Philly movers make the impossible happen | Real Estate Newsletter

When I was getting ready to move into a Center City trinity (longtime readers will know it as “the mouse house”) in 2019, I was told my box spring would probably not make it up the narrow stairway.

Read more 🌺 Let the luau play on? | Down the Shore

I decided to take my chances. And it looked for a second like the movers would be able to maneuver it up there. But they couldn’t make it fit, and I had to order one that folded in half.

Turns out Philly movers aren’t magicians. But they’re overall pretty good at working with the challenges thrown at them bythe city’s housing stock. They even make moving look easy.

Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:

— Michaelle Bond

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Old buildings. Tight spaces. City streets. Wild West parking. Philly’s professional movers have to navigate it all.

One mover told my colleague that getting furniture where it needs to go sometimes means “you gotta puzzle-piece it up the stairs.”

Older Philly homes have smaller doorways, hallways, and staircases that can be a problem for larger, modern furniture (and box springs).

Sometimes, that means stuff has to be hoisted through windows. A mover said he once hauled furniture through trap doors in a house’s floorboards.

Some of the more interesting items movers told us they’ve hauled into homes include:

Keep reading to hear professional movers’ stories and get some moving tips.

Driving on Philly highways recently, you may have noticed billboards that call out Post Brothers, the apartment developer. The signs are part of a pressure campaign by the city’s carpenters union.

More than a dozen Philly-area contractors, most of which are affiliated with the union, have sued the developer. They say Post Brothers owes them millions of dollars for work they did at an apartment complex at Broad Street and Washington Avenue in South Philly.

A union official accused Post Brothers of undertaking a “Donald Trump business model” and not paying contractors.

Post Brothers says these legal fights are really about who should pay costs that ballooned throughout the apartment project because of inflation. Spoiler: They’re saying “not it.”

Keep reading to learn more about theallegations and what the legal saga says about today’s construction environment.

Philly homeowners will have new property tax bills to pay come March, thanks to new property assessments the city released in June.

Property valuations increased citywide, but some neighborhoods are seeing higher increases than others.

Philadelphia offers programs that help homeowners with rising property tax bills, but you’ve got to opt into them, and a lot of people don’t. Homeowners could be missing out on thousands of dollars in savings.

To figure out which assistance programs you’re eligible for and how much you could save, use this online tool my colleagues built.

In related news, the city has kicked more than 13,000 Philly homeowners off tax break programs they weren’t actually eligible for.

Most of them had been getting tax relief from a program that’s only available for people’s primary residence. Now, the city is charging them back taxes.

📮Did you successfully appeal a past property assessment? Let us know how you did it.

For 26 years, Andrea and Eran Preis lived in a four-bedroom house in Queen Village. But when Andrea turned 80, their sons told them it was time to downsize.

Now, the couple lives in a two-bedroom condo in Bella Vista.

Andrea had to part with beloved belongings, including cookbooks, photo albums, her collection of framed embroidery, and the dining room table that seated 14.

But she was able to keep other treasures. She still has a carved antique buffet and vintage Hanukkah oil lamps from Spain and Italy. And the condo’s walls are covered in art.

Peek inside the home the Preises filled with the important things.

Do you know the location this photo shows?

📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.

Last week’s quiz featured a shot of a pedestrian walking through the south portal of City Hall.

Shout-out to Ian M. for knowing that.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Read more Lower Merion parking may go app-only as its old-school meters are ‘slowly failing’