Center City Philadelphia, PA
Head office, underwriting and closing, one floor at 17th and Market
Everything happens here: origination, underwriting, closing and post-closing. When we say a file is underwritten in house, we mean on the fourteenth floor at 1701 Market Street, by a person whose name appears on your pre-approval letter.
Lending in Center City Philadelphia
Everything happens here: origination, underwriting, closing and post-closing. When we say a file is underwritten in house, we mean on the fourteenth floor at 1701 Market Street, by a person whose name appears on your pre-approval letter.
Center City files are dominated by condominiums and converted lofts, which brings project approval questions that suburban lenders rarely handle. We keep our own questionnaire log on the larger buildings in Rittenhouse, Washington Square West and Old City, so we usually know the answer before we ask.
What the local data says
- $412,000Median sale price
- 34 daysMedian days on market
- 1.398% of assessed valueEffective property tax
- 4.278% combined, customarily splitTransfer tax at settlement
Sample market data for this demonstration site. Ask us for the current figures on a specific address.
Three things that catch people out in Center City Philadelphia
- 01
Condominium project review
Investor concentration above 50%, pending litigation and inadequate reserve studies are the three things that stop a Center City condo file. We ask the association for the questionnaire on day one, not week three.
- 02
The 10-year tax abatement
Philadelphia's residential abatement now phases down rather than running flat for ten years. Escrow figures based on the abated assessment will understate year four onward, and we underwrite to the stepped number.
- 03
Transfer tax arithmetic
4.278% combined is among the highest in the country. On a $412,000 purchase that is $17,625 total, and who pays which half is a contract term worth negotiating.
Lead originator here
Daniel Whitfield
Principal and branch manager · NMLS #XXXXXXX
Daniel opened Keystone in 2009 after eleven years underwriting for a regional bank, which is why underwriting sits in this office rather than in another state. He still signs off personally on every file above $1,500,000 and on anything with a complicated income structure. He is the person to call when three lenders have already said no and nobody has explained why.
What tends to fit in Center City Philadelphia
Conventional
Conforming loans to $832,750 with cancellable PMI
Jumbo
Above $832,750, to $3,000,000, 10% down from 700 FICO
Areas served from this office
- Rittenhouse
- Fitler Square
- Washington Square West
- Old City
- Northern Liberties
- Fishtown
- Graduate Hospital
- Point Breeze
- Queen Village
- Bella Vista
Other offices
- Bala Cynwyd, PA · (610) 555-0146
- King of Prussia, PA · (610) 555-0147
- Cherry Hill, NJ · (856) 555-0148
Buying or refinancing in Center City Philadelphia?
Send the address and the price. We come back with the tax figure, the likely appraisal range and the real monthly cost.
No application fee. Soft credit pull at pre-qualification. Flat $1,095 origination at closing.