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Tag: Weekend Real Estate

  • Historic church at 42nd and Pine to become apartments after Penn declined to buy the building

    Historic church at 42nd and Pine to become apartments after Penn declined to buy the building

    The former Woodland Presbyterian Church at 401 S. 42nd St. is being converted to 35 apartments, mostly studios, with seven set aside at affordable rents.

    The oldest parts of the church complex date to 1871. But after the COVID-19 pandemic and with a shrinking membership, Woodland Presbyterian merged with several other Philadelphia congregations in a Center City building.

    They decided to sell the 42nd Street building after determining it would cost millions to rehabilitate.

    In November the property sold for $1 million to a limited liability corporation that shares the address of Bala Cynwyd-based Finch Development.

    The company has extensive rental property holdings in Philadelphia and on its website boasts a 37-unit redeveloped former church building at 1629-39 S. 28th St. in Grays Ferry.

    “It was the highest offer, and they did have a track record of one or two conversions of a house of worship,” said David Brindley, a Reformed Church leader involved with the sale. “They seemed to be people that could get things through to the finish line.”

    The building sold for $1 million at the end of last year.

    The company did not respond to requests for comment. The project’s design firm is Raymond F. Rola Architecture.

    The former Woodland Presbyterian Church is three blocks from the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. At first Brindley sought to interest other congregations, including those who cater to college students, but when those efforts failed, he approached Penn itself in 2024.

    The university made an offer in early 2025, he says.

    “It could be a space to bridge the gap between the town and the gown, and they were very interested,” Brindley said.

    “They were going to make it the new Rotunda,” a Penn-owned community space at 41st and Walnut, he said. “They were going to move the Rotunda and its activities there, the community art space there, and then be able to expand.”

    But as 2025 progressed — a year where Penn and the rest of the higher-education sector faced federal funding loss and other uncertainty — the university decided against moving forward, citing the expense of shoring up the building, Brindley said.

    “I don’t blame Penn at all, but at that time, they just couldn’t [take the] risk,” Brindley said.

    The university declined to comment.

    Plans on the Department of Licenses & Inspection’s website show units ranging from a smallest of 324 square feet to the largest at 848 square feet, which would be housed in a one-story annex on the south side of the property.

    The annex on the right-hand side of this photo will have the largest apartment in the new complex.

    Due to the proximity to the university, Brindley says he expects that renters will mostly be students associated with Penn.

    The project falls within Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s mandatory inclusionary zoning overlay (MIN), which requires that one-fifth of units in large projects be set aside for those earning 40% or less of area median income. That’s roughly $35,000 for a one-person household.

    “Project will comply with MIN overlay affordability rules as necessary,” the apartment conversion’s June 25 zoning permit reads.

    The project is zoned for duplex construction. But the former church is within the Spruce Hill Historic District, which means that Finch Development can build without a zoning variance — due to a 2019 law passed by City Council that allows historically protected special buildings like churches to be redeveloped beyond their underlying zoning.

    The law was created in reaction to the controversy over St. Laurentius Church in Fishtown, where a handful of neighbors fought against the redevelopment for so long that the church deteriorated to the point it had to be demolished.

    The Spruce Hill Historic District, like many of the newly created historic districts, is being challenged in court by local property owners, including the major student housing companies in the area like Campus Apartments and University City Housing.

    After being rejected by a local judge, an appeal is pending in Commonwealth Court.

    “I’m very glad it’s not going to get demolished,” Brindley said. “It’s not a sad story about what the building will become from my perspective. We would have certainly loved for it to have had a community-centered use, but the building was just too far gone.”

  • A new rooftop nightclub proposed for the Camden waterfront aims to be part of the city’s ‘evolution’

    A new rooftop nightclub proposed for the Camden waterfront aims to be part of the city’s ‘evolution’

    Clubgoers might soon have the chance to take in nighttime views of the Philadelphia skyline at a new rooftop nightclub along the Camden waterfront.

