What $500K Will Buy You in Ambler
These nicely maintained homes all offer you a little something extra.
1623 Shepard Dr., Ambler, Pa. 19002 | Bright MLS image via Coldwell Banker Preferred
Ambler is yet another of those walkable communities with a happening center that dot the Philadelphia suburbs. The Temple University campus up this way houses the university’s environmental and landscape architecture programs — you’ll probably see the handiwork of their students at the Philadelphia Flower Show, opening this weekend — and the town and its surrounding area feature lots of greenery as well.
Just take a look at the trees and grounds surrounding this week’s featured homes for cases in point. For all we know, their owners may have hired Temple Ambler grads to do their landscaping. None of these are in the borough itself — most of what’s currently listed for sale there are homes facing foreclosure — but all of them are just a short drive away, which means that you have all Ambler has to offer and quick Regional Rail access to the city close at hand.
Then, of course, there are the creature comforts these homes themselves have to offer. They’re not inconsiderable.
1623 Shepard Dr. (above) | 4 beds, 2 full, 1 half baths, 2,468 square feet, $524,900
If this home were a used car, it would have a sticker on it reading “CREAM PUFF – Only One Owner – Runs Like New.” We’re guessing that this home’s original owner has gone on to a better place, for it’s never been put on the market since that owner had it custom built 56 years ago. To get it ready for its second life, it got a total makeover that gave it
- a fantastic kitchen with lots of granite-topped counter space, plenty of cabinets to store stuff and all the latest appliances
- beautiful new hardwood floors everywhere and
- newly updated bathrooms.
On top of all that, you get a covered rear patio, two storage sheds, and a flat 0.6-acre lot with room enough for you to build a two-car detached garage to replace the one that got converted into more living space.
1623 Shepard Dr., Ambler (Maple Glen), Pa. 19002 [Diane Reddington Yeabsley | Coldwell Banker Preferred]
TREND image via BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors
1446 Schirra Dr. | 4 beds, 2 full, 1 half baths, 2,724 square feet, $489,000
On the outside, this home looks like one of those stylistic mashups where the builder or the client couldn’t figure out what they wanted: It’s a Tudor! No, it’s a split-level! No, it’s a rancher!
On the inside, this home looks…fabulous. It’s been impeccably maintained over the years since it was built in the mid-1970s and it’s been kept up to date by thoughtful remodeling. The kitchen shows just how thoughtful: it got a breakfast bar that opened it up to the dining room, new hardwood floors, loads of cabinet space, all-new appliances and a ceiling fan to help keep things cool. As with the kitchen, so with the rest of the house, which has ceiling fans in every bedroom, updated bathrooms, a Jacuzzi tub in the hall bath, and a Nest thermostat for the climate control system. The backyard includes a covered patio and an electronic fence with dog collar to keep your pooch from straying.
1446 Schirra Dr., Ambler, Pa. 19002 [Rhonda and Larry Rosenthal | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]
TREND image via BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors
879 Roberts Rd. | 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,431 square feet, $479,900
Finally, there’s this picture-perfect Cape Cod in a picture-postcard setting: colorful flowers and shrubs frame its photogenic front and strategically planted trees turn its ample rear yard into a shady oasis. “But never mind how it looks on the outside; how does it function on the inside?” you ask. Very well, is the answer. Its rooms are spacious, its dining room classically stylish, and its kitchen unusually contemporary, with frosted-glass-fronted china cabinets thrown into the mix. A traditional fireplace in the living room and a wood-burning stove in the sunny family room add a touch of warmth (literal and figurative) to those spaces. The three full bathrooms have all been recently updated, and the home recently got new mechanicals and a new roof.
817 Roberts Rd., Ambler, Pa. 19002 [Gretchen Knittel | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]
