The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

 I posted recently about the landmark legislation aimed at ending the current downturn in the housing industry, helping homebuyers and strapped borrower and strengthening the housing finance system.

John Coneys of National City Mortgage, came and spoke with our agents today to help them understand how some of the elements of the Act will help our clients. The highlight of the presentation was his explanation of the $7500 tax credit to First Time Homebuyers for the purchase of a primary residence.

The important points include:

• The tax credit is available to first-home buyers only (first-time homebuyers are defined as anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years).
• The maximum credit amount is $7,500.
• The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. If taxpayers exceed the income limits, they will qualify for partial credit.
• The tax credit operates like a zero-interest loan. Homebuyers will be required to repay the credit to the government, without interest, over 15 years or when they sell the house.
• Eligible purchasers will claim the credit on the appropriate IRS Form 1040 Tax Return and/or on any special forms the IRS might devise.

All of this information and more can be found at http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

 

Posted by Paul Walsh

Elfant Wissahickon REALTORS is coming to Rittenhouse Square!

We’re thrilled to announce that our newest location will be opening soon at 2000 Pine Street in Rittenhouse Square.

Our brand new Center City location is in a beautiful art deco building on the corner of 20th and Pine Streets. It’s a lovely neighborhood, and convenient to so much downtown Philadelphia has to offer. We decided to open this fourth location to better serve our Center City clients, and to further support our agents working, living and selling real estate in the city.

We believe this growth will only further cement our place as the city’s leading independent REALTOR*. We’re already getting an extremely warm welcome from our new neighbors and local businesses.

My partners and I want to extend our sincerest thanks to one of our Center City agents, Chas Hendricksen. He coordinated the effort to get us up and running, spearheaded renovations and decoration, and directed much of our marketing plans. We couldn’t have done it without you, Chas!

Stay tuned for our official grand opening, stop by and see our office, and meet our experienced Center City REALTORS!

 

Posted by Paul Walsh

*As reported in Trend, the MLS of the Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS, January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007

New Housing Legislation

Most of you will have heard that President Bush signed into law legislation that will help almost half a million homeowners avoid foreclosure on their homes. Though the criteria for receiving assistance might seem complicated, CNNMoney.com spells out whether you can qualify for assistance:

“Qualified borrowers must live in their homes and have loans that were issued between January 2005 and June 2007. Additionally, they must be spending at least 40% of their gross monthly income on all household debt to be eligible for the program.

They can be up to date on their existing mortgage or in default, but either way borrowers must prove that they will not be able to keep paying their existing mortgage - and attest that they are not deliberately defaulting just to obtain lower monthly payments.

Before homeowners can get FHA-backed mortgages, they must first retire any other debt on the home, such as a home equity loan or line of credit. Borrowers are not permitted to take out another home equity loan for at least five years, unless it’s to pay for necessary upkeep on their home. To get a new home equity loan, borrowers will need approval from the FHA, and total debt cannot exceed 95% of the home’s appraised value.

The New York Times summarizes the rest of the bill very well here, which included about $15 billion in housing-related tax breaks.

All of this news and information about a ‘foreclosure epidemic,’ although very serious, doesn’t necessarily pertain to the Philadelphia area. Though many areas throughout the country saw extremely inflated sales prices over the last years, and are now experiencing a glut of active housing inventory, values in our marketplace remain strong. Sales prices for houses in places like Miami and San Diego rose about 50% from 1999 to 2004, where Philadelphia saw a more modest growth of 27%. Average ‘days on market’ have gone up, but only to levels still below those in 1999. Well priced, well prepared properties are still selling, even with competitive offers in some cases.

Philadelphia is a beautiful, walkable city, where people want to live. Interest rates are still low and home buyers in Philadelphia, I believe, are making a sound financial decision.

This post compiled sources from Trend, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and CNNMoney.com.

Posted by Paul Walsh

Lunch and Learn…what is the FHA Streamlined 203(k) loan program?

A couple of times each month, our company hosts a lunch meeting for our agents and a mortgage professional. These lunch meetings keep our agents up to date with the ever changing mortgage market. (Informed agents are able to provide the best possible service to our Seller and Buyer clients.) We call these meetings “Lunch and Learns.”

Craig Smith, a Loan Officer with Mortgage Master, Inc. was our guest speaker this week. The lunch menu was pizza; Craig’s topic was the FHA loan program: “Streamlined 203(k).” The pizza was delicious; Craig’s presentation was extremely informative.
I thought I’d share some of what Craig had to say…

The typical residential mortgage does not allow you to finance the cost of repairs to a house. The FHA Streamlined 203(k) allows home buyers to finance not only their “acquisition cost,” but also up to $35,000 in non structural repairs/upgrades to the property being purchased.

Think about that for a minute. Lets say you find that perfect house, great location, great layout, but maybe its missing a few key features like a deck, a finished basement or, let’s say (on a ninety degree day like today), central air conditioning. This FHA loan program will allow you to borrow additional dollars over and above your mortgage amount to make these types of improvements to your dream home.

Like most loan programs the “Streamlined 203(k)” has certain requirements – the main one is that you must be an owner occupant. For the most part, however, this program lives up to its name - Craig Smith called it the “rehab loan without the hassles.”

To find out more about this loan program, visit HUD’s website.

Posted by Paul Walsh

Providing Knowledge . . . Delivering Results

This tag line appears on Elfant Wissahickon REALTORS® on-line web and print advertising. It is what we do to help our Seller and Buyer clients achieve their housing goals.

 

Ok, what knowledge would be useful to have for Sellers thinking of Selling their home within the next 12 months?

 

It would be helpful to know the best timing for attracting motivated Buyers.

 

Are there seasonal cycles?

 

You bet there are!  The two primary selling seasons are Spring and Fall. The Fall selling season begins immediately after Labor Day. Buyers who want or need to get into a new home by the end of the calendar year will be out in force looking for homes in September, October and the first half of November. Sellers considering taking advantage of the coming Fall selling season should be preparing their homes now.

 

How should you properly prepare your home to achieve the highest return on your investment?

 

Stay tuned, we’ll be providing helpful hints in posts to come.

In the meantime, our ‘All Points Checklist for Selling Your Home’ can be found here.

 

For more personalized information and advice, feel free to call one of our 60 Elfant Wissahickon REALTOR® professionals.

Our Mt Airy Office: 215-247-3600

Our Roxborough Office: 215-487-3300

Our Flourtown Office: 215-233-3434

Posted by Larry DiFranco

Happy 4th of July!

As my family and I celebrated Independence Day, I reflected on how proud I am to be a co owner of an independent real estate firm.  Our brokerage, created in 1993 from the two most successful independent real estate firms at the time, has consistently sold more houses in northwest Philadelphia than any other Realtor*, and has grown to sell more houses in Philadelphia than any brokerage without a national franchise*.

Being a wholly locally owned and operated brokerage has its advantages.  There is always an Broker-Owner available to our agents and our clients.  All of our departments are in house.  We have an extensive in house training program, IT and marketing departments, all done in our offices.  That offers our agents and our clients convenience and control.

Our agents live in, work in and donate their time to support our community.  That means our agents come with firsthand local market knowledge and expertise.  Our access to local resources is further increased by our presence in the community.  We support, and encourage our agents and clients to support locally owned businesses.  I’ve talked about the amazing community spirit you’ll find in northwest Philadelphia, and we are pleased to be a part of that. 

Our agents are the reason for our success.  My partners and I want to thank them for all of the hard work they put in to satisfy their clients and keep us at the top.  They make up our family, and they make us the best.

From our family to yours, we hope you had a safe and happy holiday!

 

 Posted by Paul Walsh

Paul Walsh

 

*According to Trend, the Multiple Listing Service of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors, January 1, 2007 through December 1st, 2007.

Interest Rates

as we roll into Summer 2008…

 

If you’re in the market to buy real estate right now one of the many details you have to consider are Mortgage Interest Rates. I’m sure you have seen that over the last few weeks they have edged up slightly to just under 6.5% for a 30 year fixed rate loan.   To anybody paying attention to the bustling real estate market over the last 18 to 36 months, this may feel like rates are high.

 

Mortgage interest rates come across my desk every day, so with this recent small increase I got to thinking about interest rates and how they compare to years past. So using the trusty internet I searched mortgage interest rates for Summer 1983 (my first year in the real estate business!).  I knew of course that mortgage rates had been in the double digits but I couldn’t remember the exact number . . . turns out interest rates were almost double where we are today at 12.12%. Wow!

 

In 1983, a gallon of gas was less than a dollar, a movie ticket was $2.00, and a loaf of bread was about 50 cents.  With consumer pricing up across the board 2, 3 or more times in 25 years, it’s interesting that the cost of mortgage money is down by half! 

 

Maybe the summer of 2008 is a great time to BUY!!!

Posted by Paul Walsh

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Caravan

Putting your house on caravan??

At Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, we spend every Wednesday morning out on caravan, visiting new listings or prospective new listings.  The owners of the company make a point to attend all caravans.  We do this for several reasons.  First, it gives us an opportunity to meet many of our prospective and existing seller clients.  I think they enjoy and appreciate the opportunity as well.  Second, it gives us the advantage of a continued and updated view of our listing inventory.  Third, we get to spend a little time with our sales force in a more casual and face to face manner.  We have some fun - and who can’t enjoy that in our non-stop daily business day.  Finally, we catch up with each other.  We may need a quick opinion or another perspective.  On top of everything else, we get a little exercise.  I probably sit behind a desk a bit more than my other partners, so getting out, up and down the steps, is an additional bonus for me.  Hey, this is my first blog ever.  What do you think? 

 

Posted by Bob Elfant

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Historic Germantown

I was born and raised in Germantown. My family lived on the 5100 Block of Keyser until I was six years old. We eventually grew out of the 3 bedroom row home on Keyser Street (7 children can do that) and moved to a large twin home on the 400 block of Manheim Street, right across from the Germantown Cricket Club. I got married in 1984 and moved - a whopping three blocks - to the 4800 block of McKean Avenue.  I no longer live in Germantown, but I still own property there and my company lists and sells more homes in Germantown than any other Realtor*.

My roots in the area keep it near and dear to my heart. Positive news about “my neighborhood” always makes me feel great and I enjoy sharing it:

This recent article, available here, in the Philadelphia Business Journal indicates that there is a new marketing campaign on the way for Historic Germantown. That’s great news for one of Philadelphia’s most Historic neighborhoods!

 

*Based on figures from Trend, the MLS of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors, January 1, 2007 through December 31st, 2007.

 

Posted by Paul Walsh

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Dining Out Face to Face

Tonight, June 17th, from 5 to 9 pm, restaurants in northwest Philadelphia are participating in a program to raise money for a wonderful local cause.  Face to Face at St. Vincent’s offers a variety of services to residents of Germantown, including a dining room where more than 20,000 people each year receive a hot meal from local volunteers.  If you eat out tonight at one of the participating restaurants, 10% of your check will directly fund the programs at Face to Face.

 

Participating Restaurants:

Bitar’s, 7152 Germantown Avenue
Bredenbeck’s Bakery, 8126 Germantown Avenue
Bruno’s, 9800 Germantown Avenue
Cosimo’s Pizza, 8624 Germantown Avenue
Cresheim Cottage, 7402 Germantown Avenue
The Flower Cafe, 48 W Maplewood Mall
Geechee Girl Rice Cafe, 6825 Germantown Avenue
Halligan’s, 1619 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown
McNally’s, 8634 Germantown Avenue
Rollers at Flying Fish, 8142 Germantown Avenue
Scoogi’s, 738 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown
Solaris Grille, 8201 Germantown Avenue
Sorella Rose, 1800 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown
Trolley Car Diner & Deli, 7619 Germantown Avenue
Umbria, 7131 Germantown Avenue

All of us at Elfant Wissahickon REALTORS strongly encourage you to support these vital local programs. Northwest Philadelphia is such a great place to live because of the community spirit and giving nature of its residents.

 

Posted by Paul Walsh

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