Price your home realistically. Remember, what was realistic last year or two years ago isn’t realistic today. That’s especially true of higher-priced homes.

Clean the house thoroughly before each showing.

Fix all the little problems you’ve been putting off.

Be willing to bargain.

Offer some concessions to buyers. Common ones include paying part of the closing costs, or paying a moving or decorating allowance.

Be patient price the home realistically. Remember, what was realistic last year or two years ago isn’t realistic today. That’s especially true of higher-priced homes.

Clean the house thoroughly before each showing.

Fix all the little problems you’ve been putting off.

Be willing to bargain.

Offer some concessions to buyers. Common ones include paying part of the closing costs, or paying a moving or decorating allowance.

Be patient.

Contact Us for a Hassle-Free Listing Consultation

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

Technorati: Philadelphia homes for sale, selling your home, preparing your home for sale, pricing your home

 
Last week Keller Williams Realty had what we call Red Day (Renew, Energize and Donate).  The different offices volunteered to paint over graffiti, donate food – things like that.  My office decided to clean up a public park.  We raked, weeded and cleaned up the area.  It was fun. I went home feeling good because I gave back to the community.

Three days later I realized I had poison ivy.  I never had poison ivy before and of course being a city girl I thought it was a mosquito bite.  So naturally when it itched – I scratched.  And I scratched and scratched.  Suddenly, this mosquito bite spread up one arm and jumped to the other arm.  Then I did what everyone else in the world does at a time like this (no I didn’t pour myself a strong drink – that came later).  I turned to the internet for a cure.  I tried rubbing the inside of a banana peel on my arm.  It worked for a couple minutes and then the itch came back.  I tried the baking soda with water and with vinegar.  They both worked for a little longer than the banana peel but when it dried the baking soda flaked off all over the floor.  Now I’m itching and cleaning up the floor.  Someone kill me please. 

Finally I went to the drug store and bought the Benadryl spray and pill.  That worked just fine. I fell asleep an hour after taking the pill and had no idea what was going on around me.

I think the only cure for poison ivy is not to get it.  Let’s face it – nature belongs outside and I belong inside where it’s safe.

If anyone wants to send me a cure I’ll be happy to try it.  Please – help me stop the itch!

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

Technorati: poison ivy, city girl, Philadelphia, poison ivy cure

Recently one of our readers asked how she would go about buying her sister’s house which was a short sale. Not possible we had to tell her, a short sale must be an arm’s-length transaction.

An arm’s-length transaction is one which takes place between parties that have no kind of familial or business connection to one another. This ensures that there is no question of conflict of interest and the parties to a transaction are independent and on an equal footing.
Many lenders are requiring buyers to sign arm’s-length transaction affidavits if the purchase is a short sale.

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

photo courtesy of: icann has cheezeburger

Sorry to be a little late with this update, but I’ve been trying for several days to figure out the real scoop on exactly what happened. For the first time that I can ever remember, FHA actually published a mortgagee letter on their website and then just removed it.

Usually the process of revoking a Mortgagee Letter would involve issuing another Mortgagee Letter with updated rules. Looks like someone at HUD may have gotten ahead of themselves!

For the time being, there is no monetization of the $8000 tax credit. Even if they should re-instate it, it will be months before lenders would be able to get geared up to do it.

Sorry for the unnecessary excitement.

Rates as of today were:

30 Yr Fixed – 5% (0 points)/ 4.75% (1 point)
15 Yr Fixed – 4.625% (0 points)/ 4.25% (1 point)
FHA – 4.875% (0 points)
Investment – 5.75% ( 0 points)/ 5.25% (1 point)- 25% down payment required)

*35 day lock Rates are based on 80% loan to value unless noted and 720+ credit score (with the exception of FHA)
*Income and Asset verification required and must meet DTI guidelines *This is not a commitment to lend and other conditions may apply

APPLY FOR A MORTGAGE ONLINE

Brought to you by our favorite mortgage broker:

Carina Marchese
Center City Mortgage
267.238.5785

email Carina for today’s rate

Technorati: philly mortgage, mortgage market, carina marchese, center city mortgage company

FHA loans do not come directly from the FHA. The FHA guarantees home loans, reducing the risk to lenders and offering increased borrowing power to qualified applicants. You may get better interest rates thanks to FHA home loan insurance.

FHA loans are particularly helpful for those who want a home, but have little or no money saved for a down payment; including those just graduating college, newly married couples, and also those who have had credit problems in the past.

Typically, FHA mortgages require a 3.5 %down payment. Unlike traditional loans, this money can also be a gift to the homebuyer and does not need to be secured as the homebuyer’s own money.

Potentially Related Posts:
7 Facts About FHA Mortgages
What’s a Perfect Loan for a Philly 1st-Time Home Buyer
Applying for a FHA Loan

Technorati: Philly home buyers, 1st time home buyers, Philly mortgages, FHA mortgages

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

Row house: A multistory urban house built in a style that is consistent with, even replicating, that of adjoining houses; often built by the same architect and developer.

