether they will continue to push upwards at 8-10% a year. the latter seems pretty unlikely, but there is a lot of "real" growth in the area (e.g., new development and rehabs), so that may help neighborhood prices continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace than over the last 5-10 years.

i would guess (and before anyone jumps on me, i stress that this is a "guess") that, west of 25th between parrish and cambridge, for 300k, you can get a nice 2-story with 2-3 bedrooms (depending on how the upper floor is configured), 1 or 1 1/2 baths, probably an unfinished basement, and if it's poplar or further north, you can get one that's been rehabbed in the last year or two. i think there's a 3-story available on poplar for about 300k; but i have no idea how well the interior has been maintained.

good luck in your search; it's a great neighborhood with great people.

I bought on 25th Street between Parrish and Poplar in 2000. I have lived in various areas of the city including Old City, Bella Vista, Southwark etc in the 12 years I have been in Phila. I really reasearched before I decided to buy and couldn't be more pleased with my decision. In terms of bang for your buck this area is great and keeps getting better. I live in a 3 story row and have spent the last 5 years renovating it to my liking. It is amazing what you can do with these homes. They have so much character and space. I feel that the money that I have invested is definately well spent as the market in this neighborhood is strong. We have great restaurants with more on the way within walking distance. Our corner stores/deli's and pharmacies are also a great convenience. Hopefully we have a Supermarket on the way and better parking options along with that. That is the only downside for me living in this neighborhood. But like I said we have plenty of corner stores and Whole foods isn't that far away. Our neighborhood is quality over quantity as I see it and I am happy that I live here. Hope this helps. Good luck with your search.

These are really great comments. I feel the area is a comparative bargain to other areas that are "center city adjacent".

I also thought there weren't many listings on MLS (in our range) at the moment but haven't followed RE in the art museum long enough to know what is typical.