Jessica H. Hahn
- Licensed in
- Pennsylvania
Summarize yourself in a tweet.
PA licensed Realtor & Certified Sommelier: Discerning curator of wine & real estate. Detail oriented. Design obsessed.
What's your favorite client story?
During one of my first deals, we ran into an issue with the title. The city had taken 13 ft from the property to build I-95, the property description had never been updated, and the city had flagged the description during Covid. We tried EVERYTHING to resolve the issue because we couldn’t close on the property until the description was fixed. We were down to the wire with only five days left until settlement so my client lit candles, pulled out tarot cards, and called the city survey department — and actually got through the department VP (!) which absolutely never happens. She told them her story and got the city to agree to sign off on her property description as is under the condition that she wouldn’t sell the property before getting a new survey done. Moral of the story is that you never know what’s going to work in real estate. And if all else fails, pull tarot cards. Ha!
You have a day off in Philly. What do you do?
I always start my day walking the length of East Passyunk from Broad St to Dickinson. I would stop at Vanilya and get either their dilly egg salad on a bagel or the guava and cheese hand pie (YUM!). I love window shopping all the different boutiques and small businesses on East Passyunk, not to mention the incredible people watching. Then I’d head to Rittenhouse for Scotch & Soda (I’m obsessed with their retro colors and fun prints) and to grab that amazing warm shrimp salad at Parc. I’d spend the afternoon at The Barnes Foundation which is my favorite museum on earth. The beauty there is more than just the art itself, it’s also the way the artwork is arranged with other pieces so the works relate to each other. I could honestly spend the whole day there. For dinner my husband and I like to “make our own tapas,” I.e. bar hop from one restaurant to another trying all the best bites. Fishtown is great for this — start at R&D for the best cocktails, grab apps at Suraya, tacos at LMNO, and then head to Fabrika for a killer burlesque show.
What's the architectural detail your eye always gravitates towards?
Original character — hardwood floors with inlays, carved banisters, marble mantles, built-in bureaus, tiled vestibules. Also, good tile. I LOVE some good tile work.
Favorite community organization.
Philly Forward! It’s a new Political Action Committee in Philly that is focused on improving the lives of everyday citizens and holding city government accountable to its constituents.
What differentiates you within real estate?
I’m approachable, relatable, detail-oriented and investment focused.
One last thing...
My husband and I bought our first property in 2018. It was a duplex and it needed total renovation — I really had no idea what we were getting into! We (he) did most of the renovations ourselves, although we have a few amazing contractors who did great work with the major systems. We got a tenant for the first floor and moved into the upstairs bi-level unit. Once all the renovations were complete, we did a cash-out refinance and are using the money from that to buy our next place. We took a somewhat unusual path to home ownership by starting with a property that was both a primary residence and an investment property at the same time - an off-set Duplex, as they call it. The experience has given me such a different real estate lens, and I love helping my clients reconsider all of the paths available to them when it comes to home ownership.