Marco Santelli has renovated fifty-three Philadelphia row homes. He started in 2001 with a shell on Mifflin Street in South Philadelphia — bought it for $28,000, spent eight months and money he didn’t entirely have, and sold it for $95,000. He has not stopped since.
He is not a developer in the way that word is usually used — no company, no office, no team beyond a rotating group of trusted subcontractors. He is, in his own description, a contractor who buys houses. At fifty-four, he has more opinions about Philadelphia row homes than most people have about anything.
We sat with him for two hours on a rear deck in Passyunk Square, where he is currently mid-renovation on house number fifty-three, and asked him to share what he has learned.
On What Makes a Good Row Home Buy
“Structure is everything. Paint is nothing. Kitchens and bathrooms are in between. When I walk into a house, I go to the basement first. I look at the foundation, I look at the joists, I look at the bottom of the first-floor framing. I can tell in ten minutes whether this is a house I want to touch.
“The worst buys I’ve made were houses where the cosmetics were fine — someone had put in new cabinets, new floor — but the structure underneath was compromised. You don’t know until you open things up. Good structure you can fix everything else. Bad structure eats your budget before you’ve done anything visible.”
On the Biggest Mistake Buyers Make
“They fall in love with the block. Which I understand — I’ve done it myself. You see a great block, good neighbors, good light, and you stop being objective about the specific house. But the block doesn’t fix the house. The house has to work on its own terms.
“The other thing buyers get wrong is the inspection. They get a general home inspection, which is fine, but a general inspector is not going to tell you that the rear addition was built without a permit in 1987 and the framing is completely non-standard. They’re not going to tell you that the chimney needs full relining at $4,000. You need a contractor — someone who has actually fixed these problems — walking through with you, not just a certified inspector.”
On What Has Changed About Philadelphia Row Homes
“The materials got worse and then better. In the 1990s, everyone was putting in the cheapest possible everything — hollow-core doors, laminate flooring, that popcorn drywall finish. You open up a house from that era and it looks updated but the updates are junk.
“What’s changed recently is buyers expect more and the neighborhood pricing supports doing it right. When I was starting, South Philly buyers wanted functional — they didn’t care about the finish. Now the same buyers in the same neighborhoods want high-end kitchens, good tile, real hardwood. The price points support it, which is good for the houses, even if it means more work.”
On the Party Wall
“Every row home has a party wall situation, and every renovation eventually runs into it. My rule is: communicate before you start, not after something goes wrong. I’ve had neighbors I told nothing and regretted it every time. I’ve had neighbors I briefed completely before starting and we never had a problem.
“The specific thing I always tell the owner: before any demo, invite your neighbor in and show them what you’re doing. Let them see the plan. If they have a concern, deal with it before the demo crew starts — not after.”
On Rear Additions
“The rear is where the money goes in Philadelphia. Everybody wants to push the kitchen back, open it up, get more light. And it usually makes sense — the rear yard is often underused, the permits are more straightforward than going up, and the result is significant. But do the math first.
“I’ve seen owners spend $80,000 on a rear addition that added maybe $60,000 in value. That’s not a renovation mistake — that’s a life choice. If you’re going to live there for ten years, fine. But if you’re thinking about resale in two years, do the math.”
On What Fifty Renovations Have Taught Him
“The houses teach you things. I know things about 1920s Kensington construction and 1880s South Philly construction and 1950s Northeast construction that I could not have learned any other way. Each era has its patterns — what they did right, what they cut corners on, what fails first.
“The thing I always come back to is that these houses were built to last. Not beautifully — most of them were built by the lowest bidder for the working class. But solidly. The framing, the masonry, the basic structure: if it hasn’t been touched by someone who didn’t know what they were doing, it is usually still sound after a hundred and fifty years. You can work with that. You build on what’s there.”
He stands up, picks up a coffee cup, and nods toward the interior of the house he is currently renovating. “Come on. I’ll show you the joists.”