Buying a Home in NW Philadelphia – 2010 style

As we begin 2010, buying a home in NW Philadelphia will be a different process that before. There are changes in the RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) regulations that effect the information your mortgage consultant can, and what information your mortgage consultant MUST provide, as you go through the process of getting a mortgage for the home that you want to buy.

New regulations includes time allotments for lender disclosures. In some cases these time based regulations will slow down the mortgage application and approval process.  You will need to keep in touch with your mortgage consultant  to get the best interest rate. In her Examiner article, Mortgage Consultant, Tara M Gore, provides some guidelines about  Mortgage rates in Philadelphia – what you can expect.

Your lender, your title agent, and your real estate agent will need to work closely together to ensure that you get the house that you want, the best mortgage product and rate, as well as the settlement date that you need. Changes along the way will require communication between all parties. The purpose of the changes is to protect home buyers from surprise costs. There will be no such thing as a ‘last minute change.’ There will also be no such thing as a requiring a fast settlement.

At the same time, the beginning of 2010 is the time for buyers to take advantage of Tax Credits. The $8,000 (maximum) Credit for 1st time buyers, and the $6,500 Credit for repeat buyers require a signed agreement by April 30, and a settlement by June 30.  To take advantage of these credits in the new mortgage environment, the time to get started is NOW.

Please Donate to Haitian Relief

At this time the immediate needs in Haiti are for medical supplies, fresh water, and emergency food supplies. Please make a donation for Haitian relief to the Red Cross to help them meet these needs.  For up to date information check out  the Red Cross Newsroom Blog. 

Jan 10 – NW Philadelphia Residents Can Get Their Green On

NW Philadelphia residents are not new to recycling. Long before the City of Philadelphia started recycling programs residents brought their papers, cans, and bottles to local drop off locations.

This year  residents can recycle their Holiday Trees and Greens.

Christmas Tree Re-Cycling in Mt Airy will take place on Jan 10, 2010,

10 AM to 4 PM at the Allen’s Lane Art Center, 601 Allen’s Lane in W Mt Airy, Philadelphia, PA 19119

Trees will be chipped into a pile and will be available in the spring as free mulch.

There is a $5 donation requested to cover the cost of the chipper rental.

The Mt. Airy Business Association is sponsoring this event, together with GRinCh (Green in Chestnut Hill), and the Allen’s Lane Art Center.

Surviving 2009 in NW Philadelphia Real Estate

   

Unfinished development project destroyed by lightening

 The NW Philadelphia  real estate market remained relatively stable inspite of the 2009 recession.  Real damage resulting from the boom market excesses of previous years, while painful, has been limited.  But we have not been spared changes resulting from a global financial crisis.

 NW Philadelphia, like the rest of the country, has been changed by the behavior of the big banks, by Fannie and Freddie, and by HUD. For an overview of the decade, and how we got to the 2009 real estate market, Boom and Bust: A Decade of Misadventures in Real Estate – Developments – WSJ offers a collection prescient articles.  

We will remember 2009 as the year when the ‘too big to fail’  banks got bailed out, and became bigger; when new regulations were implemented to stop past abuses, and created new problems;  when the Fed tried to prop up home sales with a Tax Credit, and qualifying for financing became more difficult. Meanwhile  new opportunities became available for those who were looking out for them.  

City of Philadelphia Advertises Housing Counseling Services

To end the year, here are my Top 10 Trends in NW Philadelphia Real Estate in 2009:   

1. Prices in NW Philadelphia fell overall to 8-12% below the high of mid-2007 making homes more affordable, but not drastically depreciated.
2. Interest rates stayed at all time lows making refinancing and 1^st time home buying attractive, if not always attainable.
3. An $8000 Tax Credit created a min-boom in residential home sales, in the $100,000 to $400,000 price range, in November.
4. Quality renovations in selected neighborhoods sold at a premium, providing incentives for well-funded, quality developers.
5. New appraisal rules were adopted preventing mortgage originators from directly hiring or communicating with the appraisers for the properties they were financing. Appraisals became unpredictable, sometimes arbitrary, leading to re-negotiation or the termination of many home sale.
6. Private mortgage insurance became unavailable, restricting loan options to government insured FHA loans with 3 ½ % down payment, or conventional loans with 20 % down payment.
7. Condo sales slowed, and ’spot’ FHA approvals for condominiums became unavailable, leaving only conventional loans for most condo financing.
8. Act 91 offered help to home owners facing foreclosure negotiate loan modifications or sell properties with short payoffs, while the lenders stalled and made the process daunting.
9. Financing for commercial properties became more and more difficult to get for most borrowers, foreshadowing problems in the future.
10. Stimulus programs, and grants were a bright spot, bring  funds to the area for projects including renovating train stations and up-grading business facades to the area a more attractive and better place to live.
    

    Able Plumbing Gets a New Look

Looking back, the year was full of changes both challenging and frustrating. Many people couldn’t do what they wanted to do, whether it was to buy, sell or refinance. At the same time the overall impact of recession has been much less in NW Philadelphia than elsewhere, and there were new opportunities for the making the area a more desirable place to work and live.