    The Cloud 9 SkyLounge is proposed for the rooftop deck of the fourth-floor Hinson Parking Garage next to the Delaware River Port Authority office tower on Delaware Avenue.

    The club would include a stage and dance floor, private cabanas, a pool deck, bar areas, a food truck zone, VIP parking, and more, according to the developer’s application to the city, which is still awaiting final consideration from Camden’s planning board.

    So far, city officials have approved the new use for the property, said Joe Console, attorney for the Cloud 9 developers.

    Now, the applicant will work on developing more detailed engineering reports, showing that the project complies with local regulations as it relates to traffic, noise, building capacity, and more, Console said. Once complete, the project will eventually be brought back before the planning board for review and final approval.

    “Our vision is to create a world-class entertainment and hospitality destination that showcases the beauty of the Camden waterfront, the Philadelphia skyline, and the energy of the entire region,” Cloud 9 founder and CEO Kenneth Walden said. “We want visitors to experience something they would normally expect to find in cities like Miami, Las Vegas, New York, or Los Angeles — right here in Camden.”

    As an adaptive reuse project instead of new development, the club would require no changes to the parking garage’s existing footprint, and the rooftop venue would be limited to temporary installations, according to the application.

    Parking for the rooftop venue would also be self-contained within the existing parking structure. The developers said they do not anticipate any parking issues extending into the surrounding area.

    A rendering shows the entry view of the proposed Cloud 9 SkyLounge rooftop deck of the Hinson Parking Garage on Delaware Avenue in Camden.

    The parking garage is currently owned by the city’s parking authority and the rooftop would be rented to Cloud 9 starting at $5,000 per month, per the application documents. The venue would be open Thursday 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.

    “Cloud 9 was born from a simple belief: that Camden deserves extraordinary destinations just as much as any major city in the country,” Walden said. “For years, people have viewed Camden primarily through the lens of its challenges. I believe it is equally important to recognize its potential, its resilience, and the remarkable transformation taking place along the waterfront. Cloud 9 is intended to be part of that continued evolution.”

    The property is located within the city’s mixed waterfront zoning district which is designed to help revitalize former industrial or vacant properties into pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use areas along the waterfront.

    The venue’s developers included in their application that the project is “consistent with the overall vision of the [mixed waterfront zone] as it promotes: activation of underutilized urban space, enhancement of the waterfront entertainment environment, increased tourism and economic activity and adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure.”

    The new nightlife destination would be within walking distance to some of the city’s other waterfront destinations such as Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Wiggins Waterfront Riverstage, and Adventure Aquarium.

    A rendering shows the beach view of the proposed Cloud 9 SkyLounge rooftop deck of the Hinson Parking Garage on Delaware Avenue in Camden.

    The office for Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said that while they are aware of the proposed rooftop bar and lounge, they declined to comment specifically on the project or its details as it continues to make its way through the land development process.

    “Camden is undergoing an unprecedented transformation as investment is taking place citywide. As a result, there is great interest from developers, and a wide variety of projects are being proposed in every part of the city,” said Vincent Basara, director of communications for the mayor’s office. “Camden is always open to new ideas and proposals. The success of this project will ultimately be based on the merit of the application. We are confident in the public process and the various reviews which are required.”

    About a mile north on the other side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority is accepting mixed-use redevelopment proposals for a 16-acre waterfront parcel that was previously home to the former Riverfront Prison and Weeks Marine site in North Camden.

    “Beyond the venue itself, I believe Cloud 9 can contribute to the city in several meaningful ways,” Walden said. “The project has the potential to create jobs, attract visitors from throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and beyond, generate additional economic activity for nearby businesses, and further strengthen Camden’s reputation as a destination worth visiting and investing in.”

    The Cloud 9 SkyLounge was presented to the city’s zoning hearing board for final site plan approval on June 1 and will need to continue through the development process before finally being voted on by the city’s planning board. The exact timeline for this process varies by project, but a final vote on Cloud 9 is likely still weeks or even months away, as the application must go before the city’s planning board, though they will not officially discuss the project until at least the board’s July meeting.

