BEN & MEGAN How adorable are Ben and Megan? Cuter than a bug’s ear and twice as delightful! We had a lot of fun working together. When we started, the only decision that had been made was to upgrade locations. Ben and Megan were renting on a less than desirable block in South Philly. Their rented house was leaking and they were ready to take control of their living situation.
The Search
We started with a lateral move in budget by looking at homes that would ultimately cost the same per month as the property they were renting. We had almost decided on a cute grandma special with tons of potential that needed a lot of work. We had seen it a couple of times and while the space was great and the house had strong bones they were going to end up removing wall paper, restoring hardwood floors, and improving the kitchen and bath. We were unsure about the scope of the project so we called in the big guns, Moms and Dads. I met Ben and Megan’s parents late one evening in the dark and got some good insight into their lives. They both came from clearly loving and supportive families who had no problem welcoming strangers with charm and humor. I had a great time meeting their parents and was ready to write an offer until Megan let me know that she was flying half way around the world in the next 24 hours.
I think while on her trip for work, Megan thought not just about marine coating failures (she’s a marine coatings engineer), but about the lifestyle she and Ben were about to live. Ben is a man of many talents; he works very hard to support his teeming music career. He’s in a band called Restorations. They spend a lot of time touring and recording, and he makes up for that lost time by working three or more jobs at a time including night work as an engineer, dog sitting at Barkadelphia, and as a staff member at Union Transfer. Suddenly Ben and Megan realized that they work too hard to use their precious little time together to do home improvements on a house that was further away from the neighborhood they enjoyed most.
The Home
They ultimately decided on a sweet little home in Passyunk Square only steps away from their favorite restaurants on the Avenue. Ben was the first person to introduce me to one of our mutually favorite spots, Stateside. If he ever stops working perhaps I’ll run into him and Megan there
Ben and Megan’s new home was hiding on the market just above our radar. We found it just in time to avoid a bidding war. Upon first glance, the poorly executed yellow paint job and a challenging living room for furniture layout almost kept us from realizing the potential, but the size and amenities in the kitchen, the darling back patio and the bonus finished basement sealed the deal. Now Ben and Megan are very comfortable in their home, they’ve decorated with their favorite band posters, and painted the house nicely with soothing colors such as Haze Gray, which is popular with Megan’s engineer coworkers. Being engineers, they had no problem designing the furniture layout of their living room. It’s very comfortable, everything has its place, including their bikes, which add a sculptural element to their collection of wall hung artwork.
I absolutely enjoyed working with Ben and Megan. They were introduced to me by more than one past client, and they’ve since introduced me to other clients I’ve had excellent experiences working with. Best of all, they’ve made me feel appreciated in their support of my business and open expressions of gratitude through their personal network and through social media. For that I couldn’t be more grateful and I’m happy to be Ben and Megan’s lifelong Realtor and friend.