Holiday Greetings

 

Wishing you

a Blessed Holiday Season

 

Climbing rose blooming in December

The year, 2009, has been a particularly challenging one. As the year comes to a close, I want to wish everyone a blessed holiday time, and good cheer as we look forward to the new year.

A special thanks to all who trusted me with their most important assets, who provided support and encouragement, who taught me new things, who provided on going inspiration, and who made me smile. Thank you.

and all the best in the New Year.

Kathleen Sheridan

www.PhiladelphiaHomes.wordpress.com

 WEICHERT, REALTORS®

McCarthy Associates

 

NW Philadelphia Sales Are Up For November 2009

NW Philadelphia real estate sales are were up for November 2009 compared to a year ago. November 30 was the original deadline for property settlements for buyers to take advantage of the $8000 1st time home buyer tax credit. In NW Philadelphia there were 175 sales in November 2009 compared to 94 sales in November of 2008.  It was the best looking month that we have seen in a while, with a lot of people working over time to get properties to settlement.

Since the tax credit was extended and expanded to include a credit for ‘move up’ buyers,  we can look forward hopefully to continuing sales momentum through the winter months.

While we are seeing some signs of recovery in NW Philadelphia real estate, the overall economic picture in Philadelphia is mixed. According to the Beige Book report of the Federal Reserve there are signs of recovery around the country, but Philadelphia is among those urban areas that are lagging behind.

A really sustainable recovery in the real estate market needs the economy overall economy needs to improve and unemployment numbers need to come down.

Things to Do in Philadelphia: uwishunu Philly

In Philadelphia, the Thanksgiving season is a good time to look around and find all of the things in the Philadelphia area that make this a great place to live, play, work and visit.

Uwishunu Philly is a website devoted to presenting Philadelphia “from the inside out.”  For Thanksgiving, they offer a cornicopia of the funny, the quirky, the creative, the elegant, the most excellent thing to discover about this City.

Check out Brag Book | Things to Do in Philadelphia: uwishunu Philly. for a delightful view of things to love about Philadelphia.

Thank you, uwishunu Philly

Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended – Nov 6, 2009

Congress has extended and expanded the Home Buyer Tax Credit and expanded it to include 1st time buyers and some ‘move up’ buyers who already own homes. The bill, ‘The Worker, Homeowner, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, was signed into law on Nov. 6, 2009. Information is available at the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

This is good news for buyers who were trying to take advantage of the tax credit, but were not quite ready to buy, or were involved in transactions which couldn’t close by the previous November 30, 2009 deadline. It also encourages home owners who want to move, but have been on the fence about whether the time is right.

The new tax credit provides the same 10% credit up to a maximum $8,000 to 1st time buyers, defined as buyers who haven’t owned a home in the past 3 years. It also provides a 10% up to a maximum of $6,500 credit for ‘move up’ buyers who have owned their present homes for at least 5 years of the previous 8 years. Home owners who are downsizing are ‘moving up’ under the act. The new home does not have to be higher priced than the previous home.

The new credit beginning Nov 6, 2009 also expands the income limits for qualified buyers. There maximum income restrictions are $125,000 for an individual, $225,000 for a married couple. The previous income limits were $75,000 for a single buyer, and $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

Qualified properties are the home owner’s principal residences with a purchase price up to $800,000. Sales between family members do not qualify under the act.

The extended credit requires that buyer’s have an agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010. That means that the time to get ready to buyer and/or sell is now. Preparation starts with mortgage pre-approval so that any credit or available cash issues are addressed while there is some time to correct them.

For further details about the qualifying under the new or previous acts, buyers should consult their tax accountants.

Mt Airy Multi-Family Near Cliveden

Northwest Philadelphia 4 unit property

The large twin property at 6412 Germantown Ave has long been converted to 4 units and offers opportunity for a buyer wanting a convenient Mt Airy location for their home, office, or as an investment.

The spacious 1st floor law office zonrf for an owner occupant can easily be converted to a 2 bedroom residential apartment opening on to a rear porch and deep rear yard. The 3rd floor offers a 2-bedroom apartment, and the 2nd floor has 2 additional 1-bedroom apartments to provide income.

 This distinctive property is located on a residential block of Germantown Ave in the Mt Airy section of Northwest Philadelphia. It is across the street from Cliveden, the National Historic Trust House which hosts events throughout the year, including the annual reenactment of the 1777 Battle of Germantown.

SW Philadelphia Row Home For Investor or Savvy Home Buyer

SW Philadelphia Row Home

SW Philadelphia, 19142, Row Home offers opportunity for an investor or a savvy home buyer wanting to purchase an affordable home that needs just a bit of work.

This straight-thru home offers a spacious living area, located on a nice block that is close to transportation with easy access to Center City. A home buyer can finance with FHA 203k to upgrade and customize this property to suit your own taste.

For more information please visit this property’s web site. http://2608s65thst.epropertysites.com