  • A historic Philly mansion up for sale comes with an unusual easement: Revolutionary War battle reenactments on the front lawn

    A historic Philly mansion up for sale comes with an unusual easement: Revolutionary War battle reenactments on the front lawn

    Built at the end of the 18th century on the site of a major Revolutionary War battle in Philadelphia, Upsala mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

    This week, it was listed somewhere else: Zillow.

    The early Federal-style estate nestled on the border of Germantown and Mount Airy is listed at $995,000 and comes with nine bedrooms, 10 fireplaces, 15 parking spaces, and a 70-page easement agreement with a peculiar caveat — once a year, the owner must permit “a re-enactment of portions of the Battle of Germantown” on their front lawn.

    “The battle reenactment is actually written into the deed. That is something any future owner of the property would be obligated to allow to happen,” said current owner Alex Aberle, who’s also a real estate agent and the property’s listing agent.

    A living room in Upsala mansion, an early Federal-style building on the 6400 block of Germantown Avenue.

    The easement was put in place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation when Aberle and his ex purchased the mansion on the 6400 block of Germantown Avenue in 2017 and became Upsala’s first private owners since it was converted into a historic house museum in the 1940s.

    As part of the Revolutionary Germantown Festival — which commemorates the 1777 Battle of Germantown — battle reenactments were held for decades on the lawns of Upsala and Cliveden, a National Historic Trust site and mansion across the street from Upsala.

    Though the mansion was built in 1798, two decades after the battle that sought to liberate Philadelphia from British control, the property served as the staging ground for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War fight.

    Aberle said he loved having the reenactments in his front yard, but Cliveden and the sites of Historic Germantown, which host the festival, haven’t held a reenactment there since 2019.

    Carolyn Wallace, education director at Cliveden, said prior to the pandemic, organizers were reevaluating tactical demonstrations as part of the October festival in light of ongoing gun violence in the U.S. In 2020, organizers underwent a community engagement project called “Considering Re-enactments,” which sought to answer the question: “Is this still the best way to tell stories of the American Revolution?”

    “We found it was a mixed bag so we shifted more towards living history,” she said. “We still have military personnel (reenactors), but we have not done tactical demonstrations in a number of years, though I can’t say we won’t do them again.”

    And if they do, the easement still stands.

    “That runs with the land — for me and for everyone else for years to come, and hopefully, forever,” Aberle said.

    Built for John Johnson III, a fourth-generation descendent of the Janesen family, who were early Germantown settlers, Upsala stayed in the family until the 1940s, when it was seized due to financial issues.

    Preservationists worked to save the property from demolition and from the mid-1940s until the early 2000s, it was a historic house museum before it was closed due to dwindling attendance and revenue.

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation became Upsala’s owner in 2005 and Cliveden Inc., a co-stewardship organization of the National Trust, became its steward. After years of public engagement to find a new steward or use for Upsala, they put the 2.45-acre property up for sale in 2016.

    Aberle and his ex, Violette Levy, beat out eight other offers by purchasing it for $550,000 cash — $51,000 more than the asking price.

    They spent years doing extensive renovations like putting in central air, replacing the boiler, fixing the plumbing, and decorating.

    “When we bought it, the walls were mostly varying shades of yellow and cream and now there’s no yellow left, I’m happy to report,” Aberle said.

    They documented their journey on Instagram, where followers left comments about the memories they’d made at Upsala — from attending weddings there to attending a concert by the Hooters in the 1980s organized by one of the estate’s caretakers.

    “I loved hearing all those stories because that’s the kind of thing you don’t see in books,” Aberle said. “It’s super special because it only comes organically.”

    View of a hallway inside of Upsala mansion.

    Aberle said he never had any intention of selling Upsala, but when his relationship with Levy ended and he became the sole owner of the home, it didn’t “really make sense to stay there as just one.”

    “It’s definitely a family house and that was always sort of my dream for the house,” he said.