This past weekend was the “Walking Tour of Queen Village”.  It’s a fun activity for people who live both in and out of Queen Village.  How many times have you walked or driven by a home in the neighborhood and thought “boy I’d love to see what that place looks like on the inside”?  That’s what the walking tour is all about – you get to walk thru these old row homes and see how they’ve been renovated.  I volunteered to sit at one of these homes where I met the owners. She has a website, rowhouse magazine, that speaks about row homes.  I looked it up and found it very interesting.  I’m writing this blog today because I’d like to share this website with you. If you like these small and sometimes surprisingly large homes I think you’ll enjoy this website.

Now get outside, the weather is beautiful, and check out the row homes of your neighborhood.

FIND YOUR PHILLY ROWHOUSE

Technorati: philadelphia homes, rowhouses, philly architecture

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

The FHA asks for a lot of information on your FHA loan application. You will need to provide the FHA with a wide range of details including:

1. All addresses where you have lived in the previous two years.

2. Your employer’s name and addresses for the last two years, plus the amount of your Gross Monthly Salary.

3. W2’s for the past two years.

4. Income tax forms submitted for the last two years.

Gather all of this before you begin your FHA application so you will have everything handy to complete your FHA loan forms at one time.

Potentially Related Posts:
7 Facts About FHA Mortgages
What’s a Perfect Loan for a Philly 1st-Time Home Buyer

FIND YOUR 1st HOME IN PHILLY AND GET YOUR TAX CREDIT

Technorati: Philly home buyers, 1st time home buyers, Philly mortgages, FHA mortgages

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

FHA may be the best financing option of 2009.

 
Why is the FHA program so good?

1st, you can get a fixed-rate loan at a decent rate. This is very important because unprecedented government spending and balance-of-payments deficits could cause inflation and the devaluation of the dollar — bad news for those with adjustable-rate loans. If inflation becomes an issue loan rates and monthly payments will soar for ARM borrowers.

2nd, there is no prepayment penalty or other funny business.

3rd, HUD, to its credit, tries to help FHA borrowers who run into hard times.

4th, the application process is very clear: You have to provide paperwork and verifications, the way loans should always be underwritten.

5th, you can buy with 3.5 percent down.

Tomorrow: Applying for a FHA Loan

Potentially Related Posts: 7 Facts About FHA Mortgages

FIND YOUR 1st HOME IN PHILLY AND GET YOUR TAX CREDIT  

Technorati: Philly home buyers, 1st time home buyers, Philly mortgages, FHA mortgages

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

motivational poster courtesy of MoBuck.com

There are numerous problems that might develop during the course of a real estate transaction so make sure that you are comfortable with your real estate agent. It’s important they you trust that they can meet any problems head on, quickly and honestly.

We see transactions falling apart all the time due to last minute surprises which makes us wonder if there are people in our industry that are not prepared.  People who are not capable of handling the What Do I Do?  Everyone involved in each transaction needs to Be Prepared.  Everyone from the Realtor, including the  Loan Officer, Home Inspector, Appraiser, Title Company and everyone in between, need to be people who can be trusted to Be Prepared.  Buyers and Sellers need to make sure they are working with people who will make sure that everything within their control is successfully completed.

This is why we have developed a network of professionals that are as prepared and as trustworthy as we are.  If we do not do this then we are doing a disservice to ourselves and our clients.  So Be Prepared and make sure that you choose a  Realtor  that you can trust to be there for you and that they surround themselves with professionals who are as prepared as you are.

Technorati: Philadelphia Buyers, Philadelphia Sellers, Philadelphia Realtors, be prepared

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

photo courtesy of: Hoboken Guy

Well it’s another gray and damp day.  The sun is trying to come out but the clouds won’t let it.  So today I’m in the mood to complain about other stuff besides real estate, which is why I’ve decided to write about dog poop.

I have a dog named Stella.  She’s a rescue dog, 7 years old, brownish and a couple pounds over weight – you know what they say – a fat dog is a happy dog.  Stella & I live in a neighborhood where every other home has a dog or two.  Some have dogs and children but that will be blog for another day.

Anyway – we go for many walks.  We walk up and down different streets, we walk near I-95 along Front St., we’ll walk where ever Stella wants to walk. And we both walk with our heads down.  She’s sniffing the ground looking for the perfect place to poop while I’m making sure I’m not about to walk into a pile of poop.  After a long walk my neck hurts from looking down so much.

Before we go out I put on my special poop sneakers.  It’s a mine field out there and I figure it’s inevitable that I’ll be stepping in “it” and these are the shoes I no longer care about.  What I don’t understand is: why would you get a dog if you’re not going to be a responsible owner.  Do you really think I want to take your dog poop home with me?  And while I’m at this complaining thing – what’s up with talking on the phone while walking the dog?  I guess when you do that you don’t have an extra hand to pick up after your dog.  Great excuse! “Hey dude – can’t pick up after my dog I’m on the phone with my bookie.”  Oh please.

I’m thinking about carrying my camera phone with me everywhere.  I’ll take a picture of the dog and shame the owner with a poster stating “Watch where you step – the owner of this dog doesn’t pick up poop.”

Maybe that will work – but I doubt it!

Potentially Related Website: Sprinkle Brigade

Technorati: philly streets, rants and raves, poop laws

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