First-Time Find: A Head Start in Germantown for $190K

Looking for a spacious home with the latest features on an up-and-coming block at a great price? Move here before everyone else does.

29 W. Duval St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144 | TREND images via Houwzer Team

29 W. Duval St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144 | TREND images via Houwzer Team

“Find me a nice cheap home in an up-and-coming neighborhood where I don’t have to get into debt.”

A friend of ours made this request this very morning. We advised him that unless he had rich relatives willing to just hand him a chunk of change, no strings attached, that last part of the request would be impossible to fulfill, but we could probably help him with the other two parts.

We hope he’s reading this listing.

This nicely renovated twin sits on a pleasant side street in Germantown’s northwest quadrant, just down the road from Cliveden. The block it sits on has seen a good deal of renovations lately, and this is one of the best of them.

The makeover respects the home’s traditional design and improves on it on the main floor with an open-plan living/dining room with custom crown moldings, wall panels and chair rail. The spacious eat-in kitchen behind this space boasts handsome traditional cabinetry, all-new stainless steel appliances and an island with space for bar seating. Behind the kitchen is a mud room with laundry hookups and a powder room.

Upstairs you’ll find three amply sized bedrooms with plenty of closet space. The master bedroom has its own en suite bathroom, and the other bedrooms share a hall bath.

Out back is a large yard with privacy fence and paved patio.

What more could you want, especially at a price this reasonable? How about convenient access to transit? The buses that ply Germantown Avenue are just steps from your door to take you either down to the subway and Central Germantown shopping or up to Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, where you’ll find plenty of dining options and boutiques. Upsal station on SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail line is a few blocks’ walk away, and history surrounds you in this part of Germantown.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 3

BATHS: 2 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 2,088

SALE PRICE: $189,900

29 W. Duval St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144 [Houwzer Team]