    Aberle estimated that a little more than half of the mansion has been renovated. The back part of the house, where he’d planned to fix up the kitchen and put in a mother-in-law suite, is still in need of work, he said.

    “My relationship didn’t last quite as long as my project did so the space is ready for someone else to come in and finish it for their family,” he said.

    But another aspect of Aberle’s life did blossom because of Upsala. When he and his ex bought the mansion, it was listed by Louise D’Alessandro, a founding partner of Elfant Wissahickon Realtors. They invited her and others from the company to the first reenactment on Upsala’s front lawn after they took ownership of the property and within a year, Aberle left the real estate company where he worked and went to work for Elfant Wissahickon, where he remains.

    Aberle said he’s fallen in love with the Germantown and Mount Airy neighborhoods and is only moving just around the corner from Upsala, so he plans to make himself available for any questions from future potential owners.

    “The easement is really not as scary as the 70-page document might lead you to believe. I do mean it from the bottom of my heart. I spent nine years dealing with this document and working with this trust … and my plan is to make myself completely available to facilitate transition,” he said.

    Halloween decorations, including tombstones that have the names and dates of people who once lived in or near Upsala, are stored in the attic of the property and will be sold with it.

    And if you’re wondering about the listing photo that shows an attic room filled with tombstones and giant mushrooms, not to worry, those are Halloween decorations. The mushrooms are from an Alice and Wonderland-themed Halloween they did one year and the gravestones have historically-accurate names and dates on them of people who lived and died in and around Upsala.

    “We set those up for a few years and added more folks each year,” Aberle said of the tombstones. “I’m leaving them in hopes someone else will carry on the tradition.”

    He’s excited to see who will become Upsala’s next owner and what they will do with the historic property.

    “I think the most important thing, for me, is it’s someone who will love this place as much as I do and have the desire to take care of it and love it,” Aberle said. “That’s what it deserves.”

    For more information on Upsala, including the entire easement agreement, visit upsalamansion.com.

  • See what roughly $765,000 can buy you in the Chestnut Hill, Riverton, and Upper Dublin housing markets | The Price Point

    See what roughly $765,000 can buy you in the Chestnut Hill, Riverton, and Upper Dublin housing markets | The Price Point

    The Price Point compares homes listed for similar sale prices across the region to help readers set expectations about house hunting.

    When homebuyers sit down to make their must-have lists, they usually have a property size in mind.

    Maybe they’re outgrowing their home and need something bigger. Maybe their home is too big and they need to downsize.

    A bigger home can mean a bigger price tag, but not always.

    The latest installment in the Price Point compares homes in the region that are listed for sale for about the same price but vary widely in size.

    The Upper Dublin Township home is about 1,000 square feet larger than the home in Riverton, Burlington County, which is about 1,000 larger than the home in Chestnut Hill.

    But they’re all for sale for between $765,000 and $770,000. That’s more than twice the typical price of a home sold in the Philadelphia metropolitan area last month — $380,000, according to the multiple listing service Bright MLS.

    Colonial in a special location

    What makes this house in Upper Dublin Township special is its location, said listing agent Frank Blumenthal with Keller Williams Real Estate Tri-County.

    It’s about three miles from Regional Rail’s Ambler and Fort Washington stations, close to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and other major roads, and not far from shops and restaurants.

    And the home is a few hundred yards from Mondauk Common, a public park that includes a one-mile walking track, sports fields, exercise equipment, playground equipment, basketball courts, and pavilions. The park also hosts community events throughout the year.

    The home has expansive side and rear yards.

    Inside, the large primary bedroom includes a sitting room. The kitchen flows into the great room, which has a fireplace and lots of windows. The home also has an unfinished basement.

    Within the last few years, the owner replaced the roof and heating and cooling systems. A buyer may want to update the kitchen and bathrooms, “but the big-ticket items are out of the way,” Blumenthal said.

    The property was originally listed for $834,000 in September. The price dropped to $828,000 in November and $769,000 in February.

