Faded Glory in Mt. Airy for $700K

30 Pelham Rd., Philadelphia, Pa. 19119 | TREND images via Elfant Wissahickon Realtors

Perhaps one reason those who compare Philadelphia to Detroit miss the mark is because this city has many neighborhoods that, while they have seen better days, still have strong bones and buried opportunity.

It also has many homes with those same qualities. In this case, however, the opportunity’s not buried — it’s in plain sight.

Ordinarily, we do not feature short sales or foreclosures in our house posts because we don’t want to promote profiting off the misfortune of others. But this particular short sale is simply too unusual to ignore.

This one-of-a-kind “handyman special” is a magnificent 10-bedroom Tudor Revival mansion called “Fairelawn,” designed by architects George and William Hewitt in 1903. It’s a sterling example of the genre and boasts many fine details, including leaded glass windows, eight fireplaces, coffered ceilings, whimsical gargoyles and meticulously sculpted woodwork and stonework.

It’s loaded with great spaces for entertaining and relaxing, including two billiard rooms, a solarium and a spacious library with a charming fireplace alcove. Your guests will be suitably impressed by the grand entrance foyer with its impressive stone fireplace and equally impressive carved main staircase.

As you can see, though, the house needs work: the woodwork needs refinishing, the butler’s pantry could stand modernization, and that linoleum floor in the kitchen has got to go. (So do the appliances, we’re sorry to say.)

This may be too daunting a task for the do-it-yourselfer, but if you’re the kind of DIY homeowner who loves a big challenge, we could think of no better one than this. For the rest of you, a good contractor and a design professional would no doubt prove to be money well spent.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 10

BATHS: 4 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 10,000

SALE PRICE: $700,000

OTHER STUFF: This home’s 1.19-acre lot is also landscaped with a number of mature plantings. The home is being sold in as-is condition.

30 Pelham Road, Philadelphia, Pa. 19119 [Wendy Schwartz | Schwartz-Nealy Team | Elfant Wissahickon Realtors]