Arthur Salter and Deborah Schultz, ready to unpack their new life as city-dwellers once again.
When you’re looking to make a major transition, such as a move from a large suburban home to a smaller pad in the city, it helps to have a knowledgeable real estate agent who can grasp your wants and needs, knows urban living, and can help you match your own expectations with what’s available on the market
Deborah Schultz and her husband Arthur Salter found that agent in Carmel Archdekin.
The couple had met in Philadelphia in 1978 and loved city life, but when they had children, they chose a suburban home in Bala-Cynwyd, just over the city line, because of the quality of the schools. With the kids having struck out on their own, Schultz and Salter could once again return to the city they loved. They knew that this would mean making some adjustments, and they had already spent time thinking about how they’d adjust.
“We had a checklist of what we wanted,” Schultz explained. “We wanted two bedrooms, and we wanted privacy for those bedrooms; we didn’t want them off the living room. We wanted two bathrooms, we wanted storage, and we wanted plenty of light.
“A balcony was a real desire. At first we didn’t want a doorman, but as we explored, we realized the value of a doorman. We did not want the open kitchen effect, which is the hottest thing going today. And we wanted safe walking; I’m active in my church, and as we looked, I asked myself, ‘What would it be like walking home from church at night?’”
And they wanted all this in a 1500-square-foot package. That would end up being the biggest adjustment they had to make. “We wanted 1500 square feet, but we ended up with 1200,” Schultz said. “We were told early on that there wasn’t enough inventory in our price range and the styles we wanted.”
Carmel Archdekin took this as a challenge and went to work.
Schultz and Salter first met Archdekin when they inquired about some properties she represented. The property flunked their checklist, but Archdekin went about finding others that might qualify once they told her what they were looking for.
“We went to quite a few places with her,” Schultz said. “Whenever she had something, she would show us.”
Schultz and Salter take in the skyline view from their new home in the Center City One condominium.
And she learned more about their checklist with each showing. Eventually, Schultz said, she learned exactly what they were looking for and that they were serious about their requirements. “We appreciated that when she figured out what we wanted, she didn’t show us things she didn’t think would fit.”
Eventually, the couple settled on the Center City One condominium in Washington Square West as their preferred destination, also the result of a process of winnowing out and shifting preferences. “We had looked near the rivers, but eventually decided we wanted to be in the center,” Salter said. And where they had begun their search thinking they’d find what they really wanted near Rittenhouse Square, as their search continued, they eventually decided they should be closer to Washington Square instead. This means a longer walk to Schultz’s church just northwest of Rittenhouse Square, but the walk involves streets that are alive at night.
Schultz and Salter just missed out on a Center City One unit they thought would be perfect; the day before they were to see it, Archedkin told them it had gone under agreement of sale. But she managed to find another one through the art of persuasion.
“The unit was on the market as a rental,” Schultz said. “No one was living in it, but the woman wno owned it was going to rent it. Carmel talked to her agent and asked if she would be willing to sell it at the right price. It was very clever of her to do that.”
What Schultz and Salter appreciated most about Archdekin was the level of service she provided and the attention she gave their concerns. When the time came to actually make an offer, she found financing for them, handled all the necessary submissions electronically and produced a detailed checklist of next steps the couple would have to take.
The whole process took longer than the couple had expected it to, but Salter said that without the services of an experienced and knowledgeable agent, it would have taken even longer. “We were beginning to get desperate,” she said. “That Carmel was able to find this place for us took the pain away.”