    Fully renovated historical home

    This house is more than a hundred years old and part of a historic district.

    “Homes were just built differently back in the day than they are now, and they stand the test of time,” said listing agent Michelle Bishop with Real Broker LLC.

    Because the home is historically protected, the investor who is flipping the property was limited in the exterior changes he could make. But he installed a new roof and new windows and fixed the siding.

    The home’s interior was a gut job, Bishop said. The property was in rough shape before the renovations, which included tearing down walls and installing new mechanical systems.

    The owner built a one-car detached garage and fixed up the in-ground pool.

    The staircase and double-sided fireplace are original to the home. New features include an updated kitchen, striking light fixtures, and a soaking tub.

    “The perfect buyer for this property is somebody who really appreciates historical homes but enjoys living in modern-day comfort,” Bishop said.

    Bishop called Riverton “a cute little town” and said she’s seen families who like Moorestown but can’t afford to live there come over to the borough. The home is close to parks, the Riverton Country Club, the Delaware River, Routes 130 and 73, and a NJ Transit light rail station on the River Line.

    The property was originally listed in January for $799,999, but the price dropped to $769,999 in February.

    Detached house on a double lot

    This property isn’t one that a potential buyer would typically see in this twin-filled part of Philadelphia.

    “It’s a detached home in Chestnut Hill,” said listing agent Neil Dessecker with RE/MAX One Realty. And its double-wide lot offers large side and rear yards, which are fenced in.

    On tours, many prospective buyers said they liked the property because they were looking for more space, he said.

    The home also has more of the usual features of homes in the area, including a covered front porch and hardwood floors.

    The kitchen includes high-end Bosch appliances, including an induction range. The owners converted the home from oil heating to central air-conditioning and heating.

    The third floor is a flexible space that can be used as a bedroom, living space, or playroom.

    The home doesn’t include parking, which Dessecker noted “usually skyrockets the price.” But the sellers said they almost always parked their two vehicles on the street right in front of their home.

    “The sellers said it was an incredible block and they loved the people there,” Dessecker said.

    The home is not far from the shops and restaurants along Germantown Avenue and is near an Acme. The Wyndmoor station on Regional Rail is at the end of the street.

    “There’s just not a lot of inventory in Chestnut Hill,” Dessecker said. “So when something of quality becomes available, you have to seize the opportunity.”

    The property is listed for $765,000.

  • Modern designs and mid-century touches live side-by-side in this renovated Lambertville home

    Modern designs and mid-century touches live side-by-side in this renovated Lambertville home

    As their family grew, Lauren Braun-Strumfels and Kyle Strumfels felt the walls of their 1895 rowhouse in Lambertville, N.J., closing in on them. With two kids, the 16-foot wide, one-bathroom house left a lot to be desired.

    They pined after the neighboring standalone house built in the 1970s, an abnormality for the Victorian-era town that attracts antiques lovers to Hunterdon County year-round. Even though maintenance had been deferred for decades, the house sat on an unusually roomy lot for the dense, walkable downtown. The couple, unafraid of a renovation, had a vision for what it could become.

    But creating the California modern-inspired ranch house they live in today was not nearly as straightforward. First, buying the house proved challenging.

    The exterior of Kyle Strumfels and Lauren Braun-Strumfels’ home in Lambertville, N.J.

    “When we finally got to the table and signed the deal, [the seller’s] lawyer said, ‘I thought she was gonna go breach of contract, like, three times!’” Braun-Strumfels, 46, said. The couple felt it on their end, too, as they helped guide their neighbor through the sale. “It was very stressful and very intense.”

    They closed for $290,000 in August 2017. The young family moved into the two-bedroom house on Feb. 4, 2018, the day the Eagles won the Super Bowl, recalled Strumfels, 47. Their two kids, now 12 and 9, shared one room while the couple had the other. Everything needed updating.

    “With the rowhouse, there were certain things that we just wouldn’t want to do to it, historically, to preserve the character,” Braun-Strumfels said. “This house was a total blank slate. It was neither historic nor attractive, so we felt like we could really transform it.”

