How Far Can $375,000 Go for a First-Time Buyer in a Philadelphia Suburb?

Last spring, Clare Perretta had to make a choice: keep renting or take the leap and become a first-time homeowner.

Ms. Perretta, 45, had been renting a one-bedroom, one-bath condo in Maple Shade, N.J., for just over six years when her landlord told her he was selling the unit. She assumed an investor would buy the property and allow her to stay on as a tenant.

Instead, on May 16, her landlord sold the condo to a buyer who planned to move in.

“He gave me 60 days, like, to the hour, to move out,” Ms. Perretta said.

Ms. Perretta had been renting in southern New Jersey since 2019. Before that, she lived in Wallingford, Pa., with her parents, in the same home she grew up in, commuting to her job as an employee for a defense company in New Jersey. When her parents sold the house, she decided to rent a place of her own. Homeownership was a responsibility Ms. Perretta wasn’t ready to take on — and wasn’t particularly interested in.

“At the time, I didn’t feel like I had the right mind-set to own,” Ms. Perretta said. “I was content to keep renting and have the problems be someone else’s problems.”

But six years later, with just two months to find a new rental, Ms. Perretta’s mother suggested buying a home. She reminded her daughter of unwanted rent increases over the years. (Ms. Perretta’s father died in 2022.)

“When I started renting my condo in Maple Shade in 2020, it was $1,150 a month,” she said. “By the time I left, I think it was $1,447. I kept complaining to my mom about my rent going up.”

After her mother offered to help with a down payment, Ms. Perretta decided that she was done with landlords. She hired her friend, Steven J. Tamburello, a real estate agent at Century 21 Alliance, to help her buy her first home.

Since she felt as if she was “pushing out against the walls” of her previous rental, Ms. Perretta focused on finding a two-, preferably three-bedroom, two-bath home with a comfortable kitchen for cooking and few stairs, to allow her to age in place and accommodate her mother’s limited mobility. 

She wanted either a turnkey home with opportunities to expand or a place at the low end of her budget that would allow for significant renovations. Ms. Perretta also wanted a property near shops and stores that was a short commute to her new digital content job in New Jersey. She was open to a homeowners’ association.

“My mother said, ‘Clare, you don’t have the kind of lifestyle where you mow the lawn on a Saturday morning,’” Ms. Perretta said. “But I wasn’t opposed to throwing money at that problem.”

She considered a first-time home buyers’ mortgage program, but ultimately secured a conventional loan and was approved for $375,000. That was “an insane amount of money.” Ms. Perrett said. “I did not want to be anywhere near that.”

So she set her sights on a lower purchase price, ranging $275,000 to  $350,000.

“I didn’t want to be house-poor,” she said. “I like to travel. I like to go see Broadway shows and go to Phillies games.”

With a goal of seeing “every format that was available in my price point,” Ms. Perretta said, she and Mr. Tamburello looked at single-family homes, townhouses and condos in Cherry Hill and Haddonfield, N.J. Both towns were close to her office and were desirable Philadelphia suburbs that Mr. Tamburello said had “always held their values.”

Over eight weeks, Ms. Perretta saw 17 properties and made offers on five.

Among her options:

No. 1

A Single-Family in Cherry Hill

This three-bedroom, one-bath, 960-square-foot home was built in 1941 and came with an upgraded kitchen, hardwood floors, a renovated bathroom and plenty of natural light. It had a tidy full basement that covered the entire footprint of the house, with the potential to turn it into whatever she wanted.

A detached garage, a private patio and plenty of backyard space were all bonuses. The house was just a few minutes from downtown.

The asking price was $350,000.

No. 2

A Condo in Haddonfield

This updated two-bedroom, two full-bath, 1,137-square-foot condo, built in 1975, came with an eat-in kitchen offering ample cabinet storage and plenty of counter space.

The home, within walking distance of downtown shops, had a large en suite master bedroom and was on the ground floor.

The asking price was $299,900. HOA fees were $494 a month.

No. 3

A Fixer-Upper in Cherry Hill

This 1,000-square-foot, first-floor corner condo unit had two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The master bedroom had a full bath and a walk-in closet. The open living area featured glass doors leading to a patio near the complex’s pool.

The kitchen was usable but needed upgrades. Built in 1987, the home was close to downtown Haddonfield and eight miles from Philadelphia.

The asking price was $310,000, and the HOA fees were $400 a month.