The Philly Pretzel

Even though the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30, 2010 and won’t be renewed, there may never be a better time to buy a home in Philadelphia than today. There are many outstanding opportunities for Philadelphia home buyers, but they may not be around forever.

Mortgage interest rates are hovering at near-record lows and homes in the Philly market have become more affordable. Prices in most neighborhoods have moderated from the highs of the housing boom and are now competitive. Between the great interest rates and competitive prices buyers can get a home that was out of reach just a few years ago.

If you are thinking about buying a home don’t count on interest rates or prices staying at current levels, however. Mortgage rates are sensitive to market conditions and even a slight increase can push monthly payments beyond your budget and comfort range. Most economists expect that home prices and interest rates will begin to increase by 2011.

Although we would love to help you find your next home, we don’t believe that buying a home is right for everyone. It’s a big commitment.  You should have a clear idea of what you’re getting into before you commit to 30 years of payments. Want to learn more about the Philly housing market? Give us a call.

Technorati: philadelphia market conditions, philly home values, philadelphia mortgage rates, philly home buying

posted by janice       SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

Homebuyers ask us all the time about the amenities of a neighborhood and while we pride ourselves on knowing everything about the areas we sell once in a while we don’t know everything (hard to believe huh?) Walkshed Philadelphia allows users to input any address in the city and see the diversity of amenities within a one-mile radius.

Unlike WalkScore that measures the walkability of a neighborhood this site lets users prioritize the amenities they’d like to measure. Philadelphians and those that wish they were can score 19 different categories, ranging from a Philly CarShare pod, coffee shop, library, farmer’s market, and bus stops to tracking quality-of-life issues like instances of violent crime.

This is one more great tool for a well-informed buyers’ arsenal.

FIND YOUR PHILLY HOME

Technorati: philadelphia walkshed, philadelphia home buyers, relocating buyers, philly walkability

posted by janice       SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

“Too bad I’m going to have to be the one to kill this deal.”

You’ll never guess who said these deadly words. No, it wasn’t the seller. No, it wasn’t the buyer. No, it wasn’t the mortgage guy.

It was the home inspector.

Really! He came down from the rafters, hiked up his pants, gave an arbitrary price to fix what he saw and scared the daylights out of the buyers. This was the 2nd home he inspected for them and tried to scare them away from.

This time we weren’t going to let him do that. We dealt with the problem (and yes he was right…a sloppy rafter repair needed fixing) and went to settlement. Not a big deal.

So what’s my point? As anyone in any service business knows, you don’t speak to a client in the negative. And everything this inspector said (we didn’t and will never recommend him) was in the negative. But I was always taught that there are no problems – only solutions. That’s the way we work. That’s the way vendors should work. We’re here to do a job and to do it well. We’re not here to scare people away from what they want. We’re here to show them how to get what they want.

We make recommendations, we advise, we guide and we’re here for you. Let us help you get the best deal, not kill the deal. That’s what you deserve.

Potentially related: Philadelphia Home Buyers: Trust Me! Part 2

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Technorati: philadelphia home buying, home inspections, realtors, home buying process

posted by carolyn SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!