    In the first of their two major renovations, they funneled $150,000 into moving the kitchen to the front of the house, bumping the back wall of the house out to add more living space, and adding a Jack-and-Jill bathroom connecting the two original bedrooms on top of less exciting but no less important mechanical upgrades. They lived that way for a few years but always knew there was more work to do.

    The kitchen, which was relocated in the first round of renovations.
    The main bathroom.

    The second renovation didn’t go quite as smoothly.

    The couple began pursuing a $300,000 construction loan in 2018 that didn’t close until 2020, thanks to a zoning snafu. The amount was intended to leave a nice cushion for finishing details, but by the time the loan was theirs, the pandemic had driven up lumber costs and “our whole budget got eaten by two-by-fours,” Braun-Strumfels said. Their tile budget was whittled down to about $1 per square foot in the bathrooms, meaning Braun-Strumfels had to let go of her plans for elaborate tile and countertops.

    They also had to part with one architect who didn’t quite get the couple’s vision. They then hired Princeton-based architect Peter Wasem.

    The hallway near the entrance features a large painting that contrasts with the green front door.

    Ultimately the renovation added 1,000 square feet for a new entry as well as what they call an “adult wing,” with a walk-in closet that leads to an en suite bathroom. Through a stroke of smart design, the en suite’s water closet doubles as a powder room, creating a circular flow through the wing.

    Coming from their rowhouse, which only had two exposures, it was important to Braun-Strumfels and Strumfels to take advantage of the roomy lot’s natural light. The primary bedroom is lined in windows — with a partial view of their old property. Their living room addition also has a large window overlooking the backyard.

    The primary bedroom has two-story windows, high ceilings, and a living space.

    The original front porch was enclosed to become a shared office for Braun-Strumfels, an associate professor of history at Cedar Crest College, and Strumfels, a senior vice president of ESG and climate at Macquarie Group. A new carport gives the house a distinctly mid-century touch.

    The result of the renovations is an open-concept house where the couple’s eclectic furniture, wares, and finishes can live in harmony. Their collection of mid-century furniture and wares from local joints like Rago Auctions coexists with original art, including Strumfels’ favorite piece from Philadelphia’s Material Culture. And that’s on a backdrop of modern finishes like sleek soapstone countertops and Herman Miller pendant lighting over the oversized kitchen island.

    “Sometimes I wondered if people would be mad we stuck a modern house in the middle of this town, but people seem to really like it,” Strumfels said. Folks in the area can be very resistant to change, Strumfels said, but “we get a lot of nice feedback.”

    Mid-century furniture and original art coexist in an eclectically decorated home.

    They have no plans to move, but Braun-Strumfels said they do harbor a hope of someday returning to Philadelphia, where they lived for a year before moving to Lambertville.

    Paintings hang on the wall.
    One of the children’s bedrooms.

    “We have our little pipe dream that we might retire eventually, get a little spot in the city, go back and forth,” she said.

    But for now, they’re finally perfectly at home.

    Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.

  • The trick these homeowners used to act fast on an in-demand Collingswood rancher with a pool | How I Bought This House

    The trick these homeowners used to act fast on an in-demand Collingswood rancher with a pool | How I Bought This House

    The buyers: Brandon Balcom, 44, vice president of product operations at BCD Travel; Dane Cox, 39, owner of Dane Cox State Farm Insurance Agency

    The house: A 3,767-square-foot, ranch-style home in Collingswood with three bedrooms and three baths built in 1955

    The price: Listed for $695,000; purchased for $735,000

    The agent: Amy Telfair, Telfair Collective

    The Ask: Brandon Balcom and Dane Cox were not looking to buy a new house. They had just purchased a fixer-upper on a beautiful oversized lot in 2021. “It was in the perfect spot,” Balcom said, “and they always say, ‘you can’t move your house.’”

    But it turned out their perfectly located house needed to be rebuilt from the foundation up and the lengthy zoning process was wearing them down. Two years into a renovation with no end in sight, their friend, real estate agent, Amy Telfair, suggested they buy a new house instead. In fact, she knew just the one.

    “We chuckled and rolled our eyes, because she’s a Realtor with vested interest,” said Balcom. But the couple agreed to check out the listing anyway.

    Dane Cox and Brandon Balcom in their living room with their beloved corgy.

    The appeal: The house was designed in the midcentury style they loved, and, unlike their current place, it didn’t need any work. “We started dreaming very quickly about skipping all these steps,” said Balcom. The new house even had a pool, which Balcom said was part of a “years-down-the-line vision” for their current home.

    Balcom’s favorite thing was that it was perfect for entertaining, from the bar in the finished basement to the grand fireplace in the living room. When Cox heard his husband gasp at the fireplace, he knew the deal was done.

    “I was like, ‘There’s nothing I can say at this point that’s going to convince him otherwise,’” Cox said.

    The search: To get ahead of other potential buyers, the couple used a trick they learned while selling their previous house in Minneapolis: they brought their inspector to the showing.

    “We wanted to know when we left that day if there was an issue,” said Balcom. Knocking out the inspection early allowed them to waive it as a contingency, which the couple knew from experience would appeal to the sellers.

    The kitchen of the couple’s home, which is designed in the midcentury style they love.

    The couple’s inspector gave them the go-ahead, so they went to Cox’s office and “started scheming,” said Balcom.

    The deal: The couple called Telfair, whose first instinct was to get the house off the market. She didn’t want the sellers to show it over the weekend, so she asked what it would take to get the listing taken down that day. They requested an all-cash offer of $735,000 — $40,000 above the asking price. Cox and Balcom agreed, and a legal contract that required the seller to cancel upcoming showings was speedily signed.

    The money: Balcom and Cox didn’t have to hand over $750,000 in cash the day they signed the contract. They just needed to “give up any contingency on the need for financing to buy the home,” said Balcom. Documentation showing that they could pay in full would suffice.

    They had over $400,000 in savings and brokerage accounts that they could show as proof of funds, and a letter from their parents confirming another $300,000 was available if needed. “You have to have a promissory note or something from your family that says, ‘I will give this amount for the purchase of the home,” Balcom said.

    One of the main selling points was the giant fireplace in the living room.

    But they didn’t end up borrowing money from their parents. “We just needed it for a moment to show we’ve got cash,” Balcom said.

    Instead, they took out a home-equity loan on their fixer upper. “Between when we signed the contract and when we closed, we had time to pull the equity out of our existing house,” said Balcom. The loan provided them with enough cash to cover the remaining cost of their new home.

    The move: Balcom said the actual close was anticlimactic. The sellers were out of town so they pre-signed everything for the couple, who left for a family vacation the day after the paperwork was done.

    By the time they returned, the sellers had officially moved out. But they left several items that excited Balcom and Cox — including a pool table and a hot tub.

    The couple moved in over two months, taking their time to bring each room “online,” said Balcom. “Once we got the furniture, it was like, ‘OK, now we’re using this room.’”

    Any reservations? Balcom was surprised that several of the house’s nice-looking appliances were 20 years old. The previous owners “kept such good care of things,” he said.

    Some amenities, like the infrared sauna with wireless speakers in the basement, were actually pretty old.

    To listen to music, Balcom has to use the sauna’s built-in CD player, because the speakers were made before Bluetooth technology was common. “It’s like a circa-2000s car stereo,” he said, laughing.

    Balcom was excited that the previous owners left the hot tub, even though it only lasted a few months.

    The hot tub is 20 years old, too. “It ended up failing at the end of winter,” Balcom said. “I was hoping we’d get two years out of it.”

    Life after close: Cox and Balcom haven’t changed anything since they moved in.

    “This house doesn’t need anything,” said Cox. Indeed, that’s why they bought it.

    Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear about it. Emailacovington@inquirer.com.