Real Estate

They weren’t seriously house hunting until a Mount Airy ‘mansion’ came back on the market

The buyers: Brooke Saylor, 40, COO; John Giordano, 47, IT consultant

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>The price: Listed for $625,000; purchased for $615,000

Northern Liberties, and the idea of taking on a mortgage for a rowhouse in his longtime neighborhood didn’t seem worth it. “He just couldn’t get down with the concept of paying property tax on a little concrete piece of sidewalk in front of your house,” said his wife, Brooke Saylor.

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>“I don’t like the open concept thing,” she said.

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>They engaged an agent and asked him to show them the house. They also looked at two others in the area, just to be sure. One, on Midvale Avenue, had a strange layout. Another, on Lincoln Drive, had cracks, odd finishes, and a yard they didn’t love.

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>“It was beyond my wildest dreams,” Saylor said.

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>The deal: The house was listed at $625,000 when the couple saw it the second time. They decided to offer the full asking price but requested a $25,000 seller’s assist. There were no other offers, and the sellers accepted.

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>The money: Giordano and Saylor put 10% down, or $61,500. There was no previous home sale to draw funds from or any inheritance. “Just regular old savings,” Saylor said.

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>Their monthly payment is a little less than $4,000, right below what they were paying in rent, which was one of Giordano’s conditions for buying a home. “Even if we’re only one dollar under,” he said, “we’re still under it.”

a]:text-blue-mid [&>a]:no-underline [&>a]:hover:shadow-lightmode px-4 font-medium”>“Every night after work, she would come home and pack boxes all on her own,” Giordano said, “She single-handedly packed a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house.”