Manayunk<\/a>. None was quite right. <\/p>\n![\"Ross](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/NGWEIS4G4RBMRNKCQGLEQMLJZU.jpg\")
Ross turned one upstairs bedroom into a reading room.Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n
The appeal: Even before stepping inside for the first time, Ross was smitten with her future home. <\/p>\n
\u201cI loved the front porch right away,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, the street \u2026 was tree-lined, people actually sit on their porches.\u201d Because it was on the end of a stretch of homes, it shared only one wall \u2014 a rarity with rowhouses. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt had all that in its favor even before I opened the front door,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Inside, it didn\u2019t disappoint. Though some updates had been made, the home maintained some of its original features, including the wooden staircase and the archways between rooms. What\u2019s more, it checked nearly all of her boxes: three bedrooms, a basement, a front porch, and a sizable kitchen. <\/p>\n
![\"Good](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BFCIM3VMQFDQBH343CTZKOTMKI.jpg\")
Good kitchen space was one of the things on Ross’s new-home wish list. Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n
The only downside was that it was slightly over her budget. <\/p>\n
Over dinner that night with her parents, Ross weighed the pros and cons, deciding that, though it was a bit overbudget, the third bedroom and basement made it worth the stretch. After dinner, she called her agent, and they submitted an offer the following morning. <\/p>\n
The deal: The home\u2019s listing price had recently dropped from $360,000 to $350,000, and Ross offered less than that \u2014 $343,000. Her offer was accepted within a day. <\/p>\n
A subsequent inspection turned up a few issues \u2014 most notably, the house was outfitted with knob-and-tube wiring, a potential fire hazard \u2014 and she was able to negotiate a $4,000 sellers credit that ultimately went toward closing costs. <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RO67PADMM5BGLGGKA7JX5M3WJE.jpg\")
The home has an original wooden staircase. Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n
The money: Ross had begun saving for a home at the start of the pandemic, so she was able to put around $17,000 down, with a mortgage around $1,800 per month. Closing costs came to roughly $6,000. <\/p>\n
A Philly first-time homebuyer program helped her lock in a 5.3% interest rate. She explored other grants and programs, too, but either didn\u2019t qualify or found them inapplicable. <\/p>\n
She was, however, able to get on a waiting list for a program that would provide a rebate for the electrical work she had done to replace the wiring. <\/p>\n
The move: Movers handled the big stuff, Ross\u2019 parents helped with some fragile things, and the majority of the move was handled in a single day. <\/p>\n
And though the schedule was a bit tight \u2014 she wanted the home\u2019s wiring fixed before moving in \u2014 things ultimately worked out. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad, bless him, was doing the closing walk-through with the electrician [while] me and the movers were en route to the house,\u201d Ross said. <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4NEKIRDLTZAZTDYJXQM6CTO6DA.jpg\")
The primary bedroom is currently gray, but she has plans to paint the house soon. Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n
Life after close: Aside from a few small hiccups \u2014 the first week after moving in, she realized the kitchen sink wasn\u2019t working \u2014 things have been peaceful. <\/p>\n
The inspection showed that the water heater was in need of replacing, so the plumber fixed that, along with the sink. She has plans to paint soon, and because the home is bigger than her former apartment, there\u2019s one room still in need of furniture. <\/p>\n
But she\u2019s enjoying taking her time with things. <\/p>\n
![\"Ross](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DOM3QLUTH5HDPFIBNWFS2BDN4I.jpg\")
Ross was able to get the outdoor space she was looking for.Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes at the end of the day, I\u2019ll be sitting down on the couch and it hits me that I own this place,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t have to leave it unless I want to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did you recently buy a home in the Philadelphia area or South Jersey? Share the story of how you did it. Email Inquirer real estate reporters at properties@inquirer.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Inquirer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792858452_729_I_circle_black.png\")
<\/p>\n
How I Bought This House<\/p>\n
Every Other Week<\/p>\n
Get the stories behind how Philadelphians bought their homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The buyer: Bree Ross, 34, paralegal The house: A 1,100-square-foot rowhouse in East Falls with three bedrooms and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[128021,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-313474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-east-falls-home-for-sale-three-bedrooms","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PFBBRD62GRAUHOCBR5WPQMWALY.jpg\")
The dining room and kitchen space at Ross\u2019 home in East Falls.Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WDXQRXGF4ZACLMF75WMRMWSSWA.jpg\")
The living room at Ross\u2019 new home.Allie Ippolito \/ For The Inquirer<\/p>\n