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New Digs: Coming Full Circle to Passyunk Square

Sometimes realtors can interpret what their clients want before the clients can. “If you told us we’d move to this neighborhood when we first started looking we’d say ‘no way,’” recount Amara and Dave Hahn.  But Solo Real Estate’s Kevin Rodricks knew Passyunk Square was a good fit based on the Hahns’ desire to live somewhere walkable, with connectivity to the rest of the City, and restaurants and activities nearby.

 

Amara and Dave are originally from “all over,” or in other words, Boston via Palo Alto via Boston via Chicago, where they first met. Dave’s acceptance into law school at the University of Pennsylvania and Amara’s ability to transfer her non-profit consulting job brought them to Philly. Buying was the obvious choice due to their desire to set down roots coupled with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s unique financing options.

 

As for the style of house, they knew they wanted a rowhome, “it seemed very Philly to me,” recalls Amara. A move-in ready property without generic upgrades were must-haves; if the property was to have any signature detail Amara and Dave wanted it to be historic, not Home Depot. Hardwood floors were also a must. Carpet? A deal-breaker. A decent-sized kitchen and a third bedroom rounded out their list of wants. Luckily, this list could be satisfied by housing stock in many corners of the City. Which meant location-wise, Amara and Dave had options.

 

Amara & Dave Hahn (left) in their new living room, and their open floor plan living/dining room (right), a hallmark Philly rowhome feature the Hahns love

 

The Hahns were open to anywhere that met those three qualifications of walkability, connectivity, and activity—another list satisfied by many Philadelphia neighborhoods. What followed was a whirlwind tour of the City to narrow those potential neighborhoods down.

 

Dave and Amara had seen a property in Passyunk Square, but weren’t drawn to the neighborhood from their quick drive through it. Instead, they were initially attracted to Mt. Airy until Kevin showed them the schedule for the train line required to get downtown from there. After that, Mt. Airy was out.

 

On to West Philly, Fairmount, Brewerytown, deep South Philly! While they found many contenders, no property perfectly matched both Amara and Dave’s home design and neighborhood desires. Kevin encouraged them to give Passyunk Square another chance, and this time to get out of the car and walk around. Amara and Dave spent an evening dining at the local restaurant Izumi and were sold.

 

Finding the home that met their needs soon followed: in fact, it was Kevin’s wife Justine who found it, after also becoming invested in the Amara and Dave’s search. During the week while Amara and Dave were in Boston, Kevin and eventually Justine as well would “preview” properties so they could rule out those that wouldn’t be worth the Hahns’ limited weekend time.

 

After previewing five other properties one day, Kevin and Justine arrived at a two-story Passyunk Square rowhome with a classic brick façade, hardwood floors throughout, sufficient kitchen counter space, and the third bedroom that sometimes evades two-story rowhomes. Kevin and Justine turned to each other and said “it’s perfect,” and Amara and Dave agreed.

 

Amara & Dave’s must-have’s included ample kitchen counter space (left) – check! – and a 3rd bedroom (right) – check!

 

As a bonus, their charming home is located on a beautiful tree-lined block in close proximity to a grocery store, an asset that was not a “must-have” but which they are quite grateful for in hindsight. After 50 home viewings and 11 round trips from Boston, Amara and Dave came full circle to Passyunk Square!

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