The Philly Pretzel

The Philadelphia Rowhouse

May 20, 2009 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Architecture, YO Philly

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!

Permalink Leave a Comment

Applying for a FHA Loan

May 19, 2009 at 9:54 pm · Filed under First Time Home Buyers, For Home Buyers, Mortgage

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.

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!

Permalink Comments (1)

What’s a Perfect Loan for a Philly 1st-Time Home Buyer?

May 18, 2009 at 11:38 pm · Filed under First Time Home Buyers, For Home Buyers, Mortgage

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!

Permalink Comments (3)

Philadelphia Buyers and Sellers: Be Prepared

May 17, 2009 at 9:24 pm · Filed under For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers

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!

Permalink Leave a Comment

Dog Poop

May 16, 2009 at 9:26 pm · Filed under Rants and Raves, YO Philly

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!