You bought your first home. Now what? | Real Estate Newsletter

Adjusting to life as a homeowner after renting for years is no joke.

So I asked local experts for some things first-time homeowners should keep in mind, especially during their first year. More established owners have probably already learned from experience, but reminders about responsible home ownership can’t hurt.

Find out what a home inspector, housing counselors, and a first-time owner in West Philly think new homeowners should know.

Keep scrolling for that story and to learn how contractors are held accountable — or not — for construction damage, peek inside an art-gallery-esque combined condo, and see if you know where to find a white elephant in the city.

📮 If you’ve been a first-time homeowner, where did you go for advice once you took that big step? Or what did you learn on your own that you think others should know? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.

— Michaelle Bond

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Think back to your first home after moving out of your family’s home. Mine left an impression right away. The first night I spent in my Philly apartment, my bedroom door locked on its own and got stuck that way. I had to take the knob apart to get out.

You learn a lot from your first home, and that’s especially true if you’re owning for the first time.

Home ownership often takes some getting used to after years of renting, particularly if a buyer is the first person in their family to take the step. That first year can be especially challenging.

So I collected some home ownership advice from a few experienced folks to share with you. Here’s some of their guidance:

Trey Barnes, 29, who bought his first home in West Philly a year ago: “Cash reserves. Make sure you have your cash reserves.”

Amanda Garayua, housing counselor: It’s natural for new homeowners to want to show off for family and friends, “but at the end of the day, they don’t pay your bills.”

Ben Poles, home inspector: “There’s always gonna be something wrong with your house. I tell people I find stuff in new construction.”

Keep reading for more of what new homeowners should keep in mind.

In this newsletter and in our pages, we’ve described the construction destruction happening across our city of rowhouses as developers reimagine properties that are squeezed between and held up by their neighbors. You may have experienced some damage yourself or known someone who’s gone through it.

As we’ve shown, it’s not uncommon.

Philadelphia has systems in place that are supposed to prevent construction damage and punish companies for reckless work. But accountability is scarce.

Certain developers, contractors, architects, and engineers doing work in Philadelphia have been sued by neighbors or cited by the city over and over again because cracks show up in neighboring properties or those properties collapse.

One demolition contractor was sued by neighbors at seven job sites. An architect has worked on at least five projects that the city or neighbors said damaged neighboring buildings.

My colleague Samantha Melamed also highlights the trail of trouble that has followed one company that markets itself as Philadelphia’s largest single-family home builder.

Keep reading for the latest in our series about housing redevelopment in Philly, the construction safety issues that have followed, and the accountability that’s often elusive.

Last year, I wrote about a couple of empty nesters who sold their South Jersey home to downsize and combine two Center City condos.

So I’m feeling some déjà vu with today’s tour, which takes us into the home of a couple of empty nesters who sold their Jersey home (North, this time) to downsize and combine two Society Hill condos.

Carmen Chinea and her husband, Allan Richman, moved from a 6,500-square-foot house to their new combined space, which measures about 2,200 square feet.

Chinea is a physician — like one-half of the South Jersey couple used to be. But she’s also an art collector. And that fact guided the renovation, which took the condos down to studs and changed the location of every wall.

The result is a gallery-like condo that shows off Chinea’s collection, which focuses on modern Latin American art. The home also features an open-concept kitchen/living/dining area and views of Washington Square Park.

Peek into the couple’s art gallery home.

New Jersey Audubon is selling its Cape May Bird Observatory and Center for Research and Education off Delsea Drive. The 25-acre property in Cape May Courthouse, including 20 acres of marshland, is permitted for single-family homes, agriculture, offices, and other uses.

Question: How much is the bird sanctuary near the Jersey Shore listed for?

A) $750,000

B) $900,000

C) $1.1 million

D) $2.2 million

This story has the answer.

Do you know the Philadelphia location this photo shows?

📮 If you think you do, email me back.

No one knew the answer to last week’s quiz. That mural of Jason Kelce, Jalen Hurts, Joel Embiid, and Bryce Harper is in South Philly on East Porter Street.

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You may have heard people saying they either hope or think the housing market will crash soon. (I’ve been hearing that for a while.) In a LendingTree survey of 2,000 Americans, 44% said they think the market is at risk of crashing in the next year.

For anyone waiting for a crash so they can afford to buy a home, LendingTree’s senior economist, Jacob Channel, says don’t hold your breath.

“Not only does data indicate the odds of a housing crash in the next few years are slim,” he said, “but the past shows that when the market crashes, it tends to hurt more people than it helps.”

Tell your friends. And enjoy the rest of